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Peter Blythe
Peter Blythe (14 September 1934 – 27 June 2004) was an English character actor, probably best known as Samuel "Soapy Sam" Ballard in '' Rumpole of the Bailey''. Early life Born in Yorkshire, Blythe studied drama on scholarship at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art after serving in the Royal Air Force. He began his professional career as a repertory player with the Living Theatre Company, the Nottingham Playhouse and the Royal Shakespeare Company. He made his West End debut in 1965. Selected theatre credits Blythe was frequently associated with the director Peter Hall and the playwright Alan Ayckbourn. * '' The Creeper'' (St. Martin's Theatre, 1965): Maurice * '' Early Morning'' (English Stage Company/Royal Court, 1969): Lord Mennings * '' So What About Love?'' (Criterion Theatre, 1969): Robert * '' Absurd Person Singular'' (Criterion Theatre, 1974): Sidney * '' The Clandestine Marriage'' (Savoy Theatre, 1975): Sir John Melvil * '' The Return of A. J. Raffles'' (Royal Sha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Character Actor
A character actor is a supporting actor who plays unusual, interesting, or eccentric characters.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrieved 7 August 2014, "..a breed of actor who has the ability to be almost unrecognizable from part to part, and yet play many, many roles convincingly and memorably. .." The term, often contrasted with that of leading actor, is somewhat abstract and open to interpretation. In a literal sense, all actors can be considered character actors since they all play "characters", but the term more commonly refers to an actor who frequently plays a distinctive and important supporting role. Character actors are generally well-known and recognizable by the audience (by appearance if not by name), even if they play different types of roles in different movies. A character actor may play characters who are very different from the actor's off-screen real-life personality, while in another sense a character actor m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sextet (play)
A sextet (or hexad) is a formation containing exactly six members. The former term is commonly associated with vocal ensembles (e.g. The King's Singers, Affabre Concinui) or musical instrument groups, but can be applied to any situation where six similar or related objects are considered a single unit. Musical compositions with six parts are sextets. Many musical compositions are named for the number of musicians for which they are written. If a piece is written for six performers, it may be called a "sextet". Steve Reich's "Sextet", for example, is written for six percussionists. However, much as many string quartets do not include "string quartet" in the title (though many do), many sextets do not include "sextet" in their title. See: string sextet and piano sextet. In jazz music a sextet is any group of six players, usually containing a drum set (bass drum, snare drum, hi-hat, ride cymbal), string bass or electric bass, piano, and various combinations of the following or othe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Provok'd Wife
''The Provoked Wife'' (1697) is the second original comedy written by John Vanbrugh. It made its first appearance in Lincoln's Inn Fields in May, 1697. The often-repeated claim that Vanbrugh wrote part of his comedy ''The Provoked Wife'' in the Bastille is based on allusions in a couple of much later memoirs, but is regarded with some doubt by modern scholars (see McCormick). It is different in tone from his first play, the largely farcical ''The Relapse'', and adapted to the greater acting skills of the new company of actors chosen for its premiere, who walked out not long before in a dispute with management. The actors' cooperative boasted the established star performers of the age, and Vanbrugh tailored ''The Provoked Wife'' to their specialties. While ''The Relapse'' had been robustly phrased to be suitable for amateurs and minor acting talents, he could count on versatile professionals like Thomas Betterton, Elizabeth Barry, and the rising young star Anne Bracegirdle to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Waste (play)
''Waste'' is a play by the English author Harley Granville Barker. It exists in two wholly different versions, from 1906 and 1927. The first version was refused a licence by the Lord Chamberlain and had to be performed privately by the Stage Society in 1907; the second was finally staged in public at the Westminster Theatre in 1936. Plot The plot centres around ambitious independent politician Henry Trebell, his plans for a bill to disestablish the Church of England and his fall from grace and suicide after his affair with married woman Amy O'Connell, who dies after a botched abortion. The title may refer to the waste of his potential talents due to the scandal, the loss of the disestablishment bill and the termination of Amy's pregnancy. Dramatis personae (1927 version) *Gilbert Wedgecroft, Trebell's doctor *Walter Kent, Trebell's secretary *Amy O'Connell, Trebell's lover *Russell Blackborough, Tory MP and financier *Justin O'Connell, Amy's estranged Irish husband *Lord Char ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hedda Gabler
''Hedda Gabler'' () is a play written by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. The world premiere was staged on 31 January 1891 at the Residenztheater in Munich. Ibsen himself was in attendance, although he remained back-stage. The play has been canonized as a masterpiece within the genres of literary realism, nineteenth century theatre, and world drama.Bunin, Ivan. ''About Chekhov: The Unfinished Symphony''. Northwestern University Press (2007) . page 26Checkhov, Anton. ''Anton Chekhov's Life and Thought: Selected Letters and Commentary''. Editor: Karlinsky, Simon. Northwestern University Press (1973) page 385Haugen, Einer Ingvald. ''Ibsen’s Drama: Author to Audience''. University of Minnesota Press (1979) . page 142 Ibsen mainly wrote realistic plays until his forays into modern drama. ''Hedda Gabler'' dramatizes the experiences of the title character, Hedda, the daughter of a general, who is trapped in a marriage and a house that she does not want. Overall, the title characte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Hothouse (play)
''The Hothouse'' (1958/1980) is a full-length tragicomedy written by Harold Pinter in the winter of 1958 between '' The Birthday Party'' (1957) and ''The Caretaker'' (1959). After writing ''The Hothouse'' in the winter of 1958 and following the initial commercial failure of ''The Birthday Party'', Pinter put the play aside; in 1979 he re-read it and directed its first production, at Hampstead Theatre, where it opened on 24 April 1980, transferring to the Ambassadors Theatre on 25 June 1980, and it was first published, also in 1980, by Eyre Methuen. Cf. "Death-Rattle", by Benedict Nightingale, as rpt. from the ''New Statesman'' (2001). The play received its American premiere at the Trinity Repertory Company in 1982. Cf. Pinter himself played Roote in a subsequent production staged at the Minerva Theatre, in Chichester, in 1995, later transferring to the Comedy Theatre, in London. For a review-article about this production, see Merritt. Setting The play is set in an institutio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Julius Caesar (play)
''The Tragedy of Julius Caesar ''( First Folio title: ''The Tragedie of Ivlivs Cæsar'') is a history play and tragedy by William Shakespeare first performed in 1599. In the play, Brutus joins a conspiracy led by Cassius to assassinate Julius Caesar, to prevent him from becoming a tyrant. Caesar's right-hand man Antony stirs up hostility against the conspirators and Rome becomes embroiled in a dramatic civil war. Characters * Julius Caesar '' Triumvirs after Caesar's death'' * Octavius Caesar * Mark Antony * Lepidus ''Conspirators against Caesar'' * Marcus Brutus (Brutus) * Cassius * Casca * Decius Brutus * Cinna * Metellus Cimber * Trebonius * Caius Ligarius ''Tribunes'' * Flavius * Marullus ''Roman Senate Senators'' * Cicero * Publius * Popilius Lena ''Citizens'' * Calpurnia – Caesar's wife * Portia – Brutus' wife * Soothsayer – a person supposed to be able to foresee the future * Artemidorus – sophist from Knidos * Cinna – poet * ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Living Room (play)
''The Living Room'' is a 1953 play by Graham Greene Synopsis The play consists of two acts, each of two scenes and is set entirely in the living room of Rose Pemberton and her two elderly aunts who live with the aunts' brother James, a disabled Roman Catholic priest. The aunts have a long-running fear of death in the house, with any bedroom being locked away from further use following a death of its resident family member. The story revolves around the introduction of Rose's new lover, Michael Dennis, to the family. It later transpires that Michael is married when his suicidal wife arrives at the house. Premiere After premiering at the Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh it transferred to the West End where it ran for 308 performances at Wyndham's Theatre between 16 April 1953 and 9 January 1954. Original cast *Mary, the daily woman – Dorothy Dewhurst *Michael Dennis – John Robinson *Rose Pemberton – Dorothy Tutin *Miss Teresa Browne – Mary Jerrold *Miss Helen Browne – Vio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Woman In Mind
''Woman in Mind (December Bee)'' is the 32nd play by English playwright Alan Ayckbourn. It was premiered at the Stephen Joseph Theatre In The Round, Scarborough, in 1985. Despite pedestrian reviews by many critics, strong audience reaction resulted in a transfer to London's West End. The play received its London opening at the Vaudeville Theatre in 1986 where it received predominantly excellent reviews. ''Woman in Mind'' was Ayckbourn's first play to use first-person narrative and a subjective viewpoint and is considered to be one of his most affecting works and one of his best. History and influences ''Woman in Mind'' was the last play written by Ayckbourn before his two-year sabbatical at the Royal National Theatre. Most of it was written while Ayckbourn was on holiday in the Virgin Islands. Influences for the play include the film ''Dead on Arrival'' in which the narrator is revealed to be dead at the climax. '' The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat'' by Oliver Sacks is a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Futurists (play)
''Futurists'' is a 1986 play by British playwright Dusty Hughes. It was first produced at the Cottesloe, Royal National Theatre, directed by Richard Eyre Sir Richard Charles Hastings Eyre (born 28 March 1943) is an English film, theatre, television and opera director. Biography Eyre was born in Barnstaple, Devon, England, the son of Richard Galfridus Hastings Giles Eyre and his wife, Minna Mar .... References * Plays by Dusty Hughes 1986 plays {{1980s-play-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Government Inspector (play)
''The Government Inspector'', also known as ''The Inspector General'' ( rus, links=no, Ревизор, Revizor, literally: "Inspector"), is a satirical play by Russian dramatist and novelist, Nikolai Gogol. Originally published in 1836, the play was revised for an 1842 edition. Based upon an anecdote allegedly recounted to Gogol by Pushkin, the play is a comedy of errors, satirizing human greed, stupidity, and the extensive political corruption of Imperial Russia. The dream-like scenes of the play, often mirroring each other, whirl in the endless vertigo of self-deception around the main character, Khlestakov, who personifies irresponsibility, light-mindedness, and absence of measure. "He is full of meaningless movement and meaningless fermentation incarnate, on a foundation of placidly ambitious inferiority" (D. S. Mirsky). The publication of the play led to a great outcry in the reactionary press. It took the personal intervention of Tsar Nicholas I to have the play staged, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pravda (play)
''Pravda'' is a satirical play by David Hare and Howard Brenton exploring the role of journalism in society. It was first produced at the National Theatre in London on 2 May 1985, directed by Hare and starring Anthony Hopkins in the role of Lambert Le Roux, white South African media mogul. It is a satire on the mid-1980s newspaper industry, in particular the Australian media and press baron Rupert Murdoch. Its title refers to the Russian Communist party newspaper ''Pravda''. The play won 1985 Best Play Award from both the London Evening Standard Awards and City Limits magazine. It has been described as "one of the biggest hits in the history of the National Theatre." Original cast *Andrew May - Tim McInnerny *Bill Smiley - Richard Hope *Bishop of Putney - Daniel Thorndike *Cartoonist - William Sleigh *Cliveden Whicker-Baskett - Guy Williams *D P P Payne - Christopher Baines *Donna Le Roux - Zoe Rutland *Eaton Sylvester - Bill Nighy *Elliot Fruit-Norton - Basil Henson *Ha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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