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Robert Longden (actor)
Robert Longden (born 5 October 1951) is a British composer, librettist, director and film, stage and television actor whose career has spanned four decades. In 1974 he took over the role of Riff Raff from Richard O'Brien in the original production of ''The Rocky Horror Show''; later with Hereward Kaye he wrote the West End musical ''Moby Dick''. Early life Longden attended The King's School in his native Macclesfield before receiving a scholarship to train at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (1969 to 1974) where he was awarded the Diploma of Speech and Drama and the John Gielgud Award for comedy. Stage career Longden's theatre career started with the Royal Shakespeare Company before taking over the role of Riff Raff from Richard O'Brien in the original production of ''The Rocky Horror Show'' in 1974 aged 24. Theatre roles include ''Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead'' for the Young Vic; ''In the Boom Boom Room'' for American Repertory Theater; Cholly in ''Major B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Libretto
A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as the Mass (liturgy), Mass, requiem and sacred cantata, or the story line of a ballet. ''Libretto'' (; plural ''libretti'' ), from Italian, is the diminutive of the word ''wiktionary:libro#Italian, libro'' ("book"). Sometimes other-language equivalents are used for libretti in that language, ''livret'' for French works, ''Textbuch'' for German and ''libreto'' for Spanish. A libretto is distinct from a synopsis or scenario of the plot, in that the libretto contains all the words and stage directions, while a synopsis summarizes the plot. Some ballet historians also use the word ''libretto'' to refer to the 15 to 40 page books which were on sale to 19th century ballet audiences in Paris and contained a ve ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Windy City (musical)
''Windy City'' is a 1982 musical with a book and lyrics by Dick Vosburgh and music by Tony Macaulay. It is based on the 1928 play ''The Front Page'' by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur. Plot Set in 1929, the story focuses on ace reporter Hildy Johnson, who has just quit his job at the ''Chicago Examiner'' to marry his fiancée Esther Stone and write screenplays for her movie mogul father, much to the dismay of unscrupulous and cantankerous editor Walter Burns. When streetwalker Mollie Malloy, girlfriend of escaped condemned killer Earl Williams, reveals to Hildy he has secreted himself in a rolltop desk in the courthouse, Hildy cannot resist the lure of writing what could be the biggest scoop of his journalistic career before he boards the train for the West Coast. Production history ''Windy City'' had its world premiere at the Bristol Hippodrome in June 1982 before opening in the West End on July 20 at the Victoria Palace, where it closed on February 26, 1983 after 250 performan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wood And Walters
''Wood and Walters'' is a British television comedy sketch show starring Julie Walters and Victoria Wood for Granada Television and written entirely by Wood. The show was short-lived, with one pilot in 1981 and a series of seven shows in 1982. Background Both women had first met at Manchester Polytechnic in 1970, Wood was hoping to enroll, and Walters was coming to the end of her course. They met again in 1978 when they both appeared in the same revue '' In at the Death'' at The Bush Theatre in London. Wood had been initially spotted by Granada's head of drama, Peter Eckersley, performing in her self-written play '' Talent'' at Sheffield's Crucible Theatre, who asked her to recreate it for television (his widow is actress Anne Reid, who would appear as Jean in Wood's 1998 sitcom '' dinnerladies''). The TV version of ''Talent'' and its sequel '' Nearly a Happy Ending'', would also co-star Walters. Pilot – ''Wood and Walters: Two Creatures Great and Small'' * Broadcast 1 Janua ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Agony (TV Series)
''Agony'' is a British sitcom that aired on ITV from 1979 to 1981. Made by London Weekend Television, it stars Maureen Lipman as Jane Lucas who has a successful career as an agony aunt but whose own personal life is a shambles. It was created by Len Richmond and real-life agony aunt Anna Raeburn, both of whom wrote all of the first series. The second and third series were written by Stan Hey and Andrew Nickolds. ''Agony'' was the first British sitcom to portray a gay couple as non-camp, witty, intelligent and happy people. Cast *Maureen Lipman - Jane Lucas * Simon Williams - Laurence Lucas *Maria Charles - Bea Fisher * Peter Blake - Andy Evol *Jeremy Bulloch - Rob *Peter Denyer - Michael *Diana Weston - Val Dunn *Jan Holden - Diana *Robert Gillespie - Mr. Mince ''(Series 1)'' *Robert Austin - Junior Truscombe ''(series 2 and 3)'' *Bill Nighy - Vincent Fish ''(series 2)'' *Josephine Welcome - Indira Patel ''(Series 2)'' Premise Jane Lucas is an agony aunt, who is highly successf ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Danger UXB
''Danger UXB'' is a 1979 British ITV television series set during the Second World War. It was developed by John Hawkesworth and starred Anthony Andrews as Lieutenant Brian Ash, an officer in the Royal Engineers (RE). The series chronicles the exploits of the fictional 97 Tunnelling Company,The tunnelling companies of the Royal Engineers in World War I were numbered 170-185 and 250-258. Seven of them (170-173 and 178-180), were revived in 1939-1940, serving on Malta and Gibraltar, but not in bomb disposal. which has been made a bomb disposal unit, and specifically 347 Section of the company, to deal with the thousands of unexploded bombs ("UXBs") in London during the Blitz. As with all his fellow officers, Ash must for the most part learn the techniques and procedures of disarming and destroying the UXBs through experience, repeatedly confronted with more cunning and deadlier technological advances in aerial bomb fuzing. The series primarily features military storylines, th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Me! I'm Afraid Of Virginia Woolf
''Me! I'm Afraid of Virginia Woolf'' is a 1978 television play by Alan Bennett, produced by London Weekend Television and directed by Stephen Frears. The title of the play is a parody of ''Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'', which in turn plays on the title of the Disney song "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?". Plot It tells the story of Trevor ( Neville Smith), a teacher of English Literature to adults in the evenings. Trevor is not a happy man; his girlfriend gets her hair in her muesli, someone has vandalised his visual aids for his evening classes, drawing a large pair of breasts on his poster of Virginia Woolf and a big cigar in the mouth of E. M. Forster on the other; he suffers from 'curate's bladder' and is unable to urinate if there is another man present in the toilet; and he does not even like his name—Trevor. Most of his students are hopeless but there is one bright working-class man in the class. After an unpleasant evening during which he gets punched in the face h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dickens Of London
''Dickens of London'' is a 1976 television miniseries from Yorkshire Television based on the life of English novelist Charles Dickens. Both Dickens and his father John were played by British actor Roy Dotrice. The series was written by Wolf Mankowitz and Marc Miller. In the United States, the series was shown in 1977. The series of 13 episodes of 60 minutes was directed by Michael Ferguson (6 episodes) and Marc Miller (7 episodes), who was also the series' producer, with David Cunliffe as executive producer. Mankowitz's book, ''Dickens of London'', published by Weidenfeld and Nicolson in 1976, was based on the detailed research he made while writing the screenplay. Background Each of the 13 episodes of ''Dickens of London'' is a flashback, with Charles Dickens (Roy Dotrice), by now an internationally famous novelist, in America during a reading tour of 1869, looking back over his life. Dickens the boy (Simon Bell) is shown unhappily pasting labels onto pots of shoe blacking, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hablot Knight Browne
Hablot Knight Browne (10 July 1815 – 8 July 1882) was an English artist and illustrator. Well-known by his pen name, Phiz, he illustrated books by Charles Dickens, Charles Lever, and Harrison Ainsworth. Early life Of Huguenot ancestry, Hablot Knight Browne was born in England, in Lambeth (near London) on Kennington Lane. He was the fourteenth of Catherine and William Loder Browne's fifteen children. According to his biographer Valerie Browne Lester, Phiz was in fact the illegitimate son of his putative eldest sister Kate and Captain Nicholas Hablot of Napoleon's Imperial Guard. There is some uncertainty regarding the exact date of birth. 10 July 1815 is the date given by Valerie Browne Lester, his great-great-granddaughter. John Buchanan-Brown in his book ''Phiz!: Illustrator of Dickens' World'' says 12 July 1815. The date on his Christening record of 21 December 1815 at St Mary's Church, Lambeth, Surrey, England gives 11 June 1815, as does the ''Encyclopædia Britannica Elevent ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Fenn Street Gang
''The Fenn Street Gang'' is a British television sitcom which ran for three seasons between 1971 and 1973. Created by John Esmonde and Bob Larbey, it was a spin-off from their popular ''Please Sir!'' series. Synopsis The series follows the lives of many of the pupils from Fenn Street School as they enter the world of work. Some episodes were written by Geoff Rowley and Andy Baker, as well as David Barry and Tony Bilbow. The series' stars were Peter Cleall, Carol Hawkins (who also replaced Penny Spencer as Sharon in the 1971 ''Please Sir!'' film), David Barry, Peter Denyer and Liz Gebhardt. Leon Vitali replaced Malcolm McFee as Peter Craven during the first series, although Malcolm took this role back for the second and third series'. Peter Denyer (Dennis Dunstable) and Liz Gebhardt (Maureen Bullock) were absent from the third (and final) series. John Alderton (Mr Hedges, their form-master in ''Please Sir!'') guest-appeared in three episodes of the first series of ''The Fenn S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Greenwich Playhouse
The Greenwich Playhouse was an 84-seat studio theatre in the central Greenwich district of the Royal Borough of Greenwich which opened in 1990 and closed in 2012. It was situated above and had its entrance within the St. Christopher's Inn pub, situated on the east side of the forecourt of Greenwich station. In January 2012 the Greenwich Playhouse's closure as a producing theatre was again announced, coming into effect in April 2012. See also * Greenwich Theatre - a proscenium A proscenium ( grc-gre, προσκήνιον, ) is the metaphorical vertical plane of space in a theatre, usually surrounded on the top and sides by a physical proscenium arch (whether or not truly "arched") and on the bottom by the stage floor ... style theatre also in Greenwich. References External links Galleon Theatre Company Theatres completed in 1990 Theatres in the Royal Borough of Greenwich Pub theatres in London Studio theatres in London 1990 establishments in England 2012 disestabl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Birmingham Repertory Theatre
Birmingham Repertory Theatre, commonly called Birmingham Rep or just The Rep, is a producing theatre based on Centenary Square in Birmingham, England. Founded by Barry Jackson, it is the longest-established of Britain's building-based theatre companies and one of its most consistently innovative. Today The Rep produces a wide range of drama in its three auditoria – ''The House'' with 825 seats, ''The Studio'' with 300 seats and ''The Door'' with 140 seats – much of which goes on to tour nationally and internationally. The company retains its commitment to new writing and in the five years to 2013 commissioned and produced 130 new plays. The company's former home, now known as "Old Rep", is still in use as a theatre. History Foundation and early years The origins of The Rep lie with the 'Pilgrim Players', an initially amateur theatre company founded by Barry Jackson in 1907 to reclaim and stage English poetic drama, performing a repertoire that ranged from the 16th cen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David Tomlinson
David Cecil MacAlister Tomlinson (7 May 1917 – 24 June 2000) was an English stage, film, and television actor and comedian. Having been described as both a leading man and a character actor, he is primarily remembered for his roles as authority figure George Banks in ''Mary Poppins'', fraudulent magician Professor Emelius Browne in ''Bedknobs and Broomsticks'', and as hapless antagonist Peter Thorndyke in ''The Love Bug''. Tomlinson was posthumously inducted as a Disney Legend in 2002. Early life David Cecil McAlister Tomlinson was born in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire on 7 May 1917, the son of Florence Elizabeth Tomlinson (née Sinclair-Thomson) (1890–1986) and a well-respected London solicitor father, Clarence Samuel Tomlinson (1883–1978). He attended Tonbridge School and left to join the Grenadier Guards for 16 months. His father then secured him a job as a clerk at Shell Mex House. His stage career grew from amateur stage productions to his 1940 film debut in ''Qui ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
