|
The Mortimer Touch
''The Mortimer Touch'' is a comedy play by the British writer Eric Linklater. It was developed out of an earlier work of his ''The Atom Doctor'' which appeared at the 1950 Edinburgh Festival and drew inspiration from Ben Jonson's ''The Alchemist''. It premiered at the Wimbledon Theatre before transferring to the Duke of York's Theatre in the West End where it ran for 45 performances between 30 April and 7 June 1952. The original West End cast included Mervyn Johns, Roger Livesey, Richard Pearson, George Relph, William Mervyn, Harry Towb, Vincent Holman, Mona Washbourne, Pamela Brown, Esma Cannon, Glen Alyn and Molly Urquhart. It was published the same year by Samuel French Samuel French (1821–1898) was an American entrepreneur who, together with British actor, playwright and theatrical manager Thomas Hailes Lacy, pioneered in the field of theatrical publishing and the licensing of plays. Biography French founde ....Reilly p.782 References Bibliography * Reilly, John M ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eric Linklater
Eric Robert Russell Linklater CBE (8 March 1899 – 7 November 1974) was a Welsh-born Scottish poet, fiction writer, military historian, and travel writer. For ''The Wind on the Moon'', a children's fantasy novel, he won the 1944 Carnegie Medal from the Library Association for the year's best children's book by a British subject. Early life Linklater was born in Penarth, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales to Orcadian Robert Baikie Linklater (1865–1916), a master mariner, and Mary Elizabeth (c. 1867–1957), daughter of master mariner James Young. He was educated at Aberdeen Grammar School and the University of Aberdeen, where he was President of the Aberdeen University Debater. He spent many years in Orkney and identified with the islands, where his father had been born. His maternal grandfather was a Swedish-born sea captain, so that he had Scandinavian origins through both parents. Linklater is an Orcadian name derived from the Old Norse; throughout his life he maintained a sympath ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Mervyn
William Mervyn Pickwoad (3 January 1912 – 6 August 1976) was an English actor best known for his portrayal of the bishop in the clerical comedy ''All Gas and Gaiters'', the old gentleman in ''The Railway Children'' and Inspector Charles Rose in ''The Odd Man'' and its sequels. Life and career Mervyn was born in Nairobi, British East Africa, but educated in Britain at Forest School, Snaresbrook, before embarking on a stage career, spending five years in provincial theatre. He made his West End debut in '' The Guinea Pig'' at the Criterion Theatre in 1946, before parts in plays such as ''Lend Me Robin'' at the Embassy Theatre, the comedy ''Ring Round the Moon'', '' The Mortimer Touch'', ''A Woman of No Importance'' by Oscar Wilde at the Savoy Theatre in 1953 and ''Charley's Aunt''. Mervyn's later stage roles included those of O'Trigger in ''The Rivals'', Lord Greenham in the comedy ''Aren't We All?'' and Sir Patrick Cullen in '' The Doctor's Dilemma''. Although he was admired ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
West End Plays
West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some Romance languages (''ouest'' in French, ''oest'' in Catalan, ''ovest'' in Italian, ''oeste'' in Spanish and Portuguese). As in other languages, the word formation stems from the fact that west is the direction of the setting sun in the evening: 'west' derives from the Indo-European root ''*wes'' reduced from ''*wes-pero'' 'evening, night', cognate with Ancient Greek ἕσπερος hesperos 'evening; evening star; western' and Latin vesper 'evening; west'. Examples of the same formation in other languages include Latin occidens 'west' from occidō 'to go down, to set' and Hebrew מַעֲרָב maarav 'west' from עֶרֶב erev 'evening'. Navigation To go west using a compass for navigation (in a place where magnetic north is the same dire ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Comedy Plays
Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term originated in ancient Greece: in Athenian democracy, the public opinion of voters was influenced by political satire performed by comic poets in theaters. The theatrical genre of Greek comedy can be described as a dramatic performance pitting two groups, ages, genders, or societies against each other in an amusing '' agon'' or conflict. Northrop Frye depicted these two opposing sides as a "Society of Youth" and a "Society of the Old". A revised view characterizes the essential agon of comedy as a struggle between a relatively powerless youth and the societal conventions posing obstacles to his hopes. In this struggle, the youth then becomes constrained by his lack of social authority, and is left with little choice but to resort to ruses wh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1952 Plays
Year 195 ( CXCV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Scrapula and Clemens (or, less frequently, year 948 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 195 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years. Events By place Roman Empire * Emperor Septimius Severus has the Roman Senate deify the previous emperor Commodus, in an attempt to gain favor with the family of Marcus Aurelius. * King Vologases V and other eastern princes support the claims of Pescennius Niger. The Roman province of Mesopotamia rises in revolt with Parthian support. Severus marches to Mesopotamia to battle the Parthians. * The Roman province of Syria is divided and the role of Antioch is diminished. The Romans annexed the Syrian cities of Edessa and Nisibis. Severus re-establish his head ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Samuel French
Samuel French (1821–1898) was an American entrepreneur who, together with British actor, playwright and theatrical manager Thomas Hailes Lacy, pioneered in the field of theatrical publishing and the licensing of plays. Biography French founded his publishing business in New York City in 1854. In 1859, he visited London, where he met Lacy, who had given up the stage and been active as a theatrical bookseller since the mid-1840s. Lacy, who had removed his shop from Wellington Street, Covent Garden to 89 Strand in 1857, had also started publishing acting editions of dramas. ''Lacy's Acting Edition of Plays'', published between 1848 and 1873, would eventually run to 99 volumes containing 1,485 individual pieces. French and Lacy became partners, each acting as the other's agent across the Atlantic. In 1872, French decided to take up permanent residence in London, leaving his son Thomas Henry French Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Molly Urquhart
Molly Sinclair Urquhart (6 January 1906 – 6 October 1977) was a Scottish actress and theater director. Early life Urquhart was born in Glasgow as Mary Sinclair Urquhart. She was the daughter of post office clerk Ann McCallum and sea-going engineer William Urquhart. She grew up in the West End of Glasgow where she attended Downhill Primary School and Church Street School. After school, she worked in a shop and took the exam to work for the GPO. She had no formal training in theater, coming to the profession through the "amateur movement". While a teenager in the late 1920s, she joined the St. George Players, an amateur club. In 1931, she became a member of the Tron Theatre Club in Glasgow, followed by Glasgow's Curtain Theatre in 1932. She adopted the name Molly Urquhart for her stage name. Career Theater In 1932, Urquhart joined the Howard and Wyndham company, becoming a professional actress. Her first professional role was in the melodrama '' Jeannie Deans'' at Theatr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Glen Alyn
Glenore Jean Pointing (1913–1984), known professionally as Glen Alyn, was an Australian actress who appeared in British films from the 1930s until 1957. Originally a dancer in West End revue, she made her film debut in '' The Outsider'' (1931) under her real name, Glenore Pointing. A Warner Brothers contract and numerous films followed, as well as occasional stage work. Selected filmography * ''Head of the Family'' (1933) * ''Mayfair Girl'' (1933) * ''Head of the Family'' (1933) * ''Don't Get Me Wrong'' (1937) * ''Mayfair Melody'' (1937) * ''Ship's Concert'' (1937) * ''Simply Terrific'' (1938) * ''Thank Evans'' (1938) * '' Sweet Devil'' (1938) * ''It's in the Blood'' (1938) * '' The Ware Case'' (1938) * ''Old Mother Riley Joins Up'' (1940) * ''A Window in London'' (1940) * '' Law and Disorder'' (1940) * ''Another Shore'' (1948) * ''Maytime in Mayfair'' (1949) * ''There's Always a Thursday ''There's Always a Thursday'' is a 1957 British crime film directed by Charles Saunde ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Esma Cannon
Esma Ellen Charlotte Littmann (née Cannon) (27 December 1905 – 18 October 1972), credited as Esme or Esma Cannon, was a diminutive () Australian-born character actress and comedian, who moved to Britain in the early 1930s. Although she frequently appeared on television in her latter years, Cannon is best remembered as a film actress, with a lengthy career in British productions from the 1930s to the 1960s. Career After early experience at Minnie Everett's School of Dancing in Sydney, Cannon began acting on the stage at the age of four in ''Madama Butterfly''. She appeared in productions for both the J. C. Williamson and Tait companies – including the early prominent role of Ruth Le Page in ''Sealed Orders'' at the Theatre Royal in 1914, and played Baby in an adaptation of ''Seven Little Australians'' the same year. She was given children's parts well into adulthood. In an interview with the ''Australian Women's Weekly'' published in 1963, she claimed it was the theatrical i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pamela Brown (actress)
Pamela Mary Brown (8 July 1917 – 19 September 1975) was a British actress. Early life She was born in Hampstead, London, to George Edward Brown, a journalist, and his wife, Helen Blanche (née Ellerton). Brought up in the Roman Catholic faith, she attended St Mary's School, Ascot. Career After attending the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art she made her stage debut in 1936 as Juliet in a Stratford-upon-Avon production of ''Romeo and Juliet''. Three of her early film roles were in Powell and Pressburger films: her first screen part in ''One of Our Aircraft Is Missing'' (1942), a memorable supporting role in ''I Know Where I'm Going!'' (1945), and in the fantasy film-opera ''The Tales of Hoffmann'' (1951). She played a bitter spinster in ''Personal Affair'', starring Gene Tierney (1953). From the early 1950s, her arthritic condition (first appearing when she was sixteen) began to make playing on the stage difficult; her mobility was restricted and she was in great pain, which was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mona Washbourne
Mona Lee Washbourne (27 November 1903 – 15 November 1988) was an English actress of stage, film, and television. Her most critically acclaimed role was in the film '' Stevie'' (1978), late in her career, for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award and a BAFTA Award. Early life Mona Washbourne was born in Sparkhill, Birmingham, and began her entertaining career training as a concert pianist. Her sister Kathleen Washbourne was a violinist with the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Sir Adrian Boult. Career Washbourne was performing professionally from the early 1920s. She married the actor Basil Dignam. Her brother-in-law Mark Dignam was also a stage and film actor. In 1948, after numerous stage musical performances, Washbourne began appearing in films. Her film credits include the horror movie ''The Brides of Dracula'', '' Billy Liar'' (1963) and ''The Collector'' (1965). She is probably best known to American audiences for her role as housekeeper Mrs. Pearce in ''My Fair ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vincent Holman
Vincent Holman (22 September 1886 – 7 April 1962) was a British stage, film and television actor. On stage, he was in the original cast of Arnold Ridley's ''The Ghost Train (play), The Ghost Train'' at Brighton's Theatre Royal, Brighton, Theatre Royal and London's St. Martin's Theatre in 1925-1926. Selected filmography * ''These Charming People'' (1931) - Andrews (uncredited) * ''Stamboul (film), Stamboul'' (1931) - Minor Role (uncredited) * ''Holiday Lovers (1932 film), Holiday Lovers'' (1932) - Salesman (uncredited) * ''Follow the Lady (film), Follow the Lady'' (1933) - Parsons * ''Taxi to Paradise'' (1933) - Dunning * ''The Shadow (1933 film), The Shadow'' (1933) - Wallis * ''Death at Broadcasting House'' (1934) - Detective (uncredited) * ''The Feathered Serpent (1934 film), The Feathered Serpent'' (1934) - Inspector Clarke * ''The Right Age to Marry'' (1935) - (uncredited) * ''The Silent Passenger'' (1935) - Works Manager * ''Sexton Blake and the Mademoiselle'' (1935) - ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
