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The Spontaneity Shop
The Spontaneity Shop is an improvisational comedy company formed in London in 1996. They base their work around the teachings of Keith Johnstone and have developed several original improvisation forms. History The Spontaneity Shop, then known as The Old Spontaneity Shop was formed in 1996 by Tom Salinsky and Deborah Frances-White. Their first shows were at the Troubadour Coffee House in Earl's Court, and they moved to the Canal Cafe in 1999. From 1998-2000 they also ran shows and workshops at Oxford University. In 1999 they presented a benefit concert at The Hackney Empire, directed by Keith Johnstone and Improbable theatre's Phelim McDermott. Joining the Spontaneity Shop cast were Tony Slattery, Jonathan Pryce, Lee Simpson, Neil Mullarkey and a number of other special guests. The money raised went to the Royal Court Theatre where Keith had once worked as a director. In 2000 the company created DreamDate, the improvised romantic comedy which was a hit at the Edinburgh Fringe. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Improvisational Comedy
Improvisational theatre, often called improvisation or improv, is the form of theatre, often comedy, in which most or all of what is performed is unplanned or unscripted: created spontaneously by the performers. In its purest form, the dialogue, action, story, and characters are created collaboratively by the players as the improvisation unfolds in present time, without use of an already prepared, written script. Improvisational theatre exists in performance as a range of styles of improvisational comedy as well as some non-comedic theatrical performances. It is sometimes used in film and television, both to develop characters and scripts and occasionally as part of the final product. Improvisational techniques are often used extensively in drama programs to train actors for stage, film, and television and can be an important part of the rehearsal process. However, the skills and processes of improvisation are also used outside the context of performing arts. This practice, known ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lee Simpson
Lee Simpson is a British actor and comedian best known as a member of the improvisational group The Comedy Store Players. He has appeared in a number of roles, including in the sitcom ''Drop the Dead Donkey'' and the films ''Paper Mask'' and ''Nuns on the Run'', and played a key role in co-devising and narrating the improvisational radio show '' The Masterson Inheritance'' in the years 1993-1995. He was involved in Paul Merton Live At The London Palladium in 1994, along with fellow Comedy Store Players Paul Merton and Richard 'Susan' Vranch. Before becoming involved in improvisation, he was, among other things, a croupier in a casino, a cinema projectionist, and a breakfast DJ. He did his first performance with The Comedy Store Players in 1989, and became a member of the group in 1990. In 1992 he appeared as Terry in the channel 4 sitcom '' Terry and Julian'' (not associated with ''Terry and June'' although the show's name was a spoof title). The programme only lasted one series ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
FremantleMedia
Fremantle (; formerly FremantleMedia) is a British multinational television production and distribution company based in London. Fremantle takes its name from Fremantle International, acquired by predecessor company All American Television in 1994. Pearson Television was renamed FremantleMedia on 20 August 2001, following the 2000 merger of Pearson Television and Bertelsmann's CLT-UFA to form the RTL Group. Fremantle owns non-scripted formats, including the British talent competitions '' Idols'' (created by Simon Fuller), ''Got Talent'' and ''The X Factor'' (both created by Simon Cowell), shows which have been sold around the world. Since 1994, Fremantle has distributed American game shows in the US and internationally. History Pearson Television (1994–2001) In 1994, after a bidding war, Pearson plc bought Thames Television and placed it under Pearson Television. In 1995, it acquired Australian company Grundy Television. ACI, a U.S.-based distributor of TV movies, was pu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pozzitive
Pozzitive Television is a production company formed by producers Geoff Posner and David Tyler in 1992. Pozzitive have won awards including six BAFTAs, two Golden Roses at Montreux, multiple British Comedy & RTS awards, seven Sony Awards and two International Emmys. About Pozzitive Television was founded by Geoff Posner & David Tyler. Since then, Pozzitive has worked with major comic talent in the UK, including Victoria Wood, Steve Coogan, and Armando Iannucci. Pozzitive has earned a reputation as one of the leading indie production companies in the UK - from producing the very first independent comedy ever to air on Radio 4, Jeremy Hardy Speaks to the Nation, to the recent success of Cabin Pressure, which became the first radio sitcom to be named 'Comedy of the Year' in 2014. Recent productions Radio *'' The 3rd Degree'', series 1–10, 2010–2020. *'' Agendum'', series 1–2, 2017-2019 *''British Troll Farm'', pilot, 2019 *'' Giles Wemmbley-Hogg Goes Off... Ar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dan Patterson
Dan Patterson (born March 1960) is a British television producer and writer, responsible for the production of both the British and American incarnations of the improvisation show ''Whose Line Is It Anyway?'' and the British satirical panel show ''Mock the Week'' with writing partner Mark Leveson. He has also written for episodes of both shows. He co-created ''Whose Line Is It Anyway?'' alongside Mark Leveson, initially on BBC radio before moving with it to Channel 4, and then onward to ABC. In 2004, he established Angst Productions, which is responsible for ''Mock the Week''. In October 2013, the play ''The Duck House'', a farcical political satire which he wrote alongside '' Have I Got News for You'' writer Colin Swash, embarked on a five-week tour before transferring to the Vaudeville Theatre in London's West End through Spring 2014. Television Producer * ''Clive Anderson Talks Back'' - Channel 4 * ''Clive Anderson All Talk'' - BBC One * ''S and M'' - Channel 4 * '' The Brain ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hat Trick Productions
Hat Trick Productions is an independent British production company that produces television and radio programmes, mainly specialising in comedy, based in London. History Hat Trick Productions was founded in 1986 by Rory McGrath, Jimmy Mulville, and Denise O'Donoghue. Its first commission was ''Chelmsford 123'', a situation comedy for Channel 4. Two years later, Geoffrey Perkins became company director, and helped to produce shows such as ''Father Ted'', ''Whose Line Is It Anyway?'', and '' Have I Got News for You''. Perkins left the organisation in 1995, to become head of comedy for BBC Television. Hat Trick International struck a first look deal with Cardiff Productions and has a joint venture with British television writer Jed Mercurio called HTM Television, with this production company responsible for dramas such as ''Bloodlands'' with James Nesbitt and the forthcoming ''DI Ray'' with Parminder Nagra. Current programmes Hat Trick * ''Bloodlands'' (BBC One 2021–present) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal Court Theatre
The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a non-commercial West End theatre in Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England. In 1956 it was acquired by and remains the home of the English Stage Company, which is known for its contributions to contemporary theatre and won the Europe Prize Theatrical Realities in 1999. History The first theatre The first theatre on Lower George Street, off Sloane Square, was the converted Nonconformist Ranelagh Chapel, opened as a theatre in 1870 under the name The New Chelsea Theatre. Marie Litton became its manager in 1871, hiring Walter Emden to remodel the interior, and it was renamed the Court Theatre. Several of W. S. Gilbert's early plays were staged here, including ''Randall's Thumb'', ''Creatures of Impulse'' (with music by Alberto Randegger), ''Great Expectations'' (adapted from the Dickens novel), and ''On Gu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Neil Mullarkey
Neil Mullarkey is an English actor, writer and comedian. Early life and education From 1972—1979, Mullarkey was educated at Kingston Grammar School, an independent school for boys (now coeducational), in Kingston upon Thames, followed by Robinson College at the University of Cambridge, where he was a member of the Footlights and was Junior Treasurer during Tony Slattery's term as president. He became president in 1982 with Nick Hancock, Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis as his contemporaries. Mullarkey formed ''Hancock & Mullarkey'' with Hancock, performing their act (which consisted of spoofing television shows' title sequences to that show's accompanying theme music) several times on television. This included ''Doctor Who'', ''Kojak'', and ''Dad's Army''. Career Mullarkey has been in a double act with Tony Hawks called the Timid Twins. In the mid-1980s, he teamed up with Mike Myers as 'Mullarkey and Myers'. They would perform sketches based on their shared love of cartoons, B-mov ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jonathan Pryce
Sir Jonathan Pryce (born John Price; 1 June 1947) is a Welsh actor who is known for his performances on stage and in film and television. He has received numerous awards, including two Tony Awards and two Laurence Olivier Awards. In 2021 he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for his services to drama. After studying at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, he began his career as a stage actor in the early 1970s. His work in theatre includes an Olivier Award-winning performance in the title role of the Royal Court Theatre's ''Hamlet'' in 1980 and as The Engineer in the stage musical ''Miss Saigon'' in 1990. On the Broadway stage he earned Tony Awards—the first for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his Broadway debut role in ''Comedians'' (1977), the second for Best Actor in a Musical for the Broadway transfer of the musical ''Miss Saigon'' (1991). Pryce's theatre work led to several supporting roles in film and television. His breakthrough screen performance was in Terry Gilli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Keith Johnstone
Keith Johnstone (born February 21, 1933) is a British and Canadian pioneer of improvisational theatre, best known for inventing the ''Impro System'', part of which are the Theatresports. He is also an educator, playwright, actor and theatre director. Life Born in Devon, England, Johnstone grew up hating school, finding that it blunted his imagination and made him feel self-conscious and shy. After teaching at a working-class school in Battersea, London in the early 1950s, Johnstone was commissioned to write a play by the Royal Court Theatre in 1956. He subsequently became a play-reader, director and drama teacher there, where he chose to reverse all that his teachers had told him in an attempt to create more spontaneous actors. In the 1970s, Johnstone moved to Calgary, Alberta to teach at the University of Calgary. He is featured in the book '' Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking'' by Malcolm Gladwell. Work Johnstone co-founded the Loose Moose Theatre, and invented his ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tony Slattery
Tony Declan James Slattery (born 9 November 1959) is an English actor and comedian. He appeared on British television regularly from the mid-1980s, most notably as a regular on the Channel 4 improvisation show ''Whose Line Is It Anyway?'' His serious and comedic film work has included roles in ''The Crying Game'', ''Peter's Friends'' and ''How to Get Ahead in Advertising''. Early life and education Slattery was born in Stonebridge, north London, into a working-class background, the fifth and last child of Catholic Irish immigrants, Michael and Margaret Slattery. In 2019 Slattery revealed that he had been repeatedly sexually abused by a priest at the age of eight, but had never told his parents; he believes the event contributed to his unstable character later in life. He was educated at Gunnersbury Boys' Grammar School in west London and won a scholarship to read Modern and Medieval Languages at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, specialising in French literature and Spanish poetry. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phelim McDermott
Phelim McDermott (born 21 August 1963) is an English actor and stage director. He has directed plays and operas in Britain, Germany, Spain, the United States, and Australia. McDermott was a co-founder of the Improbable theatre in 1996. Career McDermott was born in Manchester, England. His screen debut was as Jester in the 1991 film ''Robin Hood'', followed by further minor roles in ''The Baby of Mâcon'' (1993) and other films. He has appeared on stage, including in 1991 at the Nottingham Playhouse production of Sandi Toksvig's ''The Pocket Dream'', in Shakespeare's '' A Midsummer Night's Dream'', and in a 2017 production of ''Lost Without Words'' at the Royal National Theatre. He also appeared in the BBC Radio 4 improvisational show '' The Masterson Inheritance'' (1993 to 1995). He was made an Honorary Doctor of Middlesex University in 2007. Notable productions *1998: '' Shockheaded Peter'' for the West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds, and the Lyric Hammersmith, London *2002: '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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