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The Duck House
''The Duck House'' is a 2013 comedy farce play written by Dan Patterson and Colin Swash. It is based around the events of the 2009 UK parliamentary expenses scandal, and made its world premiere at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre in October 2013, at the start of a five-week UK tour. The production then transferred to the West End's Vaudeville Theatre, where it ran until 29 March 2014. Synopsis The play is set in May 2009, one year before the General Election, Gordon Brown's Labour government is unpopular. Robert Houston is a Labour backbencher seeking to defect to the Conservatives to keep his seat, when the expenses scandal hits the papers the day before his interview with Sir Norman Cavendish to complete the switch. Houston is in trouble and so is his staff (his wife Felicity, his son Seb and his Russian housekeeper Ludmilla) and somehow Seb's girlfriend Holly becomes involved with Sir Norman. What follows is a comedy of errors as Houston and his family try to cover their expenses ... [...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] |
Mock The Week
''Mock the Week'' is a British topical satirical celebrity panel show, created by Dan Patterson and Mark Leveson. It was produced by Angst Productions for BBC Two, and was broadcast from 5 June 2005 to 4 November 2022. The programme was presented by Dara Ó Briain and featured regular appearances by comedian Hugh Dennis, as well as guest appearances by a variety of stand-up comedians, some of whom had regular appearances in several series. The format of the programme saw six comedians divided into two teams and performing on a faux game show, in which the quiz aspect of answering questions relating to major and regional news items, all taken from the week before each episode's filming, is sidelined to focus on satirical, topical discussions on news items, stand-up routines, and the use of improvisational comedy. Every series also included a compilation episode featuring notable scenes, out-takes and additional footage cut out after filming, with repeats of episodes being frequen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ben Miller
Bennet Evan Miller (born 24 February 1966) is an English actor, comedian, and author. He rose to fame as one half of the comedy duo Armstrong and Miller. Miller is also known for playing the lead role of DI Richard Poole in the first two series of the BBC crime drama '' Death in Paradise'', and for portraying James Lester in the ITV science-fiction series ''Primeval''. Early life and education Miller was born in London, England and grew up in Nantwich, Cheshire. The son of an immigrant father, Ben's father Michael Miller was a lecturer in American literature at the City of Birmingham Polytechnic; and his mother Marion was from Wales. His paternal grandfather was a Lithuanian tailor who emigrated to the UK and lived in London's East End. His paternal great-grandmother, Rose Elizabeth Lincoln, taught English at South Cheshire College. He has two younger sisters, Leah and Bronwen. Miller was educated at Malbank School and Sixth Form College, his local comprehensive school in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cambridge Arts Theatre
Cambridge Arts Theatre is a 666-seat theatre on Peas Hill and St Edward's Passage in central Cambridge, England. The theatre presents a varied mix of drama, dance, opera and pantomime. It attracts some of the highest-quality touring productions in the country, as well as many shows direct from, or prior to, seasons in the West End. Its annual Christmas pantomime is an established tradition in the city. From 1969 to 1985, the theatre was also home to the Cambridge Theatre Company, a renowned national touring company. The Cambridge Arts Theatre was founded in 1936 by the famous Cambridge economist and statesman John Maynard Keynes. The Cambridge Arts Theatre has also been home to performances of Cambridge University's Marlowe Society, and it provides a venue for the university's triennial Cambridge Greek Play performed in Ancient Greek. In previous years it also housed performances by Footlights, the Cambridge University Gilbert & Sullivan Society and the Cambridge University Mu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Theatre Royal, Nottingham
The Theatre Royal in Nottingham, England, is a theatre venue in the heart of Nottingham City Centre and is owned by Nottingham City Council as part of a complex that also includes the city's Royal Concert Hall. The Theatre Royal attracts major touring dramas, opera, ballet, West End musicals and an annual pantomime. History The Theatre Royal was completed in 1865, after six months of work and costing the clients of Nottingham Theatre Company, owned by lace manufacturers John and William Lambert £15,000. The Classic façade and Corinthian columns designed by Charles J. Phipps are still a major Nottingham landmark. The Theatre Royal opened on Monday, 25 September 1865 with Sheridan’s ''The School for Scandal''. Its managers staged the full range of productions. For some six years to early 1897 the manager was H Cecil Beryl before he went off on his own account to operate and then buy theatres in Glasgow including its Royal Princess`s Theatre. The new lessee from 1897 was t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Malvern, Worcestershire
Malvern is a spa town and civil parish in Worcestershire, England. It lies at the foot of the Malvern Hills, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The centre of Malvern, Great Malvern, is a historic conservation area, which grew dramatically in Victorian times due to the natural mineral water springs in the vicinity, including Malvern Water. At the 2011 census it had a population of 29,626. It includes Great Malvern on the steep eastern flank of the Malvern Hills, as well as the former independent urban district of Malvern Link. Many of the major suburbs and settlements that comprise the town are separated by large tracts of open common land and fields, and together with smaller civil parishes adjoining the town's boundaries and the hills, the built up area is often referred to collectively as The Malverns. Archaeological evidence suggests that Bronze Age people had settled in the area around 1000 BC, although it is not known whether these settlements were permane ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Guildford
Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, around southwest of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The name "Guildford" is thought to derive from a crossing of the River Wey, a tributary of the River Thames that flows through the town centre. The earliest evidence of human activity in the area is from the Mesolithic and Guildford is mentioned in the will of Alfred the Great from . The exact location of the main Anglo-Saxon settlement is unclear and the current site of the modern town centre may not have been occupied until the early 11th century. Following the Norman Conquest, a motte-and-bailey castle was constructed, which was developed into a royal residence by Henry III. During the late Middle Ages, Guildford prospered as a result of the wool trade and the town was granted a charter of incorporation by Henry VII in 1488. The River Wey Navig ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mark Henderson (lighting Designer)
Mark Henderson (born 1957) is a British lighting designer who won the 2006 Tony Award for Best Lighting Design for ''The History Boys''. Henderson began his Broadway career with a 1986 comedy revue starring Rowan Atkinson. His Broadway credits include revivals of ''The Merchant of Venice'' (1989), ''Cat on a Hot Tin Roof'' (1990), ''Hamlet'' (1995), ''The Iceman Cometh'' (1999), ''The Real Thing'' (2000), ''Faith Healer'' (2006), and ''A Moon for the Misbegotten'' (2007), and the original productions of ''Indiscretions'' (1995), ''Copenhagen'' (2000), '' Decocracy'' (2004), ''Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'' (2005), and ''Deuce'' (2007). In the UK, Henderson has worked at the Almeida Theatre, the Donmar Warehouse, the Royal National Theatre, and the Old Vic. He has designed projects for the Really Useful Group, the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal Opera, the English National Opera, the Welsh National Opera, the Scottish Opera, and the Royal Ballet, among others. He was involved i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lez Brotherston
Leslie William Brotherston is a British set and costume designer. He trained at the Central School of Art and Design, graduating in theatre design in 1984. He was a production designer of ''Letter to Brezhnev'' in the same year. He has worked in dance, theatre, opera, musicals and film, and has collaborated with Matthew Bourne. He won the Olivier Award for ''Cinderella'' and the Tony Award for ''Swan Lake''. National Life Stories conducted an oral history interview (C1173/10) with Lez Brotherston in 2006 for its An Oral History of Theatre Design collection held by the British Library.National Life Stories, 'Brotherston, Lez (1 of 9) An Oral History of Theatre Design', The British Library Board, 2006 Retrieved ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Terry Johnson (dramatist)
Terry Johnson (born 20 December 1955) is a British dramatist and director working for stage, television and film. Graduating from the Department of Drama and Theatre Arts at the University of Birmingham, he worked as an actor from 1971 to 1975, and has been active as a playwright since the early 1980s. Johnson's stage work has been produced around the world. He has won nine British Theatre awards including the Olivier Award for Best Comedy 1994 and 1999, Playwright of the Year 1995, Critics' Circle Theatre Awards for Best New Play 1995, two Evening Standard Theatre Awards, the Writers Guild Award for Best Play 1995 and 1996, the Meyer-Whitworth Award 1993 and the John Whiting Award 1991. He has had many West End productions as director and/or writer including: '' One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest'', ''Hitchcock Blonde'', ''Entertaining Mr Sloane'', ''The Graduate'', ''Dead Funny'', '' Hysteria'', ''Elton John's Glasses'' and ''The Memory of Water''. At the Royal Court Theatre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peter Viggers
Sir Peter John Viggers (13 March 1938 – 19 March 2020) was a British Conservative politician and lawyer who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Gosport for 36 years, from 1974 to 2010. He stepped down as a result of the investigation of MPs' expenses. Early life Born in Gosport, Hampshire, he was the son of John Sidney Viggers. He was educated at Alverstoke School and Portsmouth Grammar School, a public school in Portsmouth. He studied at Trinity Hall, University of Cambridge, receiving an MA in History and Law in 1961. He qualified from the College of Law in Guildford in 1967. He became a solicitor in 1967. Career Military service As part of National Service, Viggers was commissioned into the Royal Air Force on 8 January 1957 as an acting pilot officer. He was regraded to pilot officer on 8 January 1958, and promoted to flying officer on 18 May 1958. On 20 April 1958, he was transferred to the Reserve (national service list), ending his active service. He ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was founded by Arthur B. Sleigh in 1855 as ''The Daily Telegraph & Courier''. Considered a newspaper of record over ''The Times'' in the UK in the years up to 1997, ''The Telegraph'' generally has a reputation for high-quality journalism, and has been described as being "one of the world's great titles". The paper's motto, "Was, is, and will be", appears in the editorial pages and has featured in every edition of the newspaper since 19 April 1858. The paper had a circulation of 363,183 in December 2018, descending further until it withdrew from newspaper circulation audits in 2019, having declined almost 80%, from 1.4 million in 1980.United Newspapers PLC and Fleet Holdings PLC', Monopolies and Mergers Commission (1985), pp. 5–16. Its si ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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