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The Music Cure
''The Music Cure, a Piece of Utter Nonsense'' (1913) is a short comedy sketch by George Bernard Shaw, satirising therapeutic fads of the era and the Marconi scandal of 1912. Characters *Lord Reginald Fitzambey *Dr Dawkins *Strega Thundridge Plot Lord Reginald Fitzambey, Under-Secretary of State for War, is in a distressed state. He explains to his doctor that, knowing the British army would soon be put on a vegetarian diet, he bought shares in the Macaroni Trust. Brought before a parliamentary committee for profiteering, Fitzambey had tried to explain that macaroni was a normal investment. Now he is highly sensitised to anything distressing. His doctor prescribes rest and offers him opium pills. A woman starts to play the piano, causing Reginald to scream. The woman turns out to be famous pianist Strega Thundridge, employed by Reginald's mother at considerable cost to play in the room for two hours to soothe Reginald's nerves. Although Strega can hear Reginald screaming, she co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from the 1880s to his death and beyond. He wrote more than sixty plays, including major works such as ''Man and Superman'' (1902), ''Pygmalion'' (1913) and '' Saint Joan'' (1923). With a range incorporating both contemporary satire and historical allegory, Shaw became the leading dramatist of his generation, and in 1925 was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. Born in Dublin, Shaw moved to London in 1876, where he struggled to establish himself as a writer and novelist, and embarked on a rigorous process of self-education. By the mid-1880s he had become a respected theatre and music critic. Following a political awakening, he joined the gradualist Fabian Society and became its most prominent pamphleteer. Shaw had been writing plays for years ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Satire
Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming or exposing the perceived flaws of individuals, corporations, government, or society itself into improvement. Although satire is usually meant to be humorous, its greater purpose is often constructive social criticism, using wit to draw attention to both particular and wider issues in society. A feature of satire is strong irony or sarcasm —"in satire, irony is militant", according to literary critic Northrop Frye— but parody, burlesque, exaggeration, juxtaposition, comparison, analogy, and double entendre are all frequently used in satirical speech and writing. This "militant" irony or sarcasm often professes to approve of (or at least accept as natural) the very things the satirist wishes to question. Satire is found in many a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Little Theatre In The Adelphi
Little Theatre in the Adelphi was a theatre in London, on what is now John Adam Street just west of the Royal Society of Arts. It should not be confused with either the Haymarket Theatre (also known as the Little Theatre) or the Adelphi Theatre both of which are in the West End. The theatre was constructed in 1910 from a banking hall previously used by Messrs Coutts, part of the original Adam Brothers Adelphi development between the Strand and the River Thames. The first lessee of the Little Theatre was the actor-manager Gertrude Kingston, who had it built largely to her specification, making it the first British theatre to adopt certain lighting techniques, including ‘dimmer’ lights, which had been invented in the United States. From 1932 to 1941 it was the permanent home of the People's National Theatre with its manager Nancy Price. The theatre was twice bombed, once in 1917, being reconstructed on its original lines in 1920, and again in 1941. It was demolished in 1949. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marconi Scandal
The Marconi scandal was a British political scandal that broke in mid-1912. Allegations were made that highly placed members of the Liberal government under the Prime Minister H. H. Asquith had profited by improper use of information about the government's intentions with respect to the Marconi Company. They had known that the government was about to issue a lucrative contract to the British Marconi company for the Imperial Wireless Chain and had bought shares in an American subsidiary.Michael Finch, ''G.K. Chesterton: A biography'', Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1986, , pages 204-205 Insider trading allegations Allegations and rumours about insider trading in Marconi shares involved a number of government ministers, including Lloyd George, the Chancellor of the Exchequer; Sir Rufus Isaacs, the Attorney General; Herbert Samuel, the Postmaster General; and Alexander Murray, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury. The allegations were based on the fact that Isaacs' brother, Godfrey ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Profiteering (business)
Profiteering is a pejorative term for the act of making a profit by methods considered unethical. Overview Business owners may be accused of profiteering when they raise prices during an emergency ( especially a war). The term is also applied to businesses that play on political corruption to obtain government contracts. Some types of profiteering are illegal, such as price fixing syndicates, for example on fuel subsidies (see '' British Airways price-fixing allegations''), and other anti-competitive behaviour. Some are restricted by industry codes of conduct, e.g. aggressive marketing of products in the Third World such as baby milk (see ''Nestlé boycott''). Types of profiteering *Price fixing *Price gouging *War profiteering Laws Profiteering is illegal in several countries, including but not limited to: *UK: Chapter 1 of the Competition Act 1998 *Germany§ 291 StGB(Criminal Code) – up to 10 years' jail maximum penalty *Austria§ 154 StGB– up to 5 years' jail maximum pe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Opium
Opium (or poppy tears, scientific name: ''Lachryma papaveris'') is dried latex obtained from the seed capsules of the opium poppy ''Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid morphine, which is processed chemically to produce heroin and other synthetic opioids for medicinal use and for the illegal drug trade. The latex also contains the closely related opiates codeine and thebaine, and non-analgesic alkaloids such as papaverine and noscapine. The traditional, labor-intensive method of obtaining the latex is to scratch ("score") the immature seed pods (fruits) by hand; the latex leaks out and dries to a sticky yellowish residue that is later scraped off and dehydrated. The word '' meconium'' (derived from the Greek for "opium-like", but now used to refer to newborn stools) historically referred to related, weaker preparations made from other parts of the opium poppy or different species of poppies. The production methods have ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Polonaise (dance)
The polonaise (, ; pl, polonez ) is a dance of Polish origin, one of the five Polish national dances in time. Its name is French for "Polish" adjective feminine/"Polish woman"/"girl". The original Polish name of the dance is Chodzony, meaning "the walking dance". It is one of the most ancient Polish dances representing Polish cultural dance tradition. Polonaise dance influenced European ballrooms, folk music and European classical music. The polonaise has a rhythm quite close to that of the Swedish semiquaver or sixteenth-note polska, and the two dances have a common origin. Polska dance was introduced to Sweden during the period of the Vasa dynasty when king Vasa introduced it from Poland to Sweden that's why its name simply mean Poland; "polska" is a Polish word for Poland. The polonaise is a very popular dance uninterruptedly danced in Poland till today. It is the dance danced as an opening dance in all major official balls, events, at the final year of the high scho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marconi Company
The Marconi Company was a British telecommunications and engineering company that did business under that name from 1963 to 1987. Its roots were in the Wireless Telegraph & Signal Company founded by Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi in 1897, which underwent several changes in name after mergers and acquisitions. The company was a pioneer of wireless long distance communication and mass media broadcasting, eventually becoming one of the UK's most successful manufacturing companies. In 1999, its defence equipment manufacturing division, Marconi Electronic Systems, merged with British Aerospace (BAe) to form BAE Systems. In 2006, financial difficulties led to the collapse of the remaining company, with the bulk of the business acquired by the Swedish telecommunications company, Ericsson. History Naming history *1897–1900: The Wireless Telegraph & Signal Company *1900–1963: Marconi's Wireless Telegraph Company *1963–1987: Marconi Company Ltd *1987–1998: GEC-Marconi Ltd ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Libel
Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal definition of defamation and related acts as well as the ways they are dealt with can vary greatly between countries and jurisdictions (what exactly they must consist of, whether they constitute crimes or not, to what extent proving the alleged facts is a valid defence). Defamation laws can encompass a variety of acts: * Insult against a legal person in general * Defamation against a legal person in general * Acts against public officials * Acts against state institutions (e.g., government, ministries, government agencies, armed forces) * Acts against state symbols * Acts against the state itself * Acts against religions (e.g., blasphemy, discrimination) * Acts against the judiciary or legislature (e.g., contempt of court, censure) Histo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lillah McCarthy
Lillah Emma McCarthy, Lady Keeble CBE (22 September 1875 – 15 April 1960) was an English actress and theatrical manager. Biography Lila Emma McCarty was born in Cheltenham on 22 September 1875, the seventh of eight children of Jonadab McCarthy and Emma (''née'' Price). Jonadab McCarthy (1841–1913) was a furniture maker and antique dealer, buyer and seller of property, amateur astronomer (FRAS) and lover of poetry. After unhappy episodes at school, Lilla was taught at home by her father. Her lifelong love of the theatre was triggered in 1891 by seeing Lillie Langtry play the title role in Tom Taylor's ''Lady Clancarty'' at Cheltenham's New Theatre and Opera House (now the Everyman). By 1895 Jonadab had acquired a property in Chepstow Place, Bayswater, enabling Lila to continue her studies in London. She went to Hermann Vezin's School of Acting to learn elocution; in his later years Vezin gave lessons to aspiring actors, including Herbert Beerbohm Tree. McCarthy's first role ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Fascinating Foundling
''The Fascinating Foundling'' (1909) is a short comic play by George Bernard Shaw. Shaw classified it as one of his "tomfooleries". He was so unimpressed with his own work that the published text was humorously subtitled "a Disgrace to the Author". Characters *Horace Brabazon, a beautiful young man *Sir Cardonius Boshington, the Lord Chancellor *Anastasia Vulliamy, a suffragette *Mercer, an elderly clerk Plot Horace Brabazon, an elegant young man, enters the office of the Lord Chancellor, Sir Cardonius Boshington. After a scuffle with Mercer, the Chancellor's faithful clerk, he is granted an interview with the great man. Horace says that he was a foundling who was made ward of the Court. As an orphan, he expects the Chancellor to behave as the father of all orphans who are such wards. He has a duty to find Horace a job and also to find him a suitable wife, someone old enough to mother him. Horace then leaves. Miss Anastasia Vulliamy, another foundling, appears. A suffragette wh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
