Vera Drake
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Vera Drake
''Vera Drake'' is a 2004 British period drama film written and directed by Mike Leigh and starring Imelda Staunton, Phil Davis, Daniel Mays and Eddie Marsan. It tells the story of a working-class woman in London in 1950 who performs illegal abortions. It won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival and it was nominated for three Academy Awards and won three BAFTAs. Plot Vera Drake (Imelda Staunton) is devoted to her family, looking after her husband and children, her elderly mother, and a sick neighbour. Her shy daughter, Ethel (Alex Kelly), works in a lightbulb factory, and her son, Sid (Daniel Mays), tailors men's suits. Her husband, Stanley ( Phil Davis), is a car mechanic. Although Vera and her family are poor, their strong family bonds hold them together. During her working day as a house cleaner, Vera performs constant small acts of kindness for the many people she encounters. She is a kindly person who is eager to help others. Unknown to her family, she also works secr ...
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Mike Leigh
Mike Leigh (born 20 February 1943) is an English film and theatre director, screenwriter and playwright. He studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and further at the Camberwell School of Art, the Central School of Art and Design and the London School of Film Technique. He began his career as a theatre director and playwright in the mid-1960s, before transitioning to making televised plays and films for BBC Television in the 1970s and '80s. Leigh is known for his lengthy rehearsal and improvisation techniques with actors to build characters and narrative for his films. His purpose is to capture reality and present "emotional, subjective, intuitive, instinctive, vulnerable films." His films and stage plays, according to critic Michael Coveney, "comprise a distinctive, homogenous body of work which stands comparison with anyone's in the British theatre and cinema over the same period." Leigh's most notable works include the black comedy-drama ''Naked'' (1993), for ...
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Guinea (British Coin)
The guinea (; commonly abbreviated gn., or gns. in plural) was a coin, minted in Great Britain between 1663 and 1814, that contained approximately one-quarter of an ounce of gold. The name came from the Guinea region in West Africa, from where much of the gold used to make the coins was sourced. It was the first English machine-struck gold coin, originally representing a value of 20 shillings in sterling specie, equal to one pound, but rises in the price of gold relative to silver caused the value of the guinea to increase, at times to as high as thirty shillings. From 1717 to 1816, its value was officially fixed at twenty-one shillings. In the Great Recoinage of 1816, the guinea was demonetised and the word "guinea" became a colloquial or specialised term. Although the coin itself no longer circulated, the term ''guinea'' survived as a unit of account in some fields. Notable usages included professional fees (medical, legal, etc.), which were often invoiced in guineas, and h ...
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Martin Savage (actor)
Martin Savage is an English film, stage and television actor. He appeared in both series of Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant's television series '' Extras'' as camp scriptwriter Damon Beesley and in ''The Thick of It'' television series specials as Nick Hanway. Savage's film credits include a major role as the Victorian actor in Gilbert and Sullivan operettas, George Grossmith, in the Mike Leigh film ''Topsy-Turvy'' (1999). He has also appeared in Leigh's films '' All or Nothing'' (2002), '' Another Year'' (2010), ''Mr. Turner'' (2014) and ''Peterloo'' (2018). Other major film appearances include ''V for Vendetta'' (2006), ''Rush'' (2013), and as Warden Hodges in ''Dad's Army'' (2016). He appeared in a small cameo as the performer Dan Leno in a BBC drama about music hall star Marie Lloyd and in the final Masterpiece Mystery ''Foyle's War''. In the United States, he appeared in three episodes of ''Family Guy'' between 2006 and 2009. His theatre credits include ''For King and Co ...
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Peter Wight (actor)
Peter Wight (born 1950), sometimes credited as Peter Wright, is a British actor. Acting career His television credits include: ''Our Zoo'', ''Z-Cars'', '' Meantime'', ''Anna Lee'', ''Life on Mars'', ''Holby City'', '' Where the Heart Is'', ''Jane Eyre'' (1997), ''Early Doors'', ''Midsomer Murders'', ''Monday Monday'', '' Party Animals'', '' Hit & Miss'', '' The Paradise'', ''The Crown'', ''Brief Encounters'' and ''This Time with Alan Partridge''. He also appeared in the 2011 miniseries series ''Case Sensitive'' and the 2012 series '' Public Enemies''. Film appearances include ''Naked'', '' Secrets & Lies'', '' FairyTale: A True Story'', ''Vera Drake'', ''Pride & Prejudice'', ''Babel'', '' All or Nothing'', ''A Bunch of Amateurs'', '' Another Year'', ''Mr. Turner'', ''Hot Fuzz'', ''Persuasion'', and '' Trespass Against Us''. His stage career includes ''In the Republic of Happiness'' at the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court in 2012/13, and in '' Electra'' by Sophocles ...
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Liz White (actress)
Elizabeth White (born 11 August 1979) is an English actress, known for her roles as Annie Cartwright in the BBC series ''Life on Mars'' and Emma Keane in the Channel 4 school-based drama series ''Ackley Bridge''. Television and theatre White's other prominent TV roles were in series 1 of the ITV drama '' The Fixer'', playing Jess Mercer, the sister of John Mercer. She also played Shannon in '' The Empresses' New Clothes'', an episode of ''Fairy Tales'', which were the BBC's modern takes on classic children's stories. In April 2011, she appeared in the BBC adaptation ''The Crimson Petal and the White''. She featured in the music video for Bush's final single "Inflatable", and starred in the Hammer Films 2012 adaptation of ''The Woman in Black'' as the eponymous woman. In July 2014, White starred as Melissa in episodes 1 and 2 of the original audio drama 'Osiris' by Everybodyelse Productions, and in 2014 as Lizzie Mottershead in BBC One's ''Our Zoo'', a drama series about the ...
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Lesley Sharp
Lesley Sharp is an English stage, film and television actress whose roles on British television include ''Clocking Off'' (2000–2001), '' Bob & Rose'' (2001) and ''Afterlife'' (2005–2006). She was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for the 1997 film ''The Full Monty''. Her other film appearances include ''Rita, Sue and Bob Too'' (1986), ''Naked'' (1993), ''Priest'' (1994), ''From Hell'' (2001) and ''Vera Drake'' (2004). Between 2011 and 2016, she starred as DC Janet Scott in the ITV drama ''Scott & Bailey''. Early life Sharp was born in Manchester, England. Sharp has stated that she started acting because, as a child, she felt "invisible" and did not "quite fit in".McLean, Gareth"A truly visible woman"''The Guardian'', 10 September 2005 (Retrieved: 21 July 2009) She has said that her inspiration to act came from watching Dick Emery on television.Billen, Andrew"Lesley Sharp shows she's married to the job in The Children"''The Times'', 30 August ...
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Heather Craney
Heather Craney (born 1971) is an English actress, known for portraying Joyce Drake in ''Vera Drake'', Alison Weaver in '' Life of Riley'' and Emily Holroyd in ''Torchwood''. Background Craney was born in Stapleford, Cambridgeshire. Her family lived in Darlington for two years during the 1980s, where Craney attended Hummersknott School. She attended Stapleford Community Primary School, Sawston Village College and Long Road Sixth Form College in Cambridgeshire, and went on to study English and drama at Liverpool Hope University, graduating in 1992.Profile – Heather Craney
''Mandy Actors''; retrieved 12 August 2009.
She trained in Acting and Musical Theatre at the

Adrian Scarborough
Adrian Philip Scarborough (born 10 May 1968) is an English actor. He has appeared in films including ''The Madness of King George'' (1994), ''Gosford Park'' (2001), ''Vera Drake'' (2004), ''The History Boys'' (2006), ''The King's Speech'' (2010), ''Les Misérables'' (2012) and '' 1917'' (2019). He is also known for his roles in television such as '' Cranford'' (2007–2009), ''Gavin & Stacey'' (2007–2010; 2019), ''Upstairs Downstairs'' (2010–2012), '' The Paradise'' (2013), '' Crashing'' (2016), ''A Very English Scandal'' (2018), ''Killing Eve'' (2019), and '' The Chelsea Detective'' (2022). Scarborough is also an accomplished theatre actor and has twice won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role; he won in 2011 for his role in the Terence Rattigan play '' After the Dance'' and in 2020 for his performance in Tom Stoppard's play ''Leopoldstadt''. Early life Scarborough was born and raised in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire. He attended Brooksby Melt ...
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Sandra Voe
Sandra Voe (born 6 October 1936) is a Scottish actress of film, television, and theatre. Career Television and films Voe began her on screen career in 1966, appearing in an episode of ''Dr. Finlay's Casebook''. She has also appeared in ''Coronation Street'', '' London's Burning'', ''Taggart'', ''Casualty'', '' Monarch of the Glen'', ''The Bill'', ''Midsomer Murders'', and ''Shetland''. Her film credits include ''Breaking the Waves'', ''Felicia's Journey'' and ''Vera Drake''. Theatre Voe has worked in theatres all over the UK, including Sheffield Crucible, Leicester Phoenix, Leicester Haymarket, Oxford Playhouse, Birmingham Rep, Manchester Royal Exchange, West Yorkshire Playhouse, Nottingham Playhouse, Bristol Old Vic, Bloomsbury, Hampstead, Lyric Hammersmith, Almeida, Bush, Shared Experience, RNT, Royal Court and Ambassadors. Her theatre performances include: * ''Romeo and Juliet'' * ''Mother Courage'' * ''The Nightingale Sang'' * ''The Government Inspector'' * '' ...
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Character Evidence
Character evidence is a term used in the law of evidence to describe any testimony or document submitted for the purpose of proving that a person acted in a particular way on a particular occasion based on the character or disposition of that person. In the United States, Federal Rule of Evidence 404 maps out its permissible and prohibited uses in trials. Three factors typically determine the admissibility of character evidence: # the purpose the character evidence is being used for # the form in which the character evidence is offered # the type of proceeding (civil or criminal) in which the character evidence is offered Purpose In the United States, character evidence may be offered at trial to: :1. prove character, if character is a substantive issue in the litigation ::admissibility of character evidence to prove character is ''not'' affected by the case's civil or criminal nature :2. prove, through circumstantial evidence, an aspect of an individual's conduct ::characte ...
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Old Bailey
The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, commonly referred to as the Old Bailey after the street on which it stands, is a criminal court building in central London, one of several that house the Crown Court of England and Wales. The street outside follows the route of the ancient wall around the City of London, which was part of the fortification's '' bailey'', hence the metonymic name. The Old Bailey has been housed in a succession of court buildings on the street since the sixteenth century, when it was attached to the medieval Newgate gaol. The current main building block was completed in 1902, designed by Edward William Mountford; its architecture is recognised and protected as a Grade II* listed building. An extension South Block was constructed in 1972, over the former site of Newgate gaol which was demolished in 1904. The Crown Court sitting in the Old Bailey hears major criminal cases from within Greater London. In exceptional cases, trials may be referred t ...
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Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and substance abuse (including alcoholism and the use of and withdrawal from benzodiazepines) are risk factors. Some suicides are impulsive acts due to stress (such as from financial or academic difficulties), relationship problems (such as breakups or divorces), or harassment and bullying. Those who have previously attempted suicide are at a higher risk for future attempts. Effective suicide prevention efforts include limiting access to methods of suicide such as firearms, drugs, and poisons; treating mental disorders and substance abuse; careful media reporting about suicide; and improving economic conditions. Although crisis hotlines are common resources, their effectiveness has not been well studied. The most commonly adopted metho ...
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