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Viva Birkett
Viva Birkett (14 February 1887 – 27 June 1934) was a British stage actress active on both sides of the Atlantic over the early decades of the twentieth century. Early life and career Valentine (originally recorded as Valentina) Viola Birkett was born on Saint Valentine's Day, 1887 at the historic coastal town of Exeter in the south west of England. She was the daughter of William Henry and Myra Martha Birkett, both natives of Exeter, where her father worked as a woollen merchant. Viva studied acting under the American thespian Kate Bateman (1842–1917) and made her London stage debut on 28 June 1906 as a guest performer at the Lyric Theatre in a revival of '' Monsieur Beaucaire'' and her New York City debut at the Hudson Theatre on 30 August of that same year playing Helen Plugenet in ''Hypocrites''. For the remainder of her career she would continue to perform in London and New York and tour with companies headed by George Arliss, Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree, and Henry Jowet ...
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Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe and Asia from the "New World" of the Americas in the European perception of the World. The Atlantic Ocean occupies an elongated, S-shaped basin extending longitudinally between Europe and Africa to the east, and North and South America to the west. As one component of the interconnected World Ocean, it is connected in the north to the Arctic Ocean, to the Pacific Ocean in the southwest, the Indian Ocean in the southeast, and the Southern Ocean in the south (other definitions describe the Atlantic as extending southward to Antarctica). The Atlantic Ocean is divided in two parts, by the Equatorial Counter Current, with the North(ern) Atlantic Ocean and the South(ern) Atlantic Ocean split at about 8°N. Scientific explorations of the A ...
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Henry Arthur Jones
Henry Arthur Jones (20 September 1851 – 7 January 1929) was an English dramatist, who was first noted for his melodrama '' The Silver King'' (1882), and went on to write prolifically, often appearing to mirror Ibsen from the opposite (conservative) viewpoint. As a right-winger, he engaged in extensive debates with left-wing writers such as George Bernard Shaw and H.G. Wells. Biography Jones was born at Granborough, Buckinghamshire, to Silvanus Jones, a farmer. Until he was 13, he attended Grace's Classical and Commercial Academy in Winslow, where he inherited property on his father's death in 1914. He began to earn his living early, his spare time being given to literary pursuits. Career overview He was twenty-seven before his first piece, ''It's Only Round the Corner'', was produced at the Exeter Theatre, but within four years of his debut as a dramatist he scored a great success with '' The Silver King'' (November 1882), written with Henry Herman, a melodrama produced by ...
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George Du Maurier
George Louis Palmella Busson du Maurier (6 March 1834 – 8 October 1896) was a Franco-British cartoonist and writer known for work in ''Punch'' and a Gothic novel ''Trilby'', featuring the character Svengali. His son was the actor Sir Gerald du Maurier. The writers Angela du Maurier and Dame Daphne du Maurier and the artist Jeanne du Maurier were all granddaughters of George. He was also father of Sylvia Llewelyn Davies and grandfather of the five boys who inspired J. M. Barrie's ''Peter Pan''. Early life George du Maurier was born in Paris, France, son of Louis-Mathurin Busson du Maurier and wife Ellen Clarke, daughter of the Regency courtesan Mary Anne Clarke. He was brought up to believe his aristocratic grandparents had fled from France during the Revolution, leaving vast estates behind, to live in England as émigrés. In fact, du Maurier's grandfather, Robert-Mathurin Busson, was a tradesman who left Paris, France, in 1789 to avoid charges of fraud and later changed th ...
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Trilby (1914 Film)
''Trilby'' is a 1914 British silent drama film directed by Harold M. Shaw and starring Herbert Beerbohm Tree, Viva Birkett, and Charles Rock. It is based on Tree's 1895 stage production of ''Trilby'', itself an adaptation of the 1894 novel of the same name by George du Maurier. Premise Trilby, a young singer, falls under the dominance of Svengali. Cast * Herbert Beerbohm Tree – Svengali * Viva Birkett – Trilby O'Farrell * Charles Rock – Sandy McAllister * Ion Swinley – Little Billee * Philip Merivale Philip Merivale (2 November 1886 – 12 March 1946) was an English film and stage actor and screenwriter. Life and career Merivale was born in Rehutia, Manickpur, India, to railway engineer Walter Merivale (1855–1902) and Emma Magd ... – Taffy Wynne * Wyndham Guise – Mr O'Ferrall * Cicely Richards – Madame Vinard * Douglas Munro – Reverend Bagot References External links * 1914 films 1914 drama films 1910s English-language films Fi ...
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Garrick Theatre
The Garrick Theatre is a West End theatre, located in Charing Cross Road, in the City of Westminster, named after the stage actor David Garrick. It opened in 1889 with ''The Profligate'', a play by Arthur Wing Pinero, and another Pinero play, '' The Notorious Mrs. Ebbsmith'', was an early success at the theatre. In its early years, the Garrick appears to have specialised in the performance of melodrama. The theatre later became associated with comedies, including ''No Sex Please, We're British'', which played for four years from 1982 to 1986. History There was previously another theatre that was sometimes called the Garrick in London, in Leman Street, opened in 1831 and demolished in 1881.Allingham, Philip V"Theatres in Victorian London" The Victorian Web, 29 November 2015 The new Garrick Theatre was financed in 1889 by the playwright W. S. Gilbert, the author of over 75 plays, including the Gilbert and Sullivan comic operas. It was designed by Walter Emden, with C. J. P ...
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Stanley Houghton
William Stanley Houghton (22 February 1881 – 11 December 1913) was an English playwright. He was a prominent member, together with Allan Monkhouse and Harold Brighouse, of a group known as the Manchester School of dramatists. His best known play is '' Hindle Wakes'' which was written in 1910 and performed in 1912. Early life William Stanley Houghton was born at 1 Amy Villas, Doveston Road, Ashton-upon-Mersey, Sale, Cheshire, the only son of John Hartley Houghton, a cotton merchant in Manchester, and Lucy Mary (née Darbyshire).Victor Emeljanow"Houghton, (William) Stanley (1881–1913)" oxforddnb.com; accessed 17 November 2008. In 1896, the family moved to 2 Athol Road, Alexandra Park, Manchester, some two miles from the city centre. Houghton was educated at Bowdon College and at Manchester Grammar School. Upon leaving school in 1897, he started working full-time in his father's office and continued to do this until 1912. During this time he was an amateur actor ...
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Trust The People
''Trust the People'' is a 1913 play by the British writer Stanley Houghton, who had gained popular attention with his hit '' Hindle Wakes'' the previous year. It centres around the activities of a group of government officials. It ran for 44 performances at the Garrick Theatre in London's West End between 6 February and 13 March 1913. The original cast included Arthur Bourchier, Clifford Heatherley, Herbert Bunston, Cedric Hardwicke, Barbara Gott and Viva Birkett. A review in ''The Times'' felt the play showed Houghton was out of his depth writing works beyond his own personal experience, in contrast to his more successful Lancashire-set works, while another reviewer felt it was "theatrically exciting" if flawed.Wearing p.312-13 The play was running in the West End at the same time as Houghton's latest hit ''The Younger Generation ''The Younger Generation'' is a 1929 American part-talkie drama film directed by Frank Capra and starring Ricardo Cortez. It was produced by Jac ...
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Duke Of York's Theatre
The Duke of York's Theatre is a West End theatre in St Martin's Lane, in the City of Westminster, London. It was built for Frank Wyatt and his wife, Violet Melnotte, who retained ownership of the theatre until her death in 1935. Designed by the architect Walter Emden, it opened on 10 September 1892 as the Trafalgar Square Theatre, and was renamed to Trafalgar Theatre in 1894. The following year, it became the Duke of York's to honour the future King George V. The theatre's opening show was comic opera ''The Wedding Eve'' by Frédéric Toulmouche. One of the earliest musical comedies, ''Go-Bang'', was a success at the theatre in 1894. In 1900, Jerome K. Jerome's ''Miss Hobbs'' was staged as well as David Belasco's ''Madame Butterfly'', which was seen by Puccini, who later turned it into the famous opera. This was also the theatre where J. M. Barrie's ''Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up'' debuted on 27 December 1904. Many famous British actors have appeared here, includ ...
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Peter And Wendy
''Peter Pan; or, the Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up'' or ''Peter and Wendy'', often known simply as ''Peter Pan'', is a work by J. M. Barrie, in the form of a 1904 play and a 1911 novel. Both versions tell the story of Peter Pan, a mischievous little boy who can fly, and has many adventures on the island of Neverland that is inhabited by mermaids, fairies, Native Americans, and pirates. The Peter Pan stories also involve the characters Wendy Darling and her two brothers John and Michael, Peter's fairy Tinker Bell, the Lost Boys, and the pirate Captain Hook. The play and novel were inspired by Barrie's friendship with the Llewelyn Davies family. Barrie continued to revise the play for years after its debut until publication of the play script in 1928. The play debuted at the Duke of York's Theatre in London on 27 December 1904 with Nina Boucicault, daughter of the playwright Dion Boucicault, in the title role. A Broadway production was mounted in 1905 starring Maude Adams. It ...
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Lady Macduff
Lady Macduff is a character in William Shakespeare's ''Macbeth''. She is married to Macduff (Macbeth), Lord Macduff, the Thane of Fife. Her appearance in the play is brief: she and her Macduff's son, son are introduced in Act IV Scene II, a climactic scene that ends with both of them being murdered on Macbeth (character), Macbeth's orders. Though Lady Macduff's appearance is limited to this scene, her role in the play is quite significant. Later playwrights, William Davenant especially, expanded her role in adaptation and in performance. Origin Macduff and Lady Macduff appear in both Raphael Holinshed's ''Chronicles'' (1577) and Hector Boece's ''Scotorum Historiæ'' (1526).Davis, J. Madison, and A. Daniel Frankforter. " The Shakespeare Name Dictionary . London: Routledge, 2004. 568–569. Print. Holinshed's ''Chronicles'' was Shakespeare's main source for ''Macbeth'', though he diverged from the ''Chronicles'' significantly by delaying Macduff's knowledge of his wife's murder un ...
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Macbeth
''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those who seek power. Of all the plays that Shakespeare wrote during the reign of James I, ''Macbeth'' most clearly reflects his relationship with King James, patron of Shakespeare's acting company. It was first published in the Folio of 1623, possibly from a prompt book, and is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy. A brave Scottish general named Macbeth receives a prophecy from a trio of witches that one day he will become King of Scotland. Consumed by ambition and spurred to action by his wife, Macbeth murders King Duncan and takes the Scottish throne for himself. He is then wracked with guilt and paranoia. Forced to commit more and more murders to protect himself from enmity and suspicion, he soon becomes a tyrannical ruler. The bloodbath and ...
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The Merry Wives Of Windsor
''The Merry Wives of Windsor'' or ''Sir John Falstaff and the Merry Wives of Windsor'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare first published in 1602, though believed to have been written in or before 1597. The Windsor of the play's title is a reference to the town of Windsor, also the location of Windsor Castle, in Berkshire, England. Though nominally set in the reign of Henry IV or early in the reign of Henry V, the play makes no pretence to exist outside contemporary Elizabethan-era English middle-class life. It features the character Sir John Falstaff, the fat knight who had previously been featured in ''Henry IV, Part 1'' and '' Part 2''. It has been adapted for the opera at least ten times. The play is one of Shakespeare's lesser-regarded works among literary critics. Tradition has it that ''The Merry Wives of Windsor'' was written at the request of Queen Elizabeth I. After watching ''Henry IV Part I'', she asked Shakespeare to write a play depicting Falstaff in love. Char ...
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