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Weston's Music Hall
Weston's Music Hall was a music hall and theatre that opened on 16 November 1857 at 242-245 High Holborn in London, England. In 1906, the theatre became known as the Holborn Empire. History Early years The theatre was constructed on the site of the ''Six Cans and Punch Bowl Tavern''. Edward Weston, nephew of the previous licensee of the pub, bought the former Holborn National Schoolrooms immediately behind the pub and rebuilt it as a music hall in six months. This purpose built hall was his response to the success of Charles Morton's Canterbury Music Hall in Lambeth. In 1861, Morton struck back by opening the Oxford Music Hall, nearby in Oxford Street; a development Weston opposed on the grounds there were already too many music halls in the area.Weston's Music Hall, at Arthur Lloyd music hall history 31 Mar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
High Holborn
High Holborn ( ) is a street in Holborn and Farringdon Without, Central London, which forms a part of the A40 route from London to Fishguard. It starts in the west at the eastern end of St Giles High Street and runs past the Kingsway and Southampton Row, becoming Holborn at its eastern junction with Gray's Inn Road. The western stretch as far as Drury Lane, was formerly known as Broad Street. On High Holborn, traffic (including cycles and buses) flows one-way westbound from its junction with Drake Street to its western end, and flows both ways for the remainder. The nearest London Underground stations are Tottenham Court Road, Holborn, and Chancery Lane, all on the Central line which runs beneath High Holborn. Landmarks along High Holborn include the Cittie of Yorke, at no. 22, and the Embassy of Cuba, at no. 167. The street was a "Feature site" for introduction of the Camden bench. High Holborn is the highest point in the City of London. At 22 metres (72 feet) above s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
West End Theatre
West End theatre is mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres in and near the West End of London.Christopher Innes, "West End" in ''The Cambridge Guide to Theatre'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998), pp. 1194–1195, Along with New York City's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English-speaking world. Seeing a West End show is a common tourist activity in London. Famous screen actors, British and international alike, frequently appear on the London stage. There are a total of 39 theatres in the West End, with the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, opened in May 1663, the oldest theatre in London. The Savoy Theatre – built as a showcase for the popular series of comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan – was entirely lit by electricity in 1881. Opening in October 2022, @sohoplace is the first new West End theatre in 50 years. The Society of London Theatre (SOLT) announced ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vera Lynn
Dame Vera Margaret Lynn (; 20 March 191718 June 2020) was an English singer and entertainer whose musical recordings and performances were very popular during World War II. She is honorifically known as the " Forces' Sweetheart", having given outdoor concerts for the troops in Egypt, India and Burma during the war as part of the Entertainments National Service Association (ENSA). The songs most associated with her include "We'll Meet Again", " (There'll Be Bluebirds Over) The White Cliffs of Dover", "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square" and "There'll Always Be an England". She remained popular after the war, appearing on radio and television in the United Kingdom and the United States, and recording such hits as "Auf Wiederseh'n, Sweetheart" and her UK number-one single "My Son, My Son". Her last single, "I Love This Land", was released to mark the end of the Falklands War. In 2009, at the age of 92, she became the oldest living artist to top the UK Albums Chart with the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Florence Desmond
Florence Dawson (31 May 1905 – 16 January 1993), better known by her stage name Florence Desmond, was an English actress, comedian and impersonator. Biography Early life and career Born in London in 1905, Desmond was educated at the Dame Alice Owen's School in Islington. Her brother, Fred Desmond, was a comedy acrobat from the "Desmond and Marks" double act. She began her stage career at the age of ten. Upon leaving school in 1920, she embarked on a long and successful career in the theatre, especially as an impersonator of famous stars. She appeared extensively in radio, theatre and occasionally in the cinema. Her recording of the risqué song "The Deepest Shelter in Town" has been featured in multiple World War II music compilations. She was the subject of ''This Is Your Life'' in 1959 when she was surprised by Eamonn Andrews at London's Adelphi Theatre. Personal life She was married twice, first to the aviator Tom Campbell Black from 1935–1936 and, after Black's de ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Max Miller (comedian)
Thomas Henry Sargent (21 November 1894 – 7 May 1963), known professionally by his stage name Max Miller and billed as The Cheeky Chappie, was an English comedian often considered the greatest stand-up of his generation. He came from humble beginnings and left school at the age of twelve. At the outbreak of the First World War, he volunteered for the army. During his time in the forces, he started a troupe concert party. On leaving the army, he took up work as a light comedian, dancer, and singer. He toured extensively, appearing in variety, revues and by the early 1930s reached the top of the bill in the large music halls including the London Palladium. He recorded many songs, some of which he wrote. He appeared frequently on radio and starred in fourteen feature films. He was known for his flamboyant suits, his wicked charm, and his risqué jokes often led to difficulties with the censors. He made his last recording in January 1963 and died four months later. Early years Mi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
A Midsummer Night's Dream
''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a comedy written by William Shakespeare 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict among four Athenian lovers. Another follows a group of six amateur actors rehearsing the play which they are to perform before the wedding. Both groups find themselves in a forest inhabited by fairies who manipulate the humans and are engaged in their own domestic intrigue. The play is one of Shakespeare's most popular and is widely performed. Characters * Theseus—Duke of Athens * Hippolyta—Queen of the Amazons * Egeus—father of Hermia * Hermia—daughter of Egeus, in love with Lysander * Lysander—in love with Hermia * Demetrius—suitor to Hermia * Helena—in love with Demetrius * Philostrate—Master of the Revels * Peter Quince—a carpenter * Nick Bottom—a weaver * Francis Flute—a bellows-mender * Tom Snout—a tinker * ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Margaret Lockwood
Margaret Mary Day Lockwood, CBE (15 September 1916 – 15 July 1990), was an English actress. One of Britain's most popular film stars of the 1930s and 1940s, her film appearances included ''The Lady Vanishes'' (1938), ''Night Train to Munich'' (1940), ''The Man in Grey'' (1943), and ''The Wicked Lady'' (1945). She was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best British Actress for the 1955 film ''Cast a Dark Shadow''. She also starred in the television series ''Justice'' (1971–74). Early life Lockwood was born on 15 September 1916 in Karachi, British India, to Henry Francis Lockwood, an English administrator of a railway company, and his third wife, Scottish-born Margaret Eveline Waugh. She returned to England in 1920 with her mother, brother 'Lyn' and half-brother Frank, and a further half-sister 'Fay' joined them the following year, but her father remained in Karachi, visiting them infrequently. She also had another half-brother, John, from her father's first marriage, brought ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Val Parnell
Valentine Charles Parnell (14 February 1892 – 22 September 1972) was a British television managing director and presenter, actor and theatrical impresario. A former staple of stage production, his career in television started with the launch of the ITV network in 1955. Life and career Parnell was born in London, the son of Fred Russell, a ventriloquist, and began his theatrical career at age 13 working as an office boy for a music-hall circuit. In 1945, after George Black's death he took over as managing director of the Moss Empires music hall and variety circuit, in charge of some of London's most well-known theatres, including the London Palladium, The Victoria Palace and the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. He adopted a controversial, but very successful, policy of presenting high-priced, big-name American acts at the top of the bill. Among many, the list included Carmen Miranda, Judy Garland, Sophie Tucker, Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, the Andrews Sisters w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flanagan And Allen
Flanagan and Allen were a British singing and comedy double act most active during the 1930s and 1940s. Its members were Bud Flanagan (1896 – 1968, born Chaim Weintrop) and Chesney Allen (1894–1982). They were first paired in a Florrie Forde revue, and were booked by Val Parnell to appear at the Holborn Empire in 1929. Career As music hall comedians, they would often feature a mixture of comedy and music in their act; this led to a successful recording career as a duo and roles in film and television. Just prior to and throughout the Second World War they appeared in several films helmed by Marcel Varnel and John Baxter. Flanagan and Allen were both also members of the Crazy Gang and worked with that team for many years concurrently with their double-act career. Flanagan and Allen's songs featured the same, usually gentle, humour for which the duo were known in their live performances, and during the Second World War they reflected the experiences of ordinary people dur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kinemacolor
Kinemacolor was the first successful colour motion picture process, used commercially from 1908 to 1914. It was invented by George Albert Smith in 1906. He was influenced by the work of William Norman Lascelles Davidson and, more directly, Edward Raymond Turner. It was launched by Charles Urban's Urban Trading Co. of London in 1908. From 1909 on, the process was known and trademarked as Kinemacolor. It was a two-colour additive colour process, photographing and projecting a black-and-white film behind alternating red and green filters. Process "How to Make and Operate Moving Pictures" published by Funk & Wagnalls in 1917 notes the following: Premiere The first motion picture exhibited in Kinemacolor was an eight-minute short filmed in Brighton titled ''A Visit to the Seaside'', which was trade shown in September 1908. On 26 February 1909, the general public first saw Kinemacolor in a programme of twenty-one short films shown at the Palace Theatre in London. The proce ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Melodrama
A modern melodrama is a dramatic work in which the plot, typically sensationalized and for a strong emotional appeal, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodramas typically concentrate on dialogue that is often bombastic or excessively sentimental, rather than action. Characters are often flat, and written to fulfill stereotypes. Melodramas are typically set in the private sphere of the home, focusing on morality and family issues, love, and marriage, often with challenges from an outside source, such as a "temptress", a scoundrel, or an aristocratic villain. A melodrama on stage, filmed, or on television is usually accompanied by dramatic and suggestive music that offers cues to the audience of the drama being presented. In scholarly and historical musical contexts, ''melodramas'' are Victorian dramas in which orchestral music or song was used to accompany the action. The term is now also applied to stage performances without incidental music, novels, films, tel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marie Lloyd
Matilda Alice Victoria Wood (12 February 1870 – 7 October 1922), professionally known as Marie Lloyd (), was an English music hall singer, comedian and musical theatre actress. She was best known for her performances of songs such as " The Boy I Love Is Up in the Gallery", " My Old Man (Said Follow the Van)" and " Oh Mr Porter What Shall I Do". She received both criticism and praise for her use of innuendo and double entendre during her performances, but enjoyed a long and prosperous career, during which she was affectionately called the "Queen of the Music Hall". Born in London, she was showcased by her father at the Eagle Tavern in Hoxton. In 1884, she made her professional début as Bella Delmere; she changed her stage name to Marie Lloyd the following year. In 1885, she had success with her song "The Boy I Love Is Up in the Gallery", and she frequently topped the bill at prestigious theatres in London's West End. In 1891, she was recruited by the impresario Augustus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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