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Monopolylogue
A monopolylogue is a form of entertainment in which one actor plays many characters. Pioneered by English actor Charles Mathews and Albert Smith and first used in 1824, later used in Shakespearen performances by the performer Henry Kemble from 1846 to 1859. Matthews referred to the genre meaning where he would play "half a dozen characters", and he would switch between characters through quickly changing costumes, ventriloquism, and "sharp differentiation of character". The genre is believed to had influence on the writings of Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e .... The term and genre has been revived in the late 20th and early 21st century. References {{Reflist Theatrical genres ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charles Mathews
Charles Mathews (28 June 1776, London – 28 June 1835, Devonport) was an English theatre manager and comic actor, well known during his time for his gift of impersonation and skill at table entertainment. His play ''At Home'', in which he played every character, was the first monopolylogue and the defining work in the genre. Early life Charles was born to James Mathews (died 1804), a Wesleyan Methodist bookseller, printer, and pharmacist on the Strand, who also served as minister in one of the Countess of Huntingdon's chapels. Charles was educated at Merchant Taylors' School in London, which had some openings for common boys. He was next apprenticed to his father. For religious reasons, the father forbade his children from visiting theatres. During his youth, Charles met the actor Robert William Elliston; after attending the Drury Lane theatre, he was utterly fascinated by that world. Charles left his father in September 1793 for his first public stage appearance at Ric ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era.. His works enjoyed unprecedented popularity during his lifetime and, by the 20th century, critics and scholars had recognised him as a literary genius. His novels and short stories are widely read today. Born in Portsmouth, Dickens left school at the age of 12 to work in a boot-blacking factory when his father was incarcerated in a debtors' prison. After three years he returned to school, before he began his literary career as a journalist. Dickens edited a weekly journal for 20 years, wrote 15 novels, five novellas, hundreds of short stories and non-fiction articles, lectured and performed readings extensively, was an indefatigable letter writer, and campaigned vigorously for children's rights, for education, and for other social ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Albert Richard Smith
Albert Richard Smith (24 May 181623 May 1860) was an English author, entertainer, and mountaineer. Biography Literary career Smith was born at Chertsey, Surrey. The son of a surgeon, he studied medicine in London and in Paris, and his first literary effort was an account of his life in Paris, which appeared in the ''Mirror''. He gradually abandoned his medical work in favour of writing. Though a journalist rather than a literary figure, he was one of the most popular writers of his time, and a favourite humorist. He was one of the early contributors to ''Punch'' 1842, and was also a regular contributor to Richard Bentley's ''Miscellany'', in whose pages his first and best book, the novel ''The Adventures of Mr Ledbury'', appeared in 1842. His other novels were ''The Fortunes of the Scattergood Family'' (1845), ''The Marchioness of Brinvilliers: The Poisoner of the Seventeenth Century'' (1846), ''The Struggles and Adventures of Christopher Tadpole'' (1848), and ''The Pottleto ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shakespearean Performances
Thousands of performances of William Shakespeare's plays have been staged since the end of the 16th century. While Shakespeare was alive, many of his greatest plays were performed by the Lord Chamberlain's Men and King's Men acting companies at the Globe and Blackfriars Theatres. Among the actors of these original performances were Richard Burbage (who played the title role in the first performances of ''Hamlet'', ''Othello'', ''Richard III'' and ''King Lear''), Richard Cowley, and William Kempe. Shakespeare's plays continued to be staged after his death until the Interregnum (1642–1660), when most public stage performances were banned by the Puritan rulers. After the English Restoration, Shakespeare's plays were performed in playhouses, with elaborate scenery, and staged with music, dancing, thunder, lightning, wave machines, and fireworks. During this time the texts were "reformed" and "improved" for the stage, an undertaking which has seemed shockingly disrespectful to pos ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Henry Kemble
Henry Kemble (1 June 1848 – 17 November 1907) was a British actor. A member of the famed Kemble family, he was the grandson of Charles Kemble. Life He was born in London, the son of Henry Kemble, a captain of the 37th Foot, and educated at Maze Hill School Greenwich, King's College School and King's College London. In 1865 he took a post in the privy council office, but spent much of his time in amateur theatre, before making his professional début at the Theatre Royal, Dublin, on 7 October 1867. After a year or so as a junior member of the company there, he took old men and character parts in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Scarborough and Newcastle upon Tyne. On 29 August 1874 he made his first appearance in London at Drury Lane as Tony Foster in Andrew Halliday's ''Amy Robsart'' and was the original Philip of France in the same author's ''Richard Coeur de Lion''. He then took the part of Dr Caius in ''The Merry Wives of Windsor'' before joining John Hare's company at the Royal Court ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ventriloquism
Ventriloquism, or ventriloquy, is a performance act of stagecraft in which a person (a ventriloquist) creates the illusion that their voice is coming from elsewhere, usually a puppeteered prop known as a "dummy". The act of ventriloquism is ventriloquizing, and the ability to do so is commonly called in English the ability to "throw" one's voice. History Origins Originally, ventriloquism was a religious practice. The name comes from the Latin for 'to speak from the stomach: (belly) and (speak). The Greeks called this gastromancy ( grc-gre, εγγαστριμυθία). The noises produced by the stomach were thought to be the voices of the unliving, who took up residence in the stomach of the ventriloquist. The ventriloquist would then interpret the sounds, as they were thought to be able to speak to the dead, as well as foretell the future. One of the earliest recorded group of prophets to use this technique was the Pythia, the priestess at the temple of Apollo in Delphi, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
