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''The Stage'' is a British weekly newspaper and website covering the entertainment industry and particularly theatre. It was founded in 1880. It contains news, reviews, opinion, features, and recruitment advertising, mainly directed at those who work in theatre and the performing arts.


History

The first edition of ''The Stage'' was published (under the title ''The Stage Directory – a London and Provincial Theatrical Advertiser'') on 1 February 1880 at a cost of three old pence for twelve pages. Publication was monthly until 25 March 1881, when the first weekly edition was produced. At the same time, the name was shortened to ''The Stage'' and the publication numbering restarted at number 1. The publication was a joint venture between founding editor Charles Lionel Carson and business manager Maurice Comerford. It operated from offices opposite the
Theatre Royal, Drury Lane The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, commonly known as Drury Lane, is a West End theatre and Grade I listed building in Covent Garden, London, England. The building faces Catherine Street (earlier named Bridges or Brydges Street) and backs onto ...
. Carson, whose real name was Lionel Courtier-Dutton, was cited as the founder. His wife Emily Courtier Dutton later founded several theatrical charities. ''The Stage'' entered a crowded market, with many other theatre titles (including '' The Era'') in circulation. Undercutting their rivals, Carson and Comerford dropped the price of the paper to one
penny A penny is a coin ( pennies) or a unit of currency (pl. pence) in various countries. Borrowed from the Carolingian denarius (hence its former abbreviation d.), it is usually the smallest denomination within a currency system. Presently, it is t ...
; soon it became the only remaining title in the field. The newspaper has remained in family ownership. Upon the death in 1937 of Charles Carson's son Lionel, who had assumed the joint role of managing director and editor, control passed to the Comerford family. From 1995, the newspaper has awarded The Stage Awards for Acting Excellence at the
Edinburgh Festival Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 dif ...
. In 2004, 96-year-old contributor
Simon Blumenfeld Simon Blumenfeld (25 November 1907 – 13 April 2005) was a British columnist, author, playwright, theatre critic, editor and communist. Although he described himself as Jewish, he was born to a family of Sicily#Demographics, Sicilian refugee ...
was recognised by ''
Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
'' as the world's oldest weekly newspaper columnist. The column continued until shortly before his death in 2005. The Stage Awards were launched in 2010. They are given annually and recognise outstanding organisations working in theatre and beyond in the following categories: London theatre, regional theatre, producer, school, fringe theatre, theatre building, unsung hero and international. In August 2013, ''The Stage'' launched The Stage Castings, an online casting service with a video audition function. In May 2019, ''The Stage'' partnered with the Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation and UK Theatre to launch Get Into Theatre, a website dedicated to theatre careers.


Careers started via ''The Stage''

In 1956, writer John Osborne submitted his script for '' Look Back in Anger'' in response to an advertisement by the soon-to-be-relaunched
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.
Dusty Springfield Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien (16 April 1939 – 2 March 1999), known professionally as Dusty Springfield, was an English singer. With her distinctive mezzo-soprano sound, she was a popular singer of blue-eyed soul, pop and dra ...
responded to an advertisement for female singers in 1958. Idris Elba got his first acting role in a play after applying to a job ad in the paper.
Harold Pinter Harold Pinter (; 10 October 1930 – 24 December 2008) was a British playwright, screenwriter, director and actor. A Nobel Prize winner, Pinter was one of the most influential modern British dramatists with a writing career that span ...
gained his first job after responding to an advert and
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landed the lead in ''The Billy Trilogy'', in the BBC ''
Play for Today ''Play for Today'' is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more than three hundred programmes, featuring original television plays, and adaptations of stag ...
'' series, after it was advertised in the paper. The creation of Internationalist Theatre was first announced in the Stage editorial in April 1981. Ricky Tomlinson responded to an ad for ''United Kingdom'', another ''Play for Today'', in 1981 and Sandi Toksvig landed her first television job playing the part of Ethel in '' No. 73'' after answering an ad in ''The Stage''. Television presenter Maggie Philbin won her first major role, as a co-presenter of '' Multi-Coloured Swap Shop'', after answering an advertisement in ''The Stage''. A number of pop groups have recruited all or some of their members through advertisements placed in the newspaper, most notably the
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in 1994,The Spice Girls; Cripps, Rebecca; & Peachey, Mal (1997). ''Real Life: Real Spice The Official Story''. London: Zone Publishers. Scooch in 1998 and 5ive in 1997. Lee Mead (the actor who won
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talent show '' Any Dream Will Do'' to gain the lead role in ''
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'') got his first professional job, working on a cruise ship, through a recruitment ad in the paper. Lee Mead interview, '' Midweek'', broadcast on
BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of Talk radio, spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history fro ...
, 11 July 2007.
Television presenter Ben Shephard auditioned for GMTV children's show Diggit following an advert in ''The Stage''. While he did not get the part, he met Andi Peters, who subsequently hired him for the
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
youth strand T4.Mary Comerford, "Stepping up", ''The Stage'', 12 July 2007. Charles Dance landed his first role in a Welsh theatre and Alexandra Burke stated in an interview "My mum used to buy ''The Stage'' all the time for auditions for me. That's how I got to go on
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'' Star for a Night'' with Jane McDonald." Olivier Award-winning actor Sharon D. Clarke found her first role at Battersea Arts Centre through an audition advert in the paper. Lisa Scott-Lee revealed that pop band
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were formed through an advert in ''The Stage''. Sir Michael Caine stated in an interview with Steve Wright on BBC Radio 2 that at the beginning of his career he applied for acting roles he found in ''The Stage''.


Editors

* 1880–1901 Charles Carson * 1901–1904 Maurice Comerford * 1904–1937 Lionel Carson * 1937–1943 Bernard Weller * 1943–1952 S. R. Littlewood * 1952–1972 Eric Johns * 1972–1992 Peter Hepple * 1992–1994 Jeremy Jehu * 1994–2014 Brian Attwood * 2014–2017 Alistair Smith (print) and Paddy Smith (online) * 2017–present Alistair Smith


''The Stage and Television Today''

In 1959 ''The Stage'' was relaunched as ''The Stage and Television Today'', incorporating a pull-out supplement dedicated to broadcasting news and features. Derek Hoddinott, the main paper's TV editor, became editor of the new supplement. The name and supplement remained until 1995, when broadcasting coverage was re-incorporated into the main paper. The name on the masthead reverted to ''The Stage'', but in 2006, the paper introduced a blog concentrating on television, named ''TV Today''.


Digital archive

The paper's full content from 1880–2007 is available digitally via subscription.


Quotations

* "The moment you have arrived in the profession is when you realise you don't have to read ''The Stage''" –
Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time (magazine), Time'' magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combina ...
(attributed) * "The stage would not be the stage without ''The Stage''" –
Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier (; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director who, along with his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud, was one of a trio of male actors who dominated the British stage o ...
(''The Stage'', 25 October 1976)


References


External links

*
''The Stage'' reviews of Internationalist Theatre productions London during the editorship of Peter Hepple
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stage, The 1880 establishments in the United Kingdom Magazines established in 1880 Theatre in the United Kingdom Theatre magazines Weekly magazines published in the United Kingdom Magazines published in London