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Anne Atkins
Anne Atkins is an English novelist, writer and broadcaster. The author of four novels – ''The Lost Child'', ''On Our Own,'' ''A Fine and Private Place'', and ''An Elegant Solution'' – as well as three books of non-fiction, she is a frequent contributor to the ''Today (BBC Radio 4), Today'' programme's ''Thought for the Day'' feature. Family and education Anne Atkins (née Briggs) was born at Bryanston, Dorset, and moved to Cambridge at the age of three when her father, David Briggs (English Headmaster), David Briggs, became headmaster of King's College School, Cambridge, King's College School, where her mother Mary taught mathematics with Andrew Wiles and Timothy Gowers among her pupils. She went to the Perse School for Girls in Cambridge, then to the Etienne Decroux School of Mime in Paris, France, Paris where she studied harp under Solange Renié-Siguret. She then studied English language and Literature at Brasenose College, Oxford, after which trained at the Webber Dougla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Footlights
The Cambridge Footlights, commonly referred to simply as Footlights, is a student sketch comedy troupe located in Cambridge, England. Footlights was founded in 1883, and is one of Britain's oldest student sketch comedy troupes. The comedy society is run by the students of the University of Cambridge. History Footlights' inaugural performance took place in June 1883. For some months before the name "Footlights" was chosen, the group had performed to local audiences in the Cambridge area (once, with a cricket match included, at the "pauper lunatic asylum"). They wished to go wider than the Cambridge University Amateur Dramatic Club (ADC), founded in 1855, with its membership drawn largely from Trinity College, and its theatre seating only 100. They were to perform every May Week at the Theatre Royal, Barnwell, Cambridge, the shows soon open to the public. A local paper commended the club's appeal to the "general public, the many different classes of which life in Cambridge ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Private Lives
''Private Lives'' is a 1930 comedy of manners in three acts by Noël Coward. It concerns a divorced couple who, while honeymooning with their new spouses, discover that they are staying in adjacent rooms at the same hotel. Despite a perpetually stormy relationship, they realise that they still have feelings for each other. Its second-act love scene was nearly censored in Britain as too risqué. Coward wrote one of his most popular songs, ‘Someday I'll Find You’, for the play. After touring the British provinces, the play opened the new Phoenix Theatre (London), Phoenix Theatre in London in 1930, starring Coward, Gertrude Lawrence, Adrianne Allen and Laurence Olivier. A Broadway theatre, Broadway production followed in 1931, and the play has been revived at least a half-dozen times each in the West End theatre, West End and on Broadway. The leading roles have attracted a wide range of actors: among those who have succeeded Coward as Elyot are Robert Stephens, Richard Burton ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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'' called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise"."Noel Coward at 70" ''Time'', 26 December 1969, p. 46 Coward attended a dance academy in London as a child, making his professional stage début at the age of eleven. As a teenager he was introduced into the high society in which most of his plays would be set. Coward achieved enduring success as a playwright, publishing more than 50 plays from his teens onwards. Many of his works, such as ''Hay Fever (play), Hay Fever'', ''Private Lives'', ''Design for Living'', ''Pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Comedy Of Errors
''The Comedy of Errors'' is one of William Shakespeare's early plays. It is his shortest and one of his most farcical comedies, with a major part of the humour coming from slapstick and mistaken identity, in addition to puns and word play. It has been adapted for opera, stage, screen and musical theatre numerous times worldwide. In the centuries following its premiere, the play's title has entered the popular English lexicon as an idiom for "an event or series of events made ridiculous by the number of errors that were made throughout". Set in the Greek city of Ephesus, ''The Comedy of Errors'' tells the story of two sets of identical twins who were accidentally separated at birth. Antipholus of Syracuse and his servant, Dromio of Syracuse, arrive in Ephesus, which turns out to be the home of their twin brothers, Antipholus of Ephesus and his servant, Dromio of Ephesus. When the Syracusans encounter the friends and families of their twins, a series of wild mishaps based ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Love's Labour's Lost
''Love's Labour's Lost'' is one of William Shakespeare's early comedies, believed to have been written in the mid-1590s for a performance at the Inns of Court before Queen Elizabeth I. It follows the King of Navarre and his three companions as they attempt to swear off the company of women for three years in order to focus on study and fasting. Their subsequent infatuation with the Princess of France and her ladies makes them forsworn (break their oath). In an untraditional ending for a comedy, the play closes with the death of the Princess's father, and all weddings are delayed for a year. The play draws on themes of masculine love and desire, reckoning and rationalisation, and reality versus fantasy. Though first published in quarto in 1598, the play's title page suggests a revision of an earlier version of the play. There are no obvious sources for the play's plot. The use of apostrophes in the play's title varies in early editions, though it is most commonly given as ''Love ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stephen Fry
Sir Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director, narrator and writer. He came to prominence as a member of the comic act Fry and Laurie alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring in ''A Bit of Fry & Laurie'' (1989–1995) and ''Jeeves and Wooster'' (1990–1993). He also starred in the sketch series ''Alfresco (TV series), Alfresco'' (1983–1984) with Laurie, Emma Thompson, and Robbie Coltrane, and in ''Blackadder'' (1986–1989) alongside Rowan Atkinson. Since 2011 he has served as president of the mental health charity Mind (charity), Mind. In 2025, he was Knight Bachelor, knighted for services to mental health awareness, the environment and charity. Fry's film acting roles include playing Oscar Wilde in the film ''Wilde (film), Wilde'' (1997), for which he was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama, Golden Globe Award for Best Actor; Inspector Thompson in Robert Altman's murder mystery ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hugh Laurie
James Hugh Calum Laurie (; born 11 June 1959) is an English actor, comedian, singer, musician and writer. He first gained professional recognition as a member of the English comedy double act Fry and Laurie with Stephen Fry. Fry and Laurie acted together in a number of projects during the 1980s and 1990s, including the BBC sketch comedy series ''A Bit of Fry & Laurie'' and the P. G. Wodehouse adaptation ''Jeeves and Wooster''. From 1986 to 1989 he appeared in three series of the period comedy ''Blackadder'', first as a recurring guest star in the last two episodes of ''Blackadder II'', before joining the main cast in ''Blackadder the Third'', and going on to appear in ''Blackadder Goes Forth'' and many related specials. From 2004 to 2012, Laurie starred as Gregory House, Dr. Gregory House on the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox medical drama series ''House (TV series), House''. He received two Golden Globe Awards and many other accolades for the role. He was listed in the 2011 ''G ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Philip Franks
Philip Franks (born 2 February 1956) is an English actor and director, known to the public chiefly for his roles in English television series, such as '' The Darling Buds of May'' and '' Heartbeat''. Early life Franks was born on 2 February 1956 in London and is the only child of Patricia and Robert Franks. His father was a squadron leader pilot in the Royal Air Force. Franks maintains that he first fell in love with theatre at age six, when his parents took him along to see a production of ''The Tempest''. The following year, his parents were going to a production of ''Hamlet'', and Franks insisted on going with them; at age seven, he was hooked for life. He was educated at Oxford University. Career Franks is best known for his role as the tax inspector Cedric "Charley" Charlton in the English comedy drama '' The Darling Buds of May'', and also as Sgt. Raymond Craddock in '' Heartbeat''. He has also been a guest star in '' Absolutely Fabulous'', '' Pie in the Sky'', ''Midsome ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Richard Curtis
Richard Whalley Anthony Curtis (born 8 November 1956) is a British screenwriter, producer and director. One of Britain's most successful comedy screenwriters, he is known for romantic comedy-drama films, including ''Four Weddings and a Funeral'' (1994), ''Notting Hill (film), Notting Hill'' (1999), ''Bridget Jones's Diary (film), Bridget Jones's Diary'' (2001), ''Love Actually'' (2003), ''Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason'' (2004), ''About Time (2013 film), About Time'' (2013), ''Yesterday (2019 film), Yesterday'' (2019) and ''That Christmas'' (2024), as well as the war drama film ''War Horse (film), War Horse'' (2011), and for having co-written the sitcoms ''Blackadder'', ''Mr. Bean'' and ''The Vicar of Dibley''. His early career saw him write material for the comedy sketch shows ''Not the Nine O'Clock News'' and ''Spitting Image''. In 2007, Curtis received the BAFTA Fellowship for lifetime achievement from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. He is the co-founder, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rowan Atkinson
Rowan Sebastian Atkinson (born 6 January 1955) is an English actor, comedian and writer. He played the title roles in the sitcoms ''Blackadder'' (1983–1989) and '' Mr. Bean'' (1990–1995), and in the film series '' Johnny English'' (2003–present). Atkinson first came to prominence on the BBC sketch comedy show ''Not the Nine O'Clock News'' (1979–1982), receiving the 1981 British Academy Television Award for Best Entertainment Performance. Atkinson has appeared in various films, including the James Bond film ''Never Say Never Again'' (1983), ''The Witches'' (1990), ''Four Weddings and a Funeral'' (1994), '' Rat Race'', ''Scooby-Doo'' (both 2002), ''Love Actually'' (2003), and ''Wonka'' (2023). He played the voice role of Zazu in the Disney animated film ''The Lion King'' (1994). Atkinson portrayed Mr. Bean in the film adaptations ''Bean'' (1997) and '' Mr. Bean's Holiday'' (2007), and voiced the title character in '' Mr. Bean: The Animated Series'' (2002–present). H ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hay Fever (play)
alt=middle-aged white woman in large sun-hat, with young adult male and female kneeling to each side ''Hay Fever'' is a comic play written by Noël Coward in 1924. Its first production was in the West End in 1925 with Marie Tempest as Judith Bliss. A cross between high farce and a comedy of manners, the play is set in an English country house in the 1920s, and deals with the four eccentric members of the Bliss family and their outlandish behaviour when they each invite a guest to spend the weekend. The self-centred behaviour of the hosts finally drives their guests to flee while the Blisses are so engaged in a family row that they do not notice their guests' furtive departure. The play's original production opened in London in 1925 and ran for 337 performances. Coward wrote the piece with Tempest in mind for the central role of Judith. In later productions the part has been played by actresses including Constance Collier, Edith Evans, Constance Cummings, Rosemary Harris, Judi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
