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Absurd Person Singular
''Absurd Person Singular'' is a 1972 play by Alan Ayckbourn. Divided into three acts, it documents the changing fortunes of three married couples. Each act takes place at a Christmas celebration at one of the couples' homes on successive Christmas Eves. Production history The play made its world premiere at the Library Theatre, Scarborough on 26 June 1972 and its London début at the Criterion Theatre on 4 July 1973, transferring to the Vaudeville Theatre in September 1974, completing a run of 973 performances. Its official New York Broadway début was at the Music Box Theatre on 8 October 1974. It ran for 591 performances in its first run on Broadway (through March 1976). It starred Richard Kiley, Geraldine Page, Sandy Dennis, Carole Shelley, Larry Blyden, and Tony Roberts. It was revived on Broadway on 18 October 2005 at the Biltmore Theatre, for 56 performances. In 1994 James Maxwell directed a production for the Royal Exchange, Manchester with Trevor Cooper, Margo Gunn, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maureen Lipman
Dame Maureen Diane Lipman (born 10 May 1946) is an English actress, writer and comedian. She trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art and her stage work has included appearances with the National Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company. She was made a dame in the 2020 Queen's Birthday Honours for services to charity, entertainment and the arts. Early life and education Lipman was born on 10 May 1946 in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, the daughter of Maurice Julius Lipman and Zelma Pearlman. Her father was a tailor; he used to have a shop between the Ferens Art Gallery and Monument Bridge. Lipman grew up Jewish and found post-war Hull a welcoming place for the Jewish community. She lived on Northfield Road, Hull and attended Wheeler Primary School. Lipman then attended Newland School for Girls in Hull, and became interested in performing as a youth; she performed in school shows, attended an early Beatles concert, and watched Elizabeth Taylor's ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alan Ayckbourn
Sir Alan Ayckbourn (born 12 April 1939) is a prolific British playwright and director. He has written and produced as of 2021, more than eighty full-length plays in Scarborough and London and was, between 1972 and 2009, the artistic director of the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough, where all but four of his plays have received their first performance. More than 40 have subsequently been produced in the West End, at the Royal National Theatre or by the Royal Shakespeare Company since his first hit '' Relatively Speaking'' opened at the Duke of York's Theatre in 1967. Major successes include ''Absurd Person Singular'' (1975), ''The Norman Conquests'' trilogy (1973), '' Bedroom Farce'' (1975), ''Just Between Ourselves'' (1976), '' A Chorus of Disapproval'' (1984), ''Woman in Mind'' (1985), ''A Small Family Business'' (1987), '' Man of the Moment'' (1988), ''House'' & ''Garden'' (1999) and ''Private Fears in Public Places'' (2004). His plays have won numerous awards, includi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cheryl Campbell
Cheryl Campbell (born 22 May 1949) is an English actor of stage, film and television. She starred opposite Bob Hoskins in the 1978 BBC drama '' Pennies From Heaven'', before going on to win the 1980 BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress for ''Testament of Youth'' and ''Malice Aforethought'', and the 1982 Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Revival for ''A Doll's House''. Her film appearances include ''Chariots of Fire'' (1981), '' Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes'' (1984) and ''The Shooting Party'' (1985). Early life Born in St Albans, Hertfordshire, Campbell is the daughter of an airline pilot. She was educated at Francis Bacon Grammar School, St Albans, and at London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA). Her repertory theatre experience includes the Palace Theatre, Watford, Birmingham Rep and the Citizens' Theatre, Glasgow. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lawrence Batley Theatre
The Lawrence Batley Theatre is a theatre in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England which offers drama, music, dance and comedy. The theatre is named after Lawrence Batley, a local entrepreneur and philanthropist, who founded a nationwide cash and carry chain. The building was originally built in 1819 as a Methodist chapel, called the Queen Street Chapel. The architect is unknown but the chief mason was Joseph Kaye, the man who was also responsible for Huddersfield station. It was opened on 9 July 1819 and the reporter in the Leeds Mercury described it as "one of the most handsome and commodious chapels in the kingdom; being capable of accommodating 3000 persons, and has been erected at an expense of from 8 to £10,000". The chapel became a mission in 1906 until a decline in numbers saw the mission move out of the building in 1970 to a new building in King Street. In 1973 the building was converted into an arts centre. However serious structural problems were discovered by Kirkl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Theatre Row (New York City)
Theatre Row is an entertainment district of Off Broadway theatres on 42nd Street in Midtown Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ... west of Ninth Avenue. The space originally referred to a 1977 redevelopment project to convert adult entertainment venues into theatres between 9th and Tenth Avenues on the south side of 42nd Street. However with the success of the district the name is often used to describe any theatre on either side of the street from Ninth Avenue to the Hudson River as more theatres have been built along the street. From east to west, theatres along Theatre Row are: * Laurie Beechman Theatre * Theatre Row Building * Playwrights Horizons * Stage 42 (formerly the Little Shubert Theatre) * Pershing Square Signature Center * Castillo Theatre * ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Louise Plowright
Louise Plowright (1 June 1956 – 1 March 2016) was a British actress who trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. She first came to prominence playing abrasive hairdresser Julie Cooper in the television soap opera ''EastEnders'' from 1989 to 1990. Subsequent major roles on TV include Linda Harvey in '' Families'' and Michelle Thorn in '' Footballers' Wives: Extra Time''. The Cheshire-born singer-actress appeared in a number of regional and touring productions of musicals, where her roles included: April in '' Hot Shoe Shuffle'', Julie Johnston in ''Bad Girls – The Musical'', and, Phyllis Rogers Stone in '' Follies'', and most recently ''Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'' amongst others. Numerous West End Concert Performances including ''Living On An Island'' at The Talk Of London. She appeared in various regional theatre pantomimes. In the summer of 2009 she appeared in '' Oklahoma!'' at the Chichester Festival Theatre as Aunt Eller, and the following autumn in Manchester in ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tracy-Ann Oberman
Tracy-Ann Oberman (born Tracy Anne Oberman; 25 August 1966) is an English actress, playwright and narrator. She is widely known for roles including Chrissie Watts in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' (2004–2005) and Valerie Lewis or "Auntie Val" in the Channel 4 sitcom ''Friday Night Dinner'' (2011–2020). Following training at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London, Oberman spent four years with the Royal Shakespeare Company, before joining the National Theatre. Her theatrical experience includes appearing with Kenneth Branagh in David Mamet's '' Edmond'' (2003) and a run in the West End revival of '' Boeing-Boeing'' (2007–2008). She appeared in a production of ''Earthquakes in London'' in its 2011 run as Sarah Sullivan. Oberman has performed in more than 600 radio plays since the mid-1990s. Oberman's TV credits have also included ''Doctor Who'', ''Mistresses'', ''Robin Hood'', and ''Doctors''. Before ''EastEnders'', Oberman appeared in a variety of television ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Curve (theatre)
The Curve Theatre is a theatre in Leicester, England, based in the cultural quarter in Leicester City Centre. Before being named ''Curve'', it was referred to as ''Leicester Performing Arts Centre''. It is adjacent to the Leicester Athena conference and banqueting centre. Overview The Curve Theatre was designed by architect Rafael Viñoly in association with the scenographers ducks scéno and Charcoal Blue, Kahle Acoustics for acoustician studies and engineered by Adams Kara Taylor is based in the centre of what the City Council calls the new "Cultural Quarter" on Rutland Street. It features two auditoria, one with 970 seats (referred to as the Theatre) while a 350-seat auditorium (referred to as the Studio) provides a smaller space with its own power flying system. The Theatre, Studio and their stages can also be opened up to create one large space with a capacity of 1,300. When the 2 18 tonne steel walls separating the stage and the foyer are lifted, the stage is visible fro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Whitehall Theatre
Trafalgar Theatre is a new West End theatre in Whitehall, near Trafalgar Square, in the City of Westminster, London. It is set to open in spring 2021 following a major multi-million pound restoration project aiming to reinstate it back to its original heritage design. The Grade II listed building was built in 1930 with interiors in the Art Deco style as the Whitehall Theatre; it regularly staged comedies and revues. It was converted into a television and radio studio in the 1990s, before returning to theatrical use in 2004 as Trafalgar Studios, the name it bore until 2020. History 1930 to 1996 The original Whitehall Theatre, built on the site of the 17th century ''Ye Old Ship Tavern'' was designed by Edward A. Stone, with interiors in the Art Deco style by Marc-Henri and Laverdet. It had 634 seats. The theatre opened on 29 September 1930 with ''The Way to Treat a Woman'' by Walter Hackett, who was the theatre's licensee. In November 1933 Henry Daniell appeared there as Portma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prunella Scales
Prunella Margaret Rumney West Scales (''née'' Illingworth; born 22 June 1932) is an English former actress, best known for playing Sybil Fawlty, wife of Basil Fawlty (John Cleese), in the BBC comedy '' Fawlty Towers'', her nomination for a BAFTA award for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II in '' A Question of Attribution'' (''Screen One'', BBC 1991) by Alan Bennett, and for the documentary series '' Great Canal Journeys'' (2014–2021), travelling on canal barges and narrowboats with her husband, fellow actor Timothy West. Early life Scales was born in Sutton Abinger, Surrey, the daughter of Catherine (''née'' Scales), an actress, and John Richardson Illingworth, a cotton salesman. She attended Moira House Girls' School, Eastbourne. She had a younger brother, Timothy "Timmo" Illingworth (1934–2017). In 1939, at the start of the Second World War, Scales's parents moved with their children to Bucks Mill near Bideford in Devon. Scales herself and her brother were evacua ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Geoffrey Palmer (actor)
Geoffrey Dyson Palmer (4 June 1927 – 5 November 2020) was an English actor. He was best known for his roles in British television sitcoms playing Jimmy Anderson in ''The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin'' (1976–79), Ben Parkinson in ''Butterflies'' (1978–1983) and Lionel Hardcastle in '' As Time Goes By'' (1992–2005). His film appearances include '' A Fish Called Wanda'' (1988), ''The Madness of King George'' (1994), ''Mrs Brown'' (1997) and ''Tomorrow Never Dies'' (1997). Early life and education Geoffrey Dyson Palmer was born on 4 June 1927 in London, England. He was the son of Frederick Charles Palmer, who was a chartered surveyor, and Norah Gwendolen (née Robins). He attended Highgate School from September 1939 to December 1945. He served as a corporal instructor in small arms and field training in the Royal Marines during his national service from 1946 to 1948, following which he briefly worked as an unpaid trainee assistant stage manager. Career Palmer's early t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
