HOME





Frances Barber
Frances Barber (née Brookes, born 13 May 1958) is an English actress. She received Olivier Award nominations for her work in the plays '' Camille'' (1985), and '' Uncle Vanya'' (1997). Her film appearances include three collaborations with Gary Oldman in '' Prick Up Your Ears'' (1987), '' We Think the World of You'' (1988) and '' Dead Fish'' (2005); as well as '' Sammy and Rosie Get Laid'' (1987); '' Soft Top Hard Shoulder'' (1992); and latterly '' Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool'' (2017). Barber's numerous television credits include '' The Street'' (2009), ''Doctor Who'' (2011), ''Silk'' (2012–2014), and '' Whitstable Pearl'' (2021–2022). Life and career Barber was born in Wolverhampton, Staffordshire. Her parents are S.W. Brookes and Gladys Simpson; Barber is the fourth of six children. She attended the Wolverhampton Municipal Grammar School. Barber studied drama at the University College of North Wales in Bangor, where she was a contemporary of director Danny B ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands of England. Located around 12 miles (20 km) north of Birmingham, it forms the northwestern part of the West Midlands conurbation, with the towns of Walsall to the east and Dudley to the south. The population in 2021 was 263,700, making it the third largest city in the West Midlands after Birmingham and Coventry. Historic counties of England, Historically in Staffordshire, Wolverhampton grew as a market town specialising in the wool trade. During the Industrial Revolution, it became a major centre for coal mining, steel production, lock making, and automotive manufacturing; the economy of the city is still based on engineering, including a large aerospace industry, as well as the Tertiary sector of the economy, service sector. The city is also home to the University of Wolverhampton. A town for most of its history, it gained city status in the United Kingdom, city status in 2000. The ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Europa Publications
Routledge ( ) is a British multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanities, behavioural science, education, law, and social science. The company publishes approximately 1,800 journals and 5,000 new books each year and their backlist encompasses over 140,000 titles. Routledge is claimed to be the largest global academic publisher within humanities and social sciences. In 1998, Routledge became a subdivision and imprint of its former rival, Taylor & Francis Group (T&F), as a result of a £90-million acquisition deal from Cinven, a venture capital group which had purchased it two years previously for £25 million. Following the merger of Informa and T&F in 2004, Routledge became a publishing unit and major imprint within the Informa "academic publishing" division. Routledge is headquartered in the main T&F office in Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxfordshire ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Aladdin
Aladdin ( ; , , ATU 561, 'Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with '' One Thousand and One Nights'' (often known in English as ''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part of the original text; it was added by the Frenchman Antoine Galland, based on a folk tale that he heard from the Syrian storyteller Hanna Diyab.Razzaque (2017) Sources Known along with Ali Baba as one of the "orphan tales", the story was not part of the original ''Nights'' collection and has no authentic Arabic textual source, but was incorporated into the book '' Les mille et une nuits'' by its French translator, Antoine Galland. John Payne quotes passages from Galland's unpublished diary recording Galland's encounter with a Maronite storyteller from Aleppo, Hanna Diyab. According to Galland's diary, he met with Hanna, who had travelled from Aleppo to Paris with celebrated French traveller Paul Lucas, on March 25, 1709. Galland's diary furthe ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Pantomime
Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment, generally combining gender-crossing actors and topical humour with a story more or less based on a well-known fairy tale, fable or folk tale.Reid-Walsh, Jacqueline. "Pantomime", ''The Oxford Encyclopedia of Children's Literature'', Jack Zipes (ed.), Oxford University Press (2006), Pantomime is a participatory form of theatre developed in England in the 18th century, in which the audience is encouraged and expected to sing along with certain parts of the music and shout out phrases to the performers. The origins of pantomime reach back to ancient Greek classical theatre. It developed partly from the 16th century commedia dell'arte tradition of Italy and partly from other European and British stage traditions, such as 17th-century masques and music hall. An important part of the pantomime, until the late 19th century, was the harlequinade. Modern pantomime is perfor ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Roger Allam
Roger William Allam (born 26 October 1953) is a British actor who has performed on stage, in film, on television and radio. He played Inspector Javert in the original London production of the stage musical ''Les Misérables'', First Officer Douglas Richardson in the award-winning radio series '' Cabin Pressure'', and DCI Fred Thursday in the TV series '' Endeavour''. He is also known for his roles as Illyrio Mopatis in the HBO series ''Game of Thrones'', Royalton in ''Speed Racer'', Lewis Prothero in the 2005 adaptation of ''V for Vendetta'' and as Peter Mannion MP in ''The Thick Of It''. He has been nominated six times for a Laurence Olivier Award, and has won three times. Life and career Allam was born in Bow, London, England. He was educated at Christ's Hospital and Manchester University. His father was rector of St Mary Woolnoth. He played Mercutio for the Royal Shakespeare Company, in 1983. From 1985 to 1986, he played Inspector Javert in the original London product ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Ian McKellen
Sir Ian Murray McKellen (born 25 May 1939) is an English actor. He has played roles on the screen and stage in genres ranging from Shakespearean dramas and modern theatre to popular fantasy and science fiction. He is regarded as a British cultural icon and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1991. He has received numerous accolades, including a Tony Award, six Olivier Awards, and a Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for two Academy Awards, five BAFTA Awards and five Emmy Awards. McKellen made his stage debut in 1961 at the Belgrade Theatre as a member of its repertory company, and in 1965 made his first West End appearance. In 1969, he was invited to join the Prospect Theatre Company to play the lead parts in Shakespeare's '' Richard II'' and Marlowe's '' Edward II''. In the 1970s McKellen became a stalwart of the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre of Great Britain. He has earned five Olivier Awards for his roles in '' Pillars of the Community' ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Mermaid Theatre
The Mermaid Theatre was a theatre encompassing the site of Puddle Dock and Curriers' Alley at Blackfriars in the City of London, and the first built in the City since the time of Shakespeare. It was, importantly, also one of the first new theatres to abandon the traditional stage layout; instead of this, a single tier of seats surrounded the stage on three sides. History The 20th-century theatre was the life's work of actor Bernard Miles with his wife, Josephine Wilson. His original Mermaid Theatre was a large barn at his house in St John's Wood, north west London. This seated 200 people, and during 1951 and 1952 was used for concerts, plays and a celebrated opera production of ''Dido and Aeneas'' with Kirsten Flagstad, Maggie Teyte and Thomas Hemsley, conducted by Geraint Jones, which was recorded by His Master's Voice. For the third season in 1953, the Mermaid Theatre was moved to the Royal Exchange. Miles was encouraged to build a permanent theatre and, raising mone ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Closer To Heaven (musical)
''Closer to Heaven'' is a Musical theater, musical by Jonathan Harvey (playwright), Jonathan Harvey and Pet Shop Boys. It was premiered in May 2001 at the Arts Theatre in London, opening to mixed reviews, and ran until 13 October 2001. A second production of ''Closer to Heaven'' was premiered in Australia in 2005. New off-West End productions premiered in London in 2015, 2019 and 2024. A spin-off cabaret show, entitled ''Musik: The Billie Trix Story'', opened in Edinburgh in 2019. Plot The story is narrated by retired rock icon and actress Billie Trix (Frances Barber), who otherwise has a fairly small part in the story. The opening number, "My Night", is sung by Billie and the rest of the cast, and is used to introduce the characters. Shell Christian (Stacey Roca), is going to see her estranged father, Vic Christian (David Burt (actor), David Burt), for the first time in years. Vic, who is gay, left Shell and her mother during her childhood, and now runs a successful gay clu ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Pet Shop Boys
Pet Shop Boys are an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1981. Consisting of vocalist Neil Tennant and keyboardist Chris Lowe, they have sold more than 100 million records worldwide and were listed as the most successful duo in UK music history in the 1999 edition of ''The Guinness Book of Records''. Pet Shop Boys have achieved 42 top 30 singles, including 22 top-10 hits on the UK singles chart, including four UK number-ones: "West End Girls" (also number one on the US Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 100), "It's a Sin", a synth-pop version of "Always on My Mind#Pet Shop Boys version, Always on My Mind", and "Heart (Pet Shop Boys song), Heart". Other hit songs include a cover of "Go West (song)#Pet Shop Boys version, Go West", and their own "Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)", and "What Have I Done to Deserve This? (song), What Have I Done to Deserve This?" in a duet with Dusty Springfield. With five US top 10 singles in the 1980s, they are associated with the S ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Guardian Media Group, owned by the Scott Trust Limited. The trust was created in 1936 to "secure the financial and editorial independence of ''The Guardian'' in perpetuity and to safeguard the journalistic freedom and liberal values of ''The Guardian'' free from commercial or political interference". The trust was converted into a limited company in 2008, with a constitution written so as to maintain for ''The Guardian'' the same protections as were built into the structure of the Scott Trust by its creators. Profits are reinvested in its journalism rather than distributed to owners or shareholders. It is considered a newspaper of record in the UK. The editor-in-chief Katharine Viner succeeded Alan Rusbridger in 2015. S ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Danny Boyle
Daniel Francis Boyle (born 20 October 1956) is an English director and producer. He is known for his work on the films ''Shallow Grave (1994 film), Shallow Grave'' (1994), ''Trainspotting (film), Trainspotting'' (1996) and its sequel ''T2 Trainspotting'' (2017), ''The Beach (film), The Beach'' (2000), ''28 Days Later'' (2002), ''Sunshine (2007 film), Sunshine'' (2007), ''Slumdog Millionaire'' (2008), ''127 Hours'' (2010), ''Steve Jobs (film), Steve Jobs'' (2015), and ''Yesterday (2019 film), Yesterday'' (2019). Boyle's debut film ''Shallow Grave'' won the BAFTA Award for Outstanding British Film, BAFTA Award for Best British Film. The British Film Institute ranked ''Trainspotting'' the BFI Top 100 British films, 10th greatest British film of the 20th century. Boyle's 2008 crime drama film ''Slumdog Millionaire'', the most successful British film of the decade, was nominated for ten Academy Awards and won eight, including the Academy Award for Best Director. He won the Golden G ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Bangor, Gwynedd
Bangor (; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and Community (Wales), community in Gwynedd, north Wales. It is the oldest city in Wales. Historic counties of Wales, Historically part of Caernarfonshire, the community had a population of 15,060 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census, and the built up area had a population of 16,990. Landmarks include Bangor Cathedral, Bangor University and Garth Pier. The Britannia Bridge, Britannia and Menai Suspension Bridge, Menai Suspension bridges connect the city to the Anglesey, Isle of Anglesey. History The origins of the city date back to the founding of a monastic establishment on the site of Bangor Cathedral by the Celtic saint Deiniol in the early 6th century AD. itself is an old Welsh word for a wattled enclosure, such as the one that originally surrounded the cathedral site. The present cathedral is a somewhat more recent building and has been extensively modified throughout the centuries. While the ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]