|
What The Butler Saw (play)
''What the Butler Saw'' is a two-act farce written by the English playwright Joe Orton. He began work on the play in 1966 and completed it in July 1967, one month before his death. It opened at the Queen's Theatre in London on 5 March 1969. Orton's final play, it was the second to be performed after his death, following '' Funeral Games'' in 1968. Plot summary ; Characters * Dr Prentice * Geraldine Barclay * Mrs Prentice * Nicholas Beckett * Dr Rance * Sergeant Match The play consists of two acts - though the action is continuous - and revolves around a Dr Prentice, a psychiatrist attempting to seduce his attractive prospective secretary, Geraldine Barclay. The play opens with the doctor examining Geraldine in a job interview, during which he persuades her to undress. The situation becomes more intense when Mrs Prentice enters, causing the doctor to hide Geraldine behind a curtain. His wife, however, is also being seduced and blackmailed, by Nicholas Beckett. She therefore pro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joe Orton
John Kingsley Orton (1 January 1933 – 9 August 1967), known by the pen name of Joe Orton, was an English playwright, author, and diarist. His public career, from 1964 until his murder in 1967 committed by his partner, was short but highly influential. During this brief period he shocked, outraged, and amused audiences with his scandalous black comedies. The adjective ''Ortonesque'' refers to work characterised by a similarly dark yet farcical cynicism. Early life Joe Orton was born on 1 January 1933 at Causeway Lane Maternity Hospital, Leicester, to William Arthur Orton and Elsie Mary Orton (née Bentley). William worked for Leicester County Borough Council as a gardener and Elsie worked in the local footwear industry until tuberculosis cost her a lung. At the time of Joe's birth, William and Mary were living with William's family at 261 Avenue Road Extension in Clarendon Park, Leicester. Joe's younger brother, Douglas, was born in 1935. That year, the Ortons moved to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Michael Medwin
Michael Hugh Medwin (18 July 1923 – 26 February 2020) was an English actor and film producer. Life and career Medwin was born in London. He was educated at Canford School, Dorset, and the Institute Fischer, Montreux, Switzerland. He first appeared on stage in 1940. Medwin's West End theatre credits include '' Man and Superman'', ''The Rivals'', '' Love for Love'', ''Duckers and Lovers'', '' Alfie'', '' St Joan of the Stockyards'', and '' What the Butler Saw''.Biographical note for Michael Medwin, from programme for ''Noises Off'', Savoy Theatre, December 1984. At the National Theatre he played a season which included '' Weapons of Happiness'' (Ralph Makepeace), ''Volpone'' (Corvino) and ''The Madras House''. He appeared in ''Black Ball Game'' at the Lyric Hammersmith. He also played Lloyd Dallas in one of the casts of the long-running production of ''Noises Off'' in the early 1980s. He is probably best known for his role as radio boss Don Satchley in the BBC television d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Camille Coduri
Camille Coduri (born 18 April 1965) is an English actress. She gained prominence through her role as Jackie Tyler, the mother of Rose Tyler, in ''Doctor Who'' (2005–2006, 2008, 2010). She has since appeared in the BBC comedies '' Him & Her'' (2010–2013) and '' King Gary'' (2018–2021), and the Channel 4 sitcom '' Big Boys'' (2022–2025). Her films include ''Nuns on the Run'' (1990), '' King Ralph'' (1991), and ''The Firm'' (2009). Early life Coduri was born in south London. She studied drama at Kingsway Princeton College. She pursued higher education for only four months to resit her O Levels, and left to go into theatre. Career Coduri featured in the film comedies ''Hawks'' (1988), ''Nuns on the Run'' (1990) and '' King Ralph'' (1991). She has also appeared extensively on British television, appearing in guest roles in episodes of series such as ''Rumpole of the Bailey'', ''A Bit of Fry & Laurie'', '' Boon'', ''A Touch of Frost'' and in the BBC's 1997 adaptation of Henr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Clive Francis
Clive Francis (born 26 June 1946) is a British actor and illustrator, known for his extensive work in television, film, and theatre. He has appeared in a wide range of British television dramas and comedies, including ''Poldark'', ''Yes, Prime Minister'', and ''The Crown''. His film credits include ''A Clockwork Orange'' (1971) and ''Mr. Turner'' (2014). In addition to acting, Francis has had a successful stage career, performing with the Royal Shakespeare Company and in West End productions. He is also an illustrator, having produced artwork for books and theatre productions. Early life Francis was born in Eastbourne, Sussex. He is the son of actors Raymond Francis and his second wife Margaret Towner. His father played Detective Chief Superintendent Tom Lockhart in the 1960s series ''No Hiding Place''. His mother played Jira, Anakin Skywalker's friend, in '' Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace'' in 1999. Career Clive Francis began his acting career at the age of 16 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wyndham's Theatre
Wyndham's Theatre is a West End theatre, one of two opened by actor/manager Charles Wyndham (the other is the Criterion Theatre). Located on Charing Cross Road in the City of Westminster, it was designed c. 1898 by W. G. R. Sprague, the architect of six other London theatres between then and 1916. It was designed to seat 759 patrons on three levels; later refurbishment increased this to four seating levels. The theatre was Grade II* listed by English Heritage in September 1960. History Wyndham had always dreamed of building a theatre of his own, and through the admiration of a patron and the financial confidence of friends, he was able to realise his dream. Wyndham's Theatre opened on 16 November 1899, in the presence of the Prince of Wales. The first play performed there was a revival of T. W. Robertson's ''David Garrick''. A number of successes followed, including Lena Ashwell playing the lead role in '' Mrs Dane's Defence'' in 1900, upon which Wyndham said that “''the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Tillinger
John Tillinger (born June 28, 1938) is a theatre director and actor. Life and career Joachim Ferdinand Tillinger was born in Tabriz, Iran. His father was German Jewish and his mother was Protestant. Tillinger was raised in England, where he was first exposed to the theatre. He spent his early years on Broadway as an actor, appearing in '' A Day in the Death of Joe Egg'' (standby "Freddie", 1968), ''Othello'' ("Roderigo", 1970), ''Hay Fever'' ("Sandy Tyrell", 1970), and '' The Changing Room'' ("Colin Jagger", 1973). Tillinger's first Broadway directing credit was ''Solomon's Child'' in 1982. Since then he has directed:"John Tillinger Credits and Awards" playbillvault.com, accessed May 4, 2014 '' Love ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hampstead Theatre
Hampstead Theatre is a theatre in South Hampstead, in the London Borough of Camden. It specialises in commissioning and producing new writing, supporting and developing the work of new writers. History The original ''Hampstead Theatre Club'' was created in 1959, in Moreland Hall, a parish church school hall in Holly Bush Vale, Hampstead Village. James Roose-Evans was the founder and first Artistic Director, and the 1959–1960 season included ''The Dumb Waiter'' and '' The Room'' by Harold Pinter, Eugène Ionesco's ''Jacques'' and ''The Sport of My Mad Mother'' by Ann Jellicoe. In 1962, the company moved to a portable cabin in Swiss Cottage where it remained for nearly 40 years, before, in 2003, the new purpose-built Hampstead Theatre opened in Swiss Cottage. The main auditorium seats 373 people. The studio theatre, Hampstead Downstairs, seats up to 100 people and was turned into a laboratory for new writing in 2010. In 2022, Arts Council England removed the theatre's ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Independent
Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist group Music Groups, labels, and genres * Independent music, a number of genres associated with independent labels * Independent record label, a record label not associated with a major label * Independent Albums, American albums chart Albums * ''Independent'' (Ai album), 2012 * ''Independent'' (Faze album), 2006 * ''Independent'' (Sacred Reich album), 1993 Songs * "Independent" (song), a 2007 song by Webbie * "Independent", a 2002 song by Ayumi Hamasaki from '' H'' News media organizations * Independent Media Center (also known as Indymedia or IMC), an open publishing network of journalist collectives that report on political and social issues, e.g., in ''The Indypendent'' newspaper of NYC * ITV (TV network) (Independent Television ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Antonia Bird
Antonia Jane Bird, FRSA (27 May 1951 – 24 October 2013Kate Hardi"Antonia Bird obituary" ''The Guardian'', 28 October 2013) was an English producer and director of television drama and feature films. Career In 1968, at the age of 17, Bird began working in theatre as an assistant stage manager at Coventry Rep. She worked her way up doing a variety of jobs, including acting, stage management, publicity, theatre administration and directing in repertory and regional theatres. She directed a season of plays at The Studio at Chester Theatre and later joined Leicester's Phoenix Theatre as a director.Simon Farquha"Obituary: Antonia Bird, Television director with a flair for gritty realism" ''The Independent'', 30 October 2013. Bird was named resident director at the Royal Court Theatre in 1978. She was appointed artistic director of the Royal Court's Theatre Upstairs, London's leading venue for new writing. Her first television production was ''Submariners'' (1983), an adaptation o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sue Townsend Theatre
Sue Townsend Theatre (formerly the Phoenix Theatre, Phoenix Arts Centre and the Upper Brown Street Theatre) is a theatre in the city of Leicester, England. The centre hosts live shows and films of the arthouse and world cinema genres. Julian Wright is credited for his work to preserve the theatre from demolition in the 1980s and in the 2000s. In 2010, after a new Phoenix Square opened on the other side of the city centre, the space became the Upper Brown Street Theatre, a music-training and performance venue. It has since been renamed the Sue Townsend Theatre, to honour the late Leicester author and playwright, Sue Townsend. History In 1963, Leicester City Council (LCC), identifying a gap in cultural provision for live performances, built a 262-seat theatre in Leicester, The Phoenix Theatre, intended as a temporary solution until a more permanent theatre could be built. The theatre's roster of directors includes Clive Perry, Michael Bogdanov, Chris Martin, Ian Giles, Sue ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brian Glover
Brian Glover (2 April 1934 – 24 July 1997) was an English actor and writer. He worked as a teacher and professional wrestler before commencing an acting career which included films, many roles on British television and work on the stage. His film appearances include '' Kes'' (1969), ''An American Werewolf in London'' (1981) and '' Alien 3'' (1992). Described by ''The New York Times'' as a "robust character actor" who played "gruff but likable roles", he had a "string of roles playing tough guys and criminals". He once said, "You play to your strengths in this game, and my strength is as a bald-headed, rough-looking Yorkshireman". Glover was also known as the voice of Gaffer in the Tetley tea commercials. ''The Independent'' described him upon his death as "one of Britain's best-loved actors". Early life and wrestling career Glover was born at the Women's Hospital, Sheffield, West Riding of Yorkshire and he lived in Sheffield until 1937 when his parents moved to Lundwood, ne ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Valentine Dyall
Valentine Dyall (7 May 1908 – 24 June 1985) was an English character actor. He worked regularly as a voice actor, and was known for many years as "The Man in Black", the narrator of the BBC Radio horror series '' Appointment with Fear''. He was the son of the actor Franklin Dyall and the actress and author Mary Phyllis Joan Logan, who acted and wrote as Concordia Merrel. 1930s to 1950s In 1934, Dyall appeared with his father, actor Franklin Dyall, at the Manchester Hippodrome in Sir Oswald Stoll's presentation of Shakespeare's ''Henry V'', playing the roles of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Captain Gower, and a cardinal of France. He also appeared in one movie with his father, the 1943 spy thriller '' Yellow Canary''; Dyall's part was that of a German U-boat commander attempting to kidnap a British agent from a ship in the Atlantic, while his father played the ship's captain. In the same year he had a small role as a German officer in ''The Life and Death of Colon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
