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Television Play
A television play is a television programming genre which is a drama performance broadcast from a multi-camera television studio, usually live in the early days of television but later recorded to tape. This is in contrast to a television movie, which employs the single-camera setup of film production. United Kingdom From the 1950s until the early 1980s, the television play was a television programming genre in the United Kingdom. The genre was often associated with the social realist-influenced British drama style known as "kitchen sink realism", which depicted the social issues facing working-class families. ''Armchair Theatre'' (ABC, later Thames, 1956–1974), ''The Wednesday Play'' (BBC, 1964–1970) and ''Play for Today'' (BBC, 1970–1984) received praise from critics for their quality. ''Armchair Theatre'': 1956–1974 ''Armchair Theatre'' was a British television drama anthology series, which ran on the ITV network from 1956 until 1968 in its original form, and wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Television Program
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, entertainment, news, and sports. Television became available in crude experimental forms in the late 1920s, but only after several years of further development was the new technology marketed to consumers. After World War II, an improved form of black-and-white television broadcasting became popular in the United Kingdom and the United States, and television sets became commonplace in homes, businesses, and institutions. During the 1950s, television was the primary medium for influencing public opinion.Diggs-Brown, Barbara (2011''Strategic Public Relations: Audience Focused Practice''p. 48 In the mid-1960s, color broadcasting was introduced in the U.S. and most other developed countries. The availability of various types of archival storag ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alun Owen
Alun Davies Owen (24 November 1925 – 6 December 1994) was a Welsh playwright, screenwriter and actor, predominantly in television. However, he is best remembered by a wider audience for writing the screenplay of The Beatles' debut feature film '' A Hard Day's Night'' (1964), which earned him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. Career Owen was born in Menai Bridge and his family moved to Liverpool when he was 8. His father, Sidney Owen, was a Welshman from Dolgellau, North Wales, and his mother, Ruth, was from Holyhead, but of Irish descent. Alun Owen attended St Michael in the Hamlet Anglican Primary School and Oulton High School. For two years during the Second World War, he worked in a coal mine as a "Bevin Boy", before moving into repertory theatre as an assistant stage manager. From there he moved into acting, first with the Birmingham Repertory Company and then various other companies, appearing in small roles in films and to a greater deg ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rumpole Of The Bailey
''Rumpole of the Bailey'' is a British television series created and written by the British writer and barrister John Mortimer. It starred Leo McKern as Horace Rumpole, a middle-aged London barrister who defended a broad variety of clients, often underdogs. The TV series led to the stories being presented in other media, including books and radio. The "Bailey" of the title is a reference to the Central Criminal Court, the "Old Bailey". Characters Horace Rumpole While certain biographical details are slightly different in the original television series and the subsequent book series, Horace Rumpole has a number of definite character traits that are constant. First and foremost, he loves the courtroom. Despite attempts by his friends and family to get him to move on to a more respectable position for his age, such as a Queen's Counsel (QC) or a Circuit Judge (positions Rumpole sarcastically calls "Queer Customers" and "Circus Judges"), he only enjoys defending his clients (who ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Abigail's Party
''Abigail's Party'' is a play for stage and television, devised and directed in 1977 by Mike Leigh. It is a suburban situation comedy of manners, and a satire on the aspirations and tastes of the new middle class that emerged in Britain in the 1970s. The play developed in lengthy improvisations during which Mike Leigh explored the characters with the actors, but did not always reveal the incidents that would occur during the play. The production opened in April 1977 at the Hampstead Theatre, and returned after its initial run in the summer of 1977, for 104 performances in all. A recording was arranged at the BBC as a ''Play for Today'', produced by Margaret Matheson for BBC Scotland and transmitted in November 1977. Performances The stage play was first performed at the Hampstead Theatre on 18 April 1977, enjoying great success, leading to a revival over the summer of that year, which was another sellout. The television version was abridged from over two hours to 104 minutes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nuts In May
''Nuts in May'' is a television film devised and directed by Mike Leigh, filmed in March 1975, and originally broadcast as part of the BBC's ''Play for Today'' series on 13 January 1976. It is the comical story of a nature-loving and rather self-righteous couple's exhausting battle to enjoy what they perceive to be the idyllic camping holiday. Misunderstandings, awkward clashes of values and explosive conflicts occur when less high-minded guests pitch their tents nearby. Plot Childlike Candice-Marie Pratt (Alison Steadman) and eccentric-obsessive Keith Pratt (Roger Sloman) arrive at a campsite in Dorset and pitch their tent in a quiet spot suitable for appreciating nature's wonders while keeping other human beings safely at arm's length. The couple take day trips to Corfe Castle, a quarry, and a local farm to purchase some untreated milk. Their usual routine (which includes performing their own guitar-banjo compositions, preparing healthy vegetarian dinners and following the Co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mike Leigh
Mike Leigh (born 20 February 1943) is an English film and theatre director, screenwriter and playwright. He studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and further at the Camberwell School of Art, the Central School of Art and Design and the London School of Film Technique. He began his career as a theatre director and playwright in the mid-1960s, before transitioning to making televised plays and films for BBC Television in the 1970s and '80s. Leigh is known for his lengthy rehearsal and improvisation techniques with actors to build characters and narrative for his films. His purpose is to capture reality and present "emotional, subjective, intuitive, instinctive, vulnerable films." His films and stage plays, according to critic Michael Coveney, "comprise a distinctive, homogenous body of work which stands comparison with anyone's in the British theatre and cinema over the same period." Leigh's most notable works include the black comedy-drama ''Naked'' (1993), for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Television
Regular television broadcasts in the United Kingdom started in 1936 as a public service which was free of advertising, which followed the first demonstration of a transmitted moving image in 1926. Currently, the United Kingdom has a collection of free-to-air, free-to-view and subscription services over a variety of distribution media, through which there are over 480 channelsTaking the base Sky EPG TV Channels. A breakdown is impossible due to a) the number of platforms, b) duplication of services, c) regional services, d) part time operations, and e) audio. For the Sky platform alone, there are basically 485 TV channels, additionally 57 "timeshifted versions", 36 HDTV versions, 42 regional TV options, 81 audio channels, and 5 promotion channels as of mid-2010 for consumers as well as on-demand content. There are six main channel owners who are responsible for most material viewed. There are 27,000 hours of domestic content produced a year, at a cost of £2.6 billion.Taki ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cathy Come Home
''Cathy Come Home'' is a 1966 BBC television play about homelessness. It was written by Jeremy Sandford, produced by Tony Garnett and directed by Ken Loach. A 1998 ''Radio Times'' readers' poll voted it the "best single television drama" and a 2000 industry poll rated it as the second-best British television programme ever made. Filmed in a gritty, realistic drama documentary style, it was first broadcast on 16 November 1966 on BBC1. The play was shown in the BBC's ''The Wednesday Play'' anthology strand, which often tackled social issues. Plot The play tells the story of a young couple, Cathy (played by Carol White) and Reg ( Ray Brooks), and their descent into poverty and homelessness. At the start of the film, Cathy leaves her parents' overcrowded rural home and hitchhikes to the city, where she finds work and meets Reg, a well-paid lorry driver. They fall in love, marry and rent a modern flat in a building that does not allow children. Cathy soon becomes pregnant and must ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Up The Junction (The Wednesday Play)
''Up the Junction'' is an episode of the BBC anthology drama series ''The Wednesday Play'' directed by Ken Loach and produced by James MacTaggart. It was first broadcast on 3 November 1965 on BBC 1. The play was adapted by Nell Dunn and (uncredited) Ken Loach from Dunn's short story collection of the same name. It tells the stories of three young women living in North Battersea and Clapham and, to a lesser degree, their boyfriends. Plot Three young female factory workers, Rube, Sylvie and Eileen, go out to a pub where they meet three young men, Terry, Ron and Dave. They flirt, go on a date to a lido and pair off, each couple developing a significant relationship. Terry and Rube soon have sex at Rube's flat while her mother is out. Rube becomes pregnant and must seek an illegal back-street abortion, which is botched, causing Rube to suffer a miscarriage. Although Terry and Rube continue their relationship after the abortion, they begin to grow apart, and finally have a row. Terry ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nell Dunn
Nell Mary Dunn (born 9 June 1936) is an English playwright, screenwriter and author. She is known especially for a volume of short stories, ''Up the Junction'', and a novel, ''Poor Cow''. Early years The second daughter of Sir Philip Dunn and maternal granddaughter of the 5th Earl of Rosslyn, Dunn was born in London and educated at a convent up to the age of 14. She and her older sister Serena were evacuated to America in the war. Her parents divorced in 1944. Her father did not believe his daughters needed qualifications. As a result, she has never passed an exam in her life. She only learnt to read at nine years old. Dunn said, "Whenever my father saw my appalling spelling, he would laugh. But it wasn't an unkind laugh. In his laugh there was the message, 'You are a completely original person, and everything you do has your own mark on it.' He wanted us all to be unique." Despite her upper-class background, Dunn moved in 1959 to Battersea, made friends there and worked for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ken Loach
Kenneth Charles Loach (born 17 June 1936) is a British film director and screenwriter. His socially critical directing style and socialist ideals are evident in his film treatment of social issues such as poverty (''Poor Cow'', 1967), homelessness ('' Cathy Come Home'', 1966), and labour rights ('' Riff-Raff'', 1991, and '' The Navigators'', 2001). Loach's film '' Kes'' (1969) was voted the seventh greatest British film of the 20th century in a poll by the British Film Institute. Two of his films, '' The Wind That Shakes the Barley'' (2006) and ''I, Daniel Blake'' (2016), received the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, making him one of only nine filmmakers to win the award twice. Early life Kenneth Charles Loach was born on 17 June 1936 in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, the son of Vivien (née Hamlin) and John Loach. He attended King Edward VI Grammar School and at the age of 19 went to serve in the Royal Air Force. He read law at St Peter's College, Oxford< ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James MacTaggart
James MacTaggart (25 April 1928 – 29 May 1974) was a Scottish television producer, director and writer. He worked in London from 1961. Early life MacTaggart was born in Glasgow and served in the Royal Army Service Corps from 1946, rising to the rank of Captain by the time he was demobbed in 1949. After his military service, he studied Political Economy and Social Economics at the University of Glasgow, from which he graduated with an MA in 1954. Career After an initial career as an actor, MacTaggart worked as a producer for BBC Radio in Scotland before moving into television. He relocated to London around 1961, at the request of his friend, scriptwriter Troy Kennedy Martin. MacTaggart aimed to break down the use of naturalism in television drama: "We were going to destroy naturalism", Kennedy Martin once said, "if possible, before Christmas". In a television career of almost 20 years, MacTaggart wrote, directed or produced nearly 100 plays or episodes. After his involvement ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
