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John Dexter
John Dexter (2 August 1925 – 23 March 1990) was an English theatre, opera and film director. Theatre Born in Derby, Derbyshire, England, Dexter left school at the age of fourteen to serve in the British Army during the Second World War. Following the war, he began working as a stage actor before turning to producing and directing shows for repertory companies. In 1957, he was appointed Associate Director of the English Stage Company based at the Royal Court. Dexter's first great success was his production of ''Roots'', in 1959, which brought Joan Plowright to prominence. He went on to direct '' Toys in the Attic'' (with Wendy Hiller, 1960) and '' Saint Joan'' (1963). In 1964, he was named Associate Director of the National Theatre of Great Britain, and he produced '' The Royal Hunt of the Sun'' (1964). That year, he also directed ''Othello'', with Sir Laurence Olivier, Maggie Smith and Frank Finlay. It was considered a tremendous success. RCA recorded an audio version, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Derby
Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gained city status in 1977, the population size has increased by 5.1%, from around 248,800 in 2011 to 261,400 in 2021. Derby was settled by Romans, who established the town of Derventio, later captured by the Anglo-Saxons, and later still by the Vikings, who made their town of one of the Five Boroughs of the Danelaw. Initially a market town, Derby grew rapidly in the industrial era. Home to Lombe's Mill, an early British factory, Derby has a claim to be one of the birthplaces of the Industrial Revolution. It contains the southern part of the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site. With the arrival of the railways in the 19th century, Derby became a centre of the British rail industry. Derby is a centre for advanced transport manu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hamlet
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts Prince Hamlet and his attempts to exact revenge against his uncle, Claudius, who has murdered Hamlet's father in order to seize his throne and marry Hamlet's mother. ''Hamlet'' is considered among the "most powerful and influential tragedies in the English language", with a story capable of "seemingly endless retelling and adaptation by others". There are many works that have been pointed to as possible sources for Shakespeare's play—from ancient Greek tragedies to Elizabethan plays. The editors of the Arden Shakespeare question the idea of "source hunting", pointing out that it presupposes that authors always require ideas from other works for their own, and suggests that no author can have an original idea or be an originator. When S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Julius Caesar (play)
''The Tragedy of Julius Caesar ''( First Folio title: ''The Tragedie of Ivlivs Cæsar'') is a history play and tragedy by William Shakespeare first performed in 1599. In the play, Brutus joins a conspiracy led by Cassius to assassinate Julius Caesar, to prevent him from becoming a tyrant. Caesar's right-hand man Antony stirs up hostility against the conspirators and Rome becomes embroiled in a dramatic civil war. Characters * Julius Caesar '' Triumvirs after Caesar's death'' * Octavius Caesar * Mark Antony * Lepidus ''Conspirators against Caesar'' * Marcus Brutus (Brutus) * Cassius * Casca * Decius Brutus * Cinna * Metellus Cimber * Trebonius * Caius Ligarius ''Tribunes'' * Flavius * Marullus ''Roman Senate Senators'' * Cicero * Publius * Popilius Lena ''Citizens'' * Calpurnia – Caesar's wife * Portia – Brutus' wife * Soothsayer – a person supposed to be able to foresee the future * Artemidorus – sophist from Knidos * Cinna – poet * ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jessica Tandy
Jessie Alice Tandy (7 June 1909 – 11 September 1994) was a British-American actress. Tandy appeared in over 100 stage productions and had more than 60 roles in film and TV, receiving an Academy Award, four Tony Awards, a BAFTA, a Golden Globe Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award. She acted as Blanche DuBois in the original Broadway production of ''A Streetcar Named Desire'' in 1948. Her films included Alfred Hitchcock's '' The Birds'' and '' The Gin Game''. At 80, she became the oldest actress to receive the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in ''Driving Miss Daisy''. Early life The youngest of three siblings, Tandy was born in Geldeston Road in Hackney, London to Harry Tandy and his wife, Jessie Helen Horspool. Her mother was from a large fenland family in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, and the head of a school for mentally handicapped children, and her father was a travelling salesman for a rope manufacturer. She was educated at Dame Alice Owen's School in Islington. He ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Glass Menagerie
''The Glass Menagerie'' is a memory play by Tennessee Williams that premiered in 1944 and catapulted Williams from obscurity to fame. The play has strong autobiographical elements, featuring characters based on its author, his Histrionic personality disorder, histrionic mother, and his mentally fragile sister. In writing the play, Williams drew on an earlier short story, as well as a screenplay he had written under the title of ''The Gentleman Caller''. The play premiered in Chicago in 1944. After a shaky start, it was championed by Chicago critics Ashton Stevens and Claudia Cassidy, whose enthusiasm helped build audiences so the producers could move the play to Broadway where it won the New York Drama Critics' Circle, New York Drama Critics' Circle Award in 1945. ''The Glass Menagerie'' was Williams' first successful play; he went on to become one of America's most highly regarded playwrights. Characters ; Amanda Wingfield: :A faded Southern belle who grew up in Blue Mountain ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Michael Gambon
Sir Michael John Gambon (; born 19 October 1940) is an Irish-English actor. Regarded as one of Ireland and Britain's most distinguished actors, he is known for his work on stage and screen. Gambon started his acting career with Laurence Olivier as one of the original members of the Royal National Theatre. Over his six decade long career he's received three Olivier Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and four BAFTA Awards. In 1999 he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for services to drama. Having begun his professional career in the theatre with Olivier at the National Theatre Company at the Old Vic, Gambon appeared in many productions of works by William Shakespeare such as ''Othello'', ''Hamlet'', ''Macbeth'' and '' Coriolanus''. Gambon has been nominated for thirteen Olivier Awards winning three times for '' A Chorus of Disapproval'' (1985), ''A View from the Bridge'' (1987), and '' Man of the Moment'' (1990). In 1997 Gambon made his Broadway debut in David Hare's ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Life Of Galileo
''Life of Galileo'' (), also known as ''Galileo'', is a play by the 20th century German dramatist Bertolt Brecht and collaborator Margarete Steffin with incidental music by Hanns Eisler. The play was written in 1938 and received its first theatrical production (in German) at the Zurich Schauspielhaus, opening on the 9th of September 1943. This production was directed by Leonard Steckel, with set-design by Teo Otto. The cast included Steckel himself (as Galileo), Karl Paryla and Wolfgang Langhoff. The second (or "American") version was written in English between 1945–1947 in collaboration with Charles Laughton, and opened at the Coronet Theatre in Los Angeles on 30 July 1947. It was directed by Joseph Losey and Brecht, with musical direction by Serge Hovey and set-design by Robert Davison. Laughton played Galileo, with Hugo Haas as Barberini and Frances Heflin as Virginia. This production opened at the Maxine Elliott's Theatre in New York on 7 December of the same year ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harrison Birtwistle
Sir Harrison Birtwistle (15 July 1934 – 18 April 2022) was an English composer of contemporary classical music best known for his operas, often based on mythological subjects. Among his many compositions, his better known works include '' The Triumph of Time'' (1972) and the operas '' The Mask of Orpheus'' (1986), ''Gawain'' (1991), and '' The Minotaur'' (2008). The last of these was ranked by music critics at ''The Guardian'' in 2019 as the third-best piece of the 21st-century. Even his compositions that were not written for the stage often showed a theatrical approach. A performance of his saxophone concerto ''Panic'' during the BBC's Last Night of the Proms caused "national notoriety". He received many international awards and honorary degrees. Life and career Early life Harrison Birtwistle was born in Accrington, a mill town in Lancashire around 20 miles north of Manchester. His parents, Fred and Madge Birtwistle, ran a bakery, and his interest in music was encouraged ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
As You Like It
''As You Like It'' is a pastoral comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 and first published in the First Folio in 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wilton House in 1603 has been suggested as a possibility. ''As You Like It'' follows its heroine Rosalind as she flees persecution in her uncle's court, accompanied by her cousin Celia to find safety and, eventually, love, in the Forest of Arden. In the forest, they encounter a variety of memorable characters, notably the melancholy traveller Jaques, who speaks many of Shakespeare's most famous speeches (such as " All the world's a stage", "too much of a good thing" and "A fool! A fool! I met a fool in the forest"). Jaques provides a sharp contrast to the other characters in the play, always observing and disputing the hardships of life in the country. Historically, critical response has varied, with some critics finding the play a work of great merit and so ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Merchant (play)
''The Merchant'' is a 1976 play in two acts by the English dramatist Arnold Wesker. It is based on William Shakespeare's ''The Merchant of Venice'', and focus on the Jewish Shylock character, that play's principal antagonist. Wesker began writing the play after seeing a 1973 performance by Laurence Olivier. It premiered in Stockholm in 1976 and was later renamed ''Shylock''. The play was meant to premiere on Broadway in 1977, but the Broadway production was cancelled due to the death of the plays' lead, multiple Tony Award winner Zero Mostel. Wesker had high hopes that the play would make a big profit, but this did not happen. He wrote a book about the play in 1999, ''The Birth of Shylock and the Death of Zero Mostel''. In this play, Shylock is a good man and the good friend of Antonio, the title character in Shakespeare's play. They bond in their love of knowledge and mutual dislike of the antisemitism in their community. Shylock's demand for a pound of flesh is meant as a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Diana Rigg
Dame Enid Diana Elizabeth Rigg (20 July 193810 September 2020) was an English actress of stage and screen. Her roles include Emma Peel in the TV series '' The Avengers'' (1965–1968); Countess Teresa di Vicenzo, wife of James Bond, in ''On Her Majesty's Secret Service'' (1969); Olenna Tyrell in ''Game of Thrones'' (2013–2017); and the title role in ''Medea'' in the West End in 1993 followed by Broadway a year later. Rigg made her professional stage debut in 1957 in ''The Caucasian Chalk Circle'' and joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1959. She made her Broadway debut in ''Abelard & Heloise'' in 1971. Her role as Emma Peel made her a sex symbol. For her role in ''Medea'', both in London and New York, she won the 1994 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play. She was made a CBE in 1988 and a Dame in 1994 for services to drama. Rigg appeared in numerous TV series and films, playing Helena in ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' (1968); Lady Holiday in ''The Great Muppet Cape ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phaedra Britannica
Phaedra may refer to: Mythology * Phaedra (mythology), Cretan princess, daughter of Minos and Pasiphaë, wife of Theseus Arts and entertainment * ''Phaedra'' (Alexandre Cabanel), an 1880 painting Film * ''Phaedra'' (film), a 1962 film by Jules Dassin based on the Phaedra myth * Phaedra Cinema, a distributor of films in the USA of the late 20th century Music * ''Phaedra'' (album) (1974), by the electronic music group Tangerine Dream ** ''Phaedra 2005'', a later album by Tangerine Dream * ''Phaedra'' (cantata), a cantata by Benjamin Britten based on the Phaedra myth * Phaedra, a mysterious woman referred to in the song "Some Velvet Morning" sung by Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood * ''Phaedra'' (opera), an opera by Hans Werner Henze based on the Phaedra myth * Phaedra (Phèdre), a character in the opera ''Hippolytus and Aricia'' by Jean-Philippe Rameau * Phaedra (CD label), an independent classical CD-label, publishing Belgian and especially Flemish music Plays * ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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