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Man Alive! (play)
''Man Alive!'' is a comedy play by the British writer John Dighton. In a strange turnaround at a department store in Oxford Street, a shop window mannequin comes to life and takes over the store while the unpopular manager is temporarily turned into a dummy. After premiering at the Pleasure Gardens Theatre in Folkestone it transferred to the Aldwych Theatre where it ran for 84 performances from 14 June to 25 August 1956. The cast included Robertson Hare, Brian Reece, Wendy Craig, Joan Hickson and Joan Sims Irene Joan Marion Sims (9 May 1930 – 27 June 2001) was an English actress, best remembered for her roles in the ''Carry On'' franchise, appearing in 24 of the films (the most for any actress). On television, she is known for playing Gran i ....Wearing p.437-38 References Bibliography * Wearing, J.P. ''The London Stage 1950-1959: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel''. Rowman & Littlefield, 2014. 1955 plays Plays by John Dighton West End play ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Dighton
John Gervase DightonCollections"John Dighton"''British Film Institute''. Retrieved 30 August 2020. (8 December 1909 – 16 April 1989) was a British playwright and screenwriter. Dighton was born in London to Basil Lewis Dighton, of West Kensington, an antiques dealer, author and poet, and his wife Beatrice Mary (née Franks).Who's Who in the Theatre, ed. Ian Herbert, Pitman, 1977, p. 552 He was educated at Charterhouse School and Caius College, Cambridge. His output during the 1940s included the last starring features of comedian Will Hay, and several George Formby films as well as the 1947 adaptation of Charles Dickens' ''Nicholas Nickleby'', and the 1943 war movie ''Undercover'' starring John Clements and Michael Wilding. In 1947, Dighton wrote his first play for the theatre, '' The Happiest Days of Your Life'', which ran in the West End for more than 600 performances in 1948 and 1949. For Ealing Studios, he collaborated on the screenplays of such comedies as ''Kind Hear ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brian Reece
Brian Reece (24 July 1913 – 12 April 1962) was an English actor. Biography Born in Wallasey, Cheshire, he starred as the eponymous policeman in the BBC radio series '' The Adventures of PC 49'' (1947–1953). His films include '' Orders Are Orders'' (1954), '' A Case for PC 49'' (1951), ''Geordie'' (1955) and '' Carry On Admiral'' (1957). On stage, he appeared in ''Bless The Bride'' (1947), '' Bet Your Life'' (1952) with Julie Wilson and Arthur Askey. He appeared twice as a castaway on the BBC Radio programme ''Desert Island Discs'', first on 24 July 1953. and again on 17 April 1961. In 1955 he appeared at Aldwych Theatre in the farce '' Man Alive!'' by John Dighton''. Reece lived from 1948 until 1953 at No. 59 Strand-on-the-Green, in West London. He sometimes worshipped at St Anne's Church, Kew St Anne's Church, Kew, is a parish church in Kew in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. The building, which dates from 1714, and is Grade II* listed, forms the central ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
West End Plays
West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some Romance languages (''ouest'' in French, ''oest'' in Catalan, ''ovest'' in Italian, ''oeste'' in Spanish and Portuguese). As in other languages, the word formation stems from the fact that west is the direction of the setting sun in the evening: 'west' derives from the Indo-European root ''*wes'' reduced from ''*wes-pero'' 'evening, night', cognate with Ancient Greek ἕσπερος hesperos 'evening; evening star; western' and Latin vesper 'evening; west'. Examples of the same formation in other languages include Latin occidens 'west' from occidō 'to go down, to set' and Hebrew מַעֲרָב maarav 'west' from עֶרֶב erev 'evening'. Navigation To go west using a compass for navigation (in a place where magnetic north is the same dir ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plays By John Dighton
Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * Play Mobile, a Polish internet provider * Xperia Play, an Android phone * Rakuten.co.uk (formerly Play.com), an online retailer * Backlash (engineering), or ''play'', non-reversible part of movement * Petroleum play, oil fields with same geological circumstances * Play symbol, in media control devices Film * ''Play'' (2005 film), Chilean film directed by Alicia Scherson * ''Play'', a 2009 short film directed by David Kaplan * ''Play'' (2011 film), a Swedish film directed by Ruben Östlund * ''Rush'' (2012 film), an Indian film earlier titled ''Play'' and also known as ''Raftaar 24 x 7'' * ''The Play'' (film), a 2013 Bengali film Literature and publications * ''Play'' (play), written by Samuel Beckett * ''Play'' (''The New York Time ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1955 Plays
Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijiangshan Islands: The Chinese Communist People's Liberation Army seizes the islands from the Republic of China (Taiwan). * January 22 – In the United States, The Pentagon announces a plan to develop intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), armed with nuclear weapons. * January 23 – The Sutton Coldfield rail crash kills 17, near Birmingham, England. * January 25 – The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union announces the end of the war between the USSR and Germany, which began during World War II in 1941. * January 28 – The United States Congress authorizes President Dwight D. Eisenhower to use force to protect Taiwan, Formosa from the People's Republic of China. February * February 10 – The United States Seventh Fl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joan Sims
Irene Joan Marion Sims (9 May 1930 – 27 June 2001) was an English actress, best remembered for her roles in the ''Carry On'' franchise, appearing in 24 of the films (the most for any actress). On television, she is known for playing Gran in '' Till Death Us Do Part'' (1967–1975), Madge Kettlewell in '' Sykes'' (1972–1978), Mrs Wembley, the cook with a liking for sherry, in '' On the Up'' (1990–1992), and Madge Hardcastle in '' As Time Goes By'' (1994–1998). Early life and education Sims was born on 9 May 1930, the only child of John Henry Sims (1888-1964), Station Master of Laindon railway station in Essex, and his wife Gladys Marie Sims, ''née'' Ladbrook (1896-1981). Sims's early interest in being an actress came from living at the railway station. She would often put on performances for waiting passengers. She decided that she wanted to pursue show business during her teens, and soon became a familiar face in a growing number of amateur productions locally. One o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joan Hickson
Joan Bogle Hickson, OBE (5 August 1906 – 17 October 1998) was an English actress of theatre, film and television. She was known for her role as Agatha Christie's Miss Marple in the television series ''Miss Marple''. She also narrated a number of ''Miss Marple'' stories on audiobooks. Biography Born in Kingsthorpe, Northampton, Hickson was a daughter of Edith Mary (née Bogle) and Alfred Harold Hickson, a shoe manufacturer. After boarding at Oldfield School in Swanage, Dorset, she went on to train at RADA in London. She made her stage debut in 1927, then worked for several years throughout the United Kingdom, achieving success playing comedic, often eccentric characters in the West End of London. She played the role of the cockney maid Ida in the original production of '' See How They Run'' at the Q Theatre in 1944, and then at the Comedy Theatre in January 1945. She made her first film appearance in 1934. The numerous supporting roles she played during her career included ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wendy Craig
Anne Gwendolyn "Wendy" Craig (born 20 June 1934) is an English actress who is best known for her appearances in the sitcoms '' Not in Front of the Children'', '' ...And Mother Makes Three'', '' ...And Mother Makes Five'' and ''Butterflies''. She played the role of Matron in the TV series '' The Royal'' (2003–2011). Early life Anne Gwendolyn Craig was born on 20 June 1934 in Sacriston, County Durham, the daughter of farmer George Craig and his wife Anne (). She attended Durham High School for Girls, initially as a day pupil and later as a boarder, which she revisited in October 2007 to open a new building that had been named after her. She passed the 11+ examination and went to Darlington High School. When she was twelve years old the family moved to Picton, North Yorkshire and she attended nearby Yarm Grammar School. She trained as an actress at the Central School of Speech and Drama, then based in the Royal Albert Hall, London.Julia HallaWendy Craig profile screenonli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robertson Hare
John Robertson Hare, Order of the British Empire, OBE (17 December 1891 – 25 January 1979) was an English actor, who came to fame in the Aldwych farces. He is remembered by more recent audiences for his performances as the Archdeacon in the popular BBC sitcom, ''All Gas and Gaiters''. Short in stature and of unheroic appearance, Hare made his stage career in character roles. From his early days as an actor he was cast as older men. One of his favourite parts, which he played in the provinces before achieving West End theatre, West End success, was "Grumpy", a retired lawyer, in which he toured before the First World War. After war service in the army, Hare got his big break. He was cast in a long-running farce with Ralph Lynn and Tom Walls. His meek and put-upon character was repeated in various incarnations in the eleven Aldwych farces presented by Walls between 1923 and 1933. He also appeared in film versions of most of the farces. After the Aldwych series came to an end, H ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pleasure Gardens Theatre
The Pleasure Gardens Theatre was a theatre in Folkestone in Kent. It was opened in 1886 in a building that had previously been constructed as an Exhibition Hall in 1851. It was later converted into a cinema before closing in 1964. In the interwar years several plays premiered there prior to West End runs including Dorothy Brandon's 1923 hit ''The Outsider''.Wearing p.231 The following year Sutton Vane Sutton Vane (born Vane Hunt Sutton-Vane; 9 November 1888 – 15 June 1963) was a British playwright best known work for '' Outward Bound'' (1923), which was filmed twice and was still being performed eight decades after its premiere. Actor Bo ...'s '' Falling Leaves'' was first staged at Folkestone. References Bibliography * Wearing, J. P. ''The London Stage 1920-1929: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel''. Rowman & Littlefield, 2014. Theatres in Kent Theatres completed in 1886 1886 establishments in England Folkestone {{UK-theat-struct-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aldwych Theatre
The Aldwych Theatre is a West End theatre, located in Aldwych in the City of Westminster, central London. It was listed Grade II on 20 July 1971. Its seating capacity is 1,200 on three levels. History Origins The theatre was constructed in the newly built Aldwych as a pair with the Waldorf Theatre, now known as the Novello Theatre. Both buildings were designed in the Edwardian Baroque style by W. G. R. Sprague. The Aldwych Theatre was funded by Seymour Hicks in association with the American impresario Charles Frohman, and built by Walter Wallis of Balham. The theatre opened on 23 December 1905 with a production of ''Blue Bell'', a new version of Hicks's popular pantomime ''Bluebell in Fairyland''. In 1906, Hicks's '' The Beauty of Bath'', followed in 1907 by '' The Gay Gordons'', played at the theatre. In February 1913, the theatre was used by Serge Diaghilev and Vaslav Nijinsky for the first rehearsals of '' Le Sacre du Printemps'' before its première in Paris during M ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mannequin
A mannequin (also called a dummy, lay figure, or dress form) is a doll, often articulated, used by artists, tailors, dressmakers, window dressers and others, especially to display or fit clothing and show off different fabrics and textiles. Previously, the English term referred to human models and muses (a meaning which it still retains in French and other European languages); the meaning as a dummy dating from the start of World War II. Life-sized mannequins with simulated airways are used in the teaching of first aid, CPR, and advanced airway management skills such as tracheal intubation. During the 1950s, mannequins were used in nuclear tests to help show the effects of nuclear weapons on humans. Also referred to as mannequins are the human figures used in computer simulation to model the behavior of the human body. ''Mannequin'' comes from the French word ', which had acquired the meaning "an artist's jointed model", which in turn came from the Flemish word ', me ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
