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Noises Off
''Noises Off'' is a 1982 farce by the English playwright Michael Frayn. Frayn conceived the idea in 1970 while watching from the wings a performance of '' The Two of Us'', a farce that he had written for Lynn Redgrave. He said, "It was funnier from behind than in front, and I thought that one day I must write a farce from behind." The prototype, a short-lived one-act play called ''Exits'', was written and performed in 1977. At the request of his associate, Michael Codron, Frayn expanded this into what would become ''Noises Off''. It takes its title from the theatrical stage direction indicating sounds coming from offstage. Characters of ''Noises Off'' *Lloyd Dallas: The director of a play-within-the-play, ''Nothing On''. Temperamental, exacting and sarcastic. Involved with both Brooke and Poppy. *Dotty Otley: A middle-aged television star who is not only the top-billed star but also one of the play's principal investors. Dating the much younger Garry. *Garry Lejeune: The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Michael Frayn
Michael Frayn, FRSL (; born 8 September 1933) is an English playwright and novelist. He is best known as the author of the farce ''Noises Off'' and the dramas ''Copenhagen (play), Copenhagen'' and ''Democracy (play), Democracy''. Frayn's novels, such as ''Towards the End of the Morning'', ''Headlong (Frayn novel), Headlong'' and ''Spies (novel), Spies'', have also been critical and commercial successes, making him one of the handful of writers in the English language to succeed in both drama and prose fiction. He has also written philosophical works, such as ''The Human Touch: Our Part in the Creation of the Universe'' (2006). Early life Frayn was born at Mill Hill, north London (then in Middlesex), to Thomas Allen Frayn, an asbestos salesman from a working-class family of blacksmiths, locksmiths and servants and his wife Violet Alice (née Lawson). Violet was the daughter of a failed palliasse merchant; having studied as a violinist at the Royal Academy of Music, she worked as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stockton-on-Tees
Stockton-on-Tees is a market town in County Durham, England, with a population of 84,815 at the 2021 UK census. It gives its name to and is the largest settlement in the wider Borough of Stockton-on-Tees. It is part of Teesside and the Tees Valley, on the northern bank of the River Tees. The River Tees was straightened in the early 19th century, so that larger ships could access the town. The ports have since relocated closer to the North Sea, and ships are no longer able to sail from the sea to the town. This is due to the building of the Tees Barrage, which was installed to manage tidal flooding. The Stockton and Darlington Railway served the port during the early part of the Industrial Revolution. The railway was also the world's first permanent steam-powered passenger railway. History Etymology ''Stockton'' is an Anglo-Saxons, Anglo-Saxon place name with the common ending ''ton'', meaning ''farm'', or ''homestead''. ''Stock'' is possibly derived from the Anglo-Saxon ''S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Victor Garber
Victor Garber, (born March 16, 1949) is a Canadian stage and film actor and singer. Known for his work on stage and screen, he has been nominated for three Gemini Awards, four Tony Awards, and six Primetime Emmy Awards. In 2022, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada. Garber originated roles in the Broadway productions of '' Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street'' in 1979 (as Anthony Hope), '' Noises Off'' in 1983 (as Garry LeJuene), '' Lend Me a Tenor'' in 1989 (as Max), '' Arcadia'' in 1995 (as Bernard Nightingale), and ''Art'' in 1998 (as Serge). He's received four Tony Award nominations for his performances in the play '' Deathtrap'' in 1978 (as Clifford Anderson), the Neil Simon musical '' Little Me'' in 1982 (as The Men in Belle's Life), ''Lend Me a Tenor'' in 1989, and the musical comedy revival of ''Damn Yankees'' in 1994 (as Applegate). He created the role of John Wilkes Booth in the original cast of the 1990 Off-Broadway run of ''Assassins''. In 201 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dorothy Loudon
Dorothy Loudon (September 17, 1925 – November 15, 2003) was an American actress and singer. She won the Tony Award for Best Lead Actress in a Musical in 1977 for her performance as Miss Hannigan in '' Annie''. Loudon was also nominated for Tony Awards for her lead performances in the musicals ''The Fig Leaves Are Falling'' and ''Ballroom'', as well as a Golden Globe award for her appearances on '' The Garry Moore Show''. Early life and career Loudon was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1925 (she later shaved eight years off her age), to James Edwin Loudon and Dorothy Helen Loudon (née Shaw). She was raised in Claremont, New Hampshire, and Indianapolis, Indiana. She attended Syracuse University on a drama scholarship but did not graduate, and moved to New York City to study at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. She began singing in night clubs, one such being New York's Blue Angel, mingling song with ad-libbed comedy patter, and was featured on television on '' The Perry ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Evening Standard Theatre Awards
The ''Evening Standard'' Theatre Awards, established in 1955, are the oldest theatrical awards ceremony in the United Kingdom. They are presented annually for outstanding achievements in London Theatre, and are organised by the ''Evening Standard'' newspaper. They are the West End's equivalent to Broadway's Drama Desk Awards. Trophies The trophies take the form of a modelled statuette, a figure representing Drama, designed by Frank Dobson RA, a former Professor of Sculpture at the Royal College of Art. Categories Three of the awards are given in the names of former ''Evening Standard'' notables: *Arts editor Sydney Edwards (who conceived the awards, and died suddenly in July 1979) for the Best Director category. *Editor Charles Wintour (who as deputy-editor in 1955, launched the awards after a nod from the proprietor, Lord Beaverbrook') for Most Promising Playwright. *Long-serving theatre critic Milton Shulman (for several years a key member of the judging panel) for the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
West End Theatre
West End theatre is mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres in and near the West End of London.Christopher Innes"West End"in ''The Cambridge Guide to Theatre'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998), pp. 1194–1195, Along with New York City's Broadway theatre, West End theatre represents the highest level of Theatre of the United Kingdom, commercial theatre in the English-speaking world. Seeing a West End show is a common tourist activity in London. Prominent screen actors, Cinema of the United Kingdom, British and World cinema, international alike, frequently appear on the London stage. There are approximately 40 theatres in the West End, with the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, opened in May 1663, the oldest theatre in London. The Savoy Theatre—built as a showcase for the popular series of comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan—was entirely lit by electricity in 1881. Society of London Theatre, The Society of London Theatre (SOLT) announced that 201 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Savoy Theatre
The Savoy Theatre is a West End theatre in the Strand in the City of Westminster, London, England. The theatre was designed by C. J. Phipps for Richard D'Oyly Carte and opened on 10 October 1881 on a site previously occupied by the Savoy Palace. Its intended purpose was to showcase the popular series of comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan, which became known as the Savoy operas. The theatre was the first public building in the world to be lit entirely by electricity. For many years, the Savoy Theatre was the home of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, which continued to be run by the Carte family for over a century. Richard's son Rupert D'Oyly Carte rebuilt and modernised the theatre in 1929, and it was rebuilt again in 1993 following a fire. It is a Grade II* listed building. In addition to '' The Mikado'' and other famous Gilbert and Sullivan premières, the theatre has hosted such premières as the first public performance in England of Oscar Wilde's '' Salome'' (1931) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nicky Henson
Nicholas Victor Leslie Henson (12 May 1945 – 15 December 2019) was a British actor. Early life Henson was born in London, the son of Harriet Martha (née Collins) and comedian Leslie Henson, a few days after VE Day, hence his middle name, Victor. Adam Henson, a farmer and regular presenter on BBC TV's '' Countryfile'', was Henson's nephew; being the son of Nicky's brother Joe Henson. He attended St. Bede's Prep School in Eastbourne and Charterhouse in Godalming. He trained as a stage manager at RADA and first appeared on stage himself as a guitarist. As a member of the Young Vic Company, he played Pozzo in Samuel Beckett's ''Waiting for Godot.'' Career Television Henson appeared in various television roles, including guest roles in ''Fawlty Towers'', '' Minder'', '' Boon'', ''Inspector Morse'', '' A Touch of Frost'', '' Heartbeat'', '' After You've Gone'', ''Lovejoy'' and '' Doctors''. In 1990 he played the doctor in the BBC’s adaptation of Kingsley Amis’ Ghost st ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paul Eddington
Paul Clark Eddington (18 June 1927 – 4 November 1995) was an English actor who played Jerry Leadbetter in the television sitcom '' The Good Life'' (1975–1978) and politician Jim Hacker in the sitcom '' Yes Minister'' (1980–1984) and its sequel, '' Yes, Prime Minister'' (1986–1988). He was a four-time BAFTA TV and two-time Olivier Award nominee. Early life Eddington was born at Paddington in London to decorative artist Albert Clark Eddington (1887–1955) and Frances Mary (née Roberts) (1898–1958). He was raised in St John's Wood. The family were Quakers; Albert Eddington being related to the Somerset shoemaking Clark family and the scientist Sir Arthur Eddington.Quakers and the Arts: "Plain and Fancy" – An Anglo-American Perspective, David Sox, Sessions Book Trust, 2000, p. 65 (Albert and Sir Arthur were second cousins, both great-grandsons of William Eddington (1755–1806).) Eddington was brought up by his parents with strict family values. His father had ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Patricia Routledge
Dame Katherine Patricia Routledge ( ; born 17 February 1929) is an English actress and singer, best known for her comedy role as Hyacinth Bucket in the popular BBC sitcom ''Keeping Up Appearances'' (1990–1995), for which she was nominated for the BAFTA TV Award for Best Light Entertainment Performance in 1992 and 1993. Routledge made her professional stage debut at the Liverpool Playhouse in 1952 and her Broadway debut in ''How's the World Treating You'' in 1966. She won the 1968 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her role in '' Darling of the Day'', and the 1988 Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical for ''Candide''. Her film appearances include '' To Sir, with Love'' (1967) and '' Don't Raise the Bridge, Lower the River'' (1968). On television, Routledge came to prominence during the 1980s in monologues written by Alan Bennett and Victoria Wood; appearing in Bennett's '' A Woman of No Importance'' (1982), as Kitty in '' Victoria Wood: As Seen on TV'' (1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Michael Blakemore
Michael Howell Blakemore AO OBE (18 June 1928 – 10 December 2023) was an Australian actor, writer and theatre director who also made some films. A former Associate Director of the National Theatre, in 2000 he became the only individual to win Tony Awards for Best Director of a Play and Musical in the same year for ''Copenhagen'' and ''Kiss Me, Kate''. Biography Early life and career Michael Howell Blakemore was born in Sydney, the son of Conrad Howell Blakemore, an eye surgeon, and his wife, Una Mary Litchfield. He married English actress Shirley Bush. Blakemore was educated at The King's School, Sydney, and went on to study medicine at the University of Sydney but failed his examinations. Blakemore's first job in the theatre was as a press agent for Robert Morley during the Australian tour of '' Edward, My Son'', who advised him to try drama school. In 1950 he came to London, enrolled at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and trained as an actor until 1952. He made h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
London Borough Of Hammersmith And Fulham
The London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham () is a London boroughs, London borough in West London and which also forms part of Inner London. The borough was formed in 1965 as the London Borough of Hammersmith from the merger of the former Metropolitan Boroughs of Fulham and Hammersmith. The name was changed to Hammersmith and Fulham in 1979. The borough borders London Borough of Brent, Brent to the north, the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea to the east, London Borough of Wandsworth, Wandsworth to the south, London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, Richmond upon Thames to the south west, and London Borough of Hounslow, Hounslow and London Borough of Ealing, Ealing to the west. Traversed by the east–west main roads of the A4 road (England), A4 Great West Road and the A40 road, A40 Westway (London), Westway, many international corporations have offices in the borough. The local council is Hammersmith and Fulham London Borough Council. The borough is amongst the four most ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
