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Beyond The Fringe
''Beyond the Fringe'' was a British comedy Play (theatre), stage revue written and performed by Alan Bennett, Peter Cook, Jonathan Miller, and Dudley Moore. It debuted at the 1960 Edinburgh Festival and went on to play in London's West End theatre, West End and then in America, both on tour and on New York City, New York's Broadway theatre, Broadway in the early 1960s. Hugely successful, it is widely regarded as seminal to the "satire boom", the rise of Satire, satirical comedy in 1960s Britain. The show The idea for ''Beyond the Fringe'' came from Robert Ponsonby, who was the director of the Edinburgh International Festival from 1956 to 1960. Ponsonby's idea was to bring together the best parts of the revues staged by the Cambridge Footlights and The Oxford Revue at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe in previous years. He said that the Festival should put on a late-night revue "to beat The Fringe at its own game." By 1960, the Festival was so firmly established th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Ponsonby
Robert Noel Ponsonby (19 December 19263 November 2019) was an English arts administrator and director of the Edinburgh International Festival from 1956 to 1960. Ponsonby was born in Oxford, educated at Eton College and served in the Scots Guards. After two years at the Independent Television Authority and eight years as head of the Scottish National Orchestra, he became Controller of Music at the BBC from 1972 for 13 years, succeeding William Glock (and during most of that time also in charge of the BBC Proms). He was artistic director of the Canterbury Festival The Canterbury Festival is Kent's international festival of the arts. It takes place in Canterbury (England) and surrounding towns and villages (including Faversham, Whitstable and Margate) each October/November and includes performances of a vari ... in 1987–88. He published two books of musical interviews and reminiscences: ''Musical Heroes'' (2009) and ''In and Out of Tune'' (2016). References 1926 births ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eleanor Fazan
Eleanor Henta Fazan OBE (29 May 1929 – 20 January 2024) was a British actress, dancer, and choreographer. She is best known for her roles in productions: ''Willow'', ''Hot Fuzz'' and ''Lassiter''. Fazan was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2013 New Year Honours for services to dance.The United Kingdom: Personal life Eleanor Henta Fazan was born on 29 May 1929 in Kenya. She later trained in dancing with Sadler's Wells Ballet (currently known as 'The Royal Ballet'). Later she joined the Arts Educational School. Fazan was married to the British composer Stanley Myers in 1955, and they had one son. She died on 20 January 2024, at the age of 94. Career In 1959, Fazan directed ''One to Another'', a revue at the Lyric Opera House in Hammersmith written by Bamber Gascoigne, John Cranko, John Mortimer, N. F. Simpson, and Harold Pinter, amongst others. It starred Beryl Reid, Patrick Wymark, Joe Melia Sheila Hancock and Ray Barrett. In 1960 she was chor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Donaldson
Charles William Donaldson (4 January 1935 – 22 June 2005) was a British satirist, writer, playboy and, under the pseudonym of Henry Root, author of ''The Henry Root Letters''. Life and career Son of Charles Glen Donaldson (1904–1956) and Elizabeth (née Stockley; d. 1955), Donaldson enjoyed a privileged upbringing in Sunningdale, Berkshire. His father was Managing Director of the Glasgow-based family shipping line, Donaldson Line, which until its sale in the early 1960s, was one of the largest passenger lines in the world. He was educated at Winchester College (where he first met Julian Mitchell) and Magdalene College, Cambridge. He spent some money supporting young writers such as his contemporaries Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath. He completed his National Service in the Royal Navy in the late 1950s, reaching the rank of Sub-Lieutenant. On his return to civilian life, Donaldson became associated with the set surrounding Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, and worked a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Donald Albery
Sir Donald Arthur Rolleston Albery (19 June 1914 – 14 September 1988) was an English theatre impresario who did much to translate the adventurous spirit of London in the 1960s onto the stage. Biography He was born into a theatrical family, with his father being the director Sir Bronson James Albery. His first job was to manage Sadler's Wells Ballet during the Blitz. When he launched his own Donmar company in 1953 he championed plays by Graham Greene, Tennessee Williams, Edward Albee, Jean Anouilh, and an adaptation by J. B. Priestley of an Iris Murdoch novel. Though he was always commercially minded, his spirit of adventure endured with the first London production of Samuel Beckett's ''Waiting for Godot'' and sponsorship of Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop. In 1961, Albery, in collaboration with William Donaldson, produced ''Beyond the Fringe'' in London and, in 1962, in New York. From 1964 to 1968, Albery served as director and administrator of the London Festival ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fortune Theatre
The Fortune Theatre is a 432-seat West End theatre in Russell Street, near Covent Garden, in the City of Westminster. From 1989 until 2023 the theatre hosted the long running play '' The Woman in Black''. History The site was acquired by author, playwright and impresario Laurence Cowen, and had previously been the location of the old Albion Tavern, a public house that was frequented by Georgian and Victorian actors. The theatre is situated next to Crown Court Church, and dwarfed by the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane on the opposite side of the road. Cowen commissioned architect Ernest Schaufelberg to design the theatre in an Italianate style. Constructed from 1922 to 1924, it was the first theatre to be built in London after the end of the First World War. One of the first buildings in London to experiment with concrete, its façade is principally made of bush hammered concrete, with brick piers supporting the roof. Since the demolition of the original Wembley Stadium, the th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
One Leg Too Few
"One Leg Too Few" is a comedy sketch written by Peter Cook and most famously performed by Cook and Dudley Moore. It is a classic example of comedy arising from an absurd situation which the participants take entirely seriously ( comic irony), and a demonstration of the construction of a sketch in order to draw a laugh from the audience with almost every line. Peter Cook said that this was one of the most perfect sketches he had acted in, and that it amazed him, later in his career, that he could have created it so young, at the age of 17 or 18. It first appeared in a Pembroke College revue, ''Something Borrowed'', in 1960 (where it was titled ''Leg Too Few'' as the show had an alphabetical theme and the sketch appeared under the letter "L") and later the same year in the Footlights revue, ''Pop Goes Mrs Jessop''. It appeared on the West End stage for the first time in 1961 as part of ''One Over the Eight'', a revue starring Kenneth Williams. Its first public performance with Du ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Two-hander
A two-hander is a term for a play, film, or television programme with only two main characters. The two characters in question often display differences in social standing or experiences, differences that are explored and possibly overcome as the story unfolds.Caption for still from William Gibson’s play "Two for the Seesaw." Photo credit Arthur Cantor; from "Looking Back at Arthur Penn" slide show; ''The New York Times'', September 30, 2010. Retrieved 2010-10-04. Instances of two-handers may include theatre, film, television episodes, television series, and radio. Radio * '' |
Kenneth Williams
Kenneth Charles Williams (22 February 1926 – 15 April 1988) was a British actor and comedian. He was best known for his comedy roles and in later life as a raconteur and diarist. He was one of the main ensemble in 26 of the 31 ''Carry On'' films, and appeared in many British television programmes and radio comedies, including series with Tony Hancock and Kenneth Horne, as well as being a frequent panellist on BBC Radio 4's comedy panel show ''Just a Minute'' from its second series in 1968 until his death 20 years later. Williams grew up in Central London in a working-class family; he said his father spoke Cockney. He served in the Royal Engineers during World War II, where he first became interested in becoming an entertainer. After a short spell in repertory theatre as a serious actor, he turned to comedy and achieved national fame in ''Hancock's Half Hour''. He sustained continued success throughout the 1960s and 1970s with his regular appearances in ''Carry On'' fil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
University Of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, second-oldest continuously operating university globally. It expanded rapidly from 1167, when Henry II of England, Henry II prohibited English students from attending the University of Paris. When disputes erupted between students and the Oxford townspeople, some Oxford academics fled northeast to Cambridge, where they established the University of Cambridge in 1209. The two English Ancient university, ancient universities share many common features and are jointly referred to as ''Oxbridge''. The University of Oxford comprises 43 constituent colleges, consisting of 36 Colleges of the University of Oxford, semi-autonomous colleges, four permanent private halls and three societies (colleges that are depar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Johnny Bassett
John Bassett (born 1934) is the person credited with putting together the talent for the Edinburgh International Festival revue, ''Beyond the Fringe'', in 1960. The beginnings As a student at Wadham College, Oxford, John Bassett led a traditional jazz ensemble, called the Bassett Hounds. Fellow student Dudley Moore, attending Magdalen College, Oxford on an organ scholarship, played piano in Bassett's band. The band performed always on Saturday evenings and usually throughout the week in the Union cellars (a part of the Oxford Union buildings and grounds, which had just been opened by Michael Heseltine, at that time the Union President). After graduating from Oxford, Bassett was hired by the artistic director of the Edinburgh International Festival Robert Ponsonby as his Assistant (on a salary of £11 a week). Ponsonby, himself a one-time Oxford man and organ scholar, was looking for a different type of late evening entertainment for the festival programme. For this time slot, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edinburgh Festival Fringe
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as the Edinburgh Fringe, the Fringe or the Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest performance arts festival, which in 2024 spanned 25 days, sold more than 2.6 million tickets and featured more than 51,446 scheduled performances of 3,746 different shows across 262 venues from 60 different countries. Of those shows, the largest section was comedy, representing almost 40% of shows, followed by theatre, which was 26.6% of shows. Established in 1947 as an unofficial offshoot to (and on the "fringe" of) the Edinburgh International Festival, it takes place in Edinburgh every August. The combination of Edinburgh Festival Fringe and Edinburgh International Festival has become a world-leading celebration of arts and culture, surpassed only by the Olympics and the World Cup in terms of global ticketed events. It is an open-access (or " unjuried") performing arts festival, meaning that there is no selection committee, and anyon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
