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Blitz!
''Blitz!'' is a musical by Lionel Bart. The musical, described by Steven Suskin as "massive", was set in the East End of London during the Blitz (the aerial bombings during World War II). The story drew on Bart's childhood memories of London's Jewish East End during the Blitz and, like most musicals, centred on a romance between a young couple, in this case a Jewish woman and a Cockney man, although the largest role and main point-of-view character is that of Mrs Blitztein, the young woman's mother.Suskin 2005, Mandelbaum 2005. Steven Suskin describes it as "'' Abie's Irish Rose'' set against the burning of Atlanta." Bart himself described the play as "…three human stories inside an epic canvas; the major human conflictthe major plotpersonifies the spirit of London and how that spirit developed during the period of the piece."Mandelbaum 2005 Production history ''Blitz!'' opened in London on 8 May 1962 at the Adelphi Theatre, while Bart's enormous West End success '' Oliver ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lionel Bart
Lionel Bart (1 August 1930 – 3 April 1999) was an English writer and composer of pop music and musicals. He wrote Tommy Steele's "Rock with the Caveman" and was the sole creator of the musical ''Oliver!'' (1960). With ''Oliver!'' and his work alongside theatre director Joan Littlewood at Theatre Royal Stratford East, Theatre Royal, Stratford East, he played an instrumental role in the 1960s birth of the British musical theatre scene after an era when American musicals had dominated the West End theatre, West End. Best known for creating the book, music and lyrics for ''Oliver!'', Bart was described by Andrew Lloyd Webber as "the father of the modern British musical". In 1963 he won the Tony Award for Best Original Score for ''Oliver!'', and the Oliver! (film), 1968 film version of the musical won a total of 6 Academy Awards including the Academy Award for Best Picture. Some of his other songs include the theme song to the James Bond film ''From Russia with Love (film), From R ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amelia Bayntun
Amelia Bayntun (31 March 1919 – 19 January 1988) was an English stage and television actress. Career Bayntun started her stage career in 1937, when she joined the Bristol Unity Players. During World War II, she was in '' Stars in Battledress'' performing in Italy and Austria after the end of hostilities. In between engagements, she ran a pub with her husband, and occasionally sang as Marie Lloyd at London's Players' Theatre. In 1960 she appeared on stage in Joan Littlewood's production of '' Sparrers Can't Sing'' at the Theatre Royal Stratford East, and in its later West End transfer. She played in the TV series ''Dixon of Dock Green'' in early 1962, and in the same year was chosen to play the part of Mrs Blitzein in Lionel Bart's musical ''Blitz!''. In this she became a great hit and played the part for the full 568 performances. After this she was not seen in any major role. She played in a number of ''Carry On films'' and on TV, including an episode of ''On the Buses'', u ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sean Kenny (theatre Designer)
Sean Kenny (23 December 1929 – 11 June 1973) was an Irish theatre and film scenic designer, costume designer, lighting designer and director. Kenny was the set designer for the musicals of Lionel Bart including ''Oliver!'', '' Lock Up Your Daughters'' and '' Blitz!''. Life Kenny was born in Portroe, County Tipperary, Ireland in 1929. While he was an architecture student, aged 20, Kenny and three others sailed from Ireland to New York in a 36-foot sailboat, the ''Ituna'', in 1950. Kenny was a contributor to The Establishment, a standup satire and jazz club in London founded by Peter Cook and Nicholas Luard. In the 1960s, after the workday, Kenny and his staff often made the short trip of a few steps across Manette Street from his design studio into the back door of The Pillars of Hercules. In 1966, Kenny married model Judy Huxtable. She later described him as "regularly unfaithful", and left him to marry Peter Cook. Following his divorce, Kenny lived with the actress J ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jessica Hynes
Jessica Hynes (''née'' Stevenson) is a British actress, director and writer. Best known as a comedy actress, she has played Cheryl in ''The Royle Family'' (1998–2010), Siobhan Sharpe in ''Twenty Twelve'' (2011–2012) and ''W1A'' (2014–2017) and Emily Yates in ''There She Goes'' (2018–2023). She was also one of the stars, creators and writers of ''Spaced'' (1999–2001). She has also had starring roles in television film ''Tomorrow La Scala!'' and BBC dramas ''Years and Years'' (2019) and ''Miss Austen'' (2025). In film, Hynes has appeared in the ''Bridget Jones'' (2004–2016), ''Nativity'' (2012–2018) and ''Paddington'' (2017–2024) film series. Hynes has been nominated for two International Emmy Awards, a Tony Award, a Laurence Olivier Award, five BAFTAs (winning two), three Royal Television Society Awards (winning two) and three British Comedy Awards (winning two). Early life Hynes was born in Lewisham, London, and grew up in Brighton, where she attend ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Musical Theater
Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an integrated whole. Although musical theatre overlaps with other theatrical forms like opera and dance, it may be distinguished by the equal importance given to the music as compared with the dialogue, movement and other elements. Since the early 20th century, musical theatre stage works have generally been called, simply, musicals. Although music has been a part of dramatic presentations since ancient times, modern Western musical theatre emerged during the 19th century, with many structural elements established by the light opera works of Jacques Offenbach in France, Gilbert and Sullivan in Britain and the works of Harrigan and Hart in America. These were followed by Edwardian musica ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vera Lynn
Dame Vera Margaret Lynn (; 20 March 1917 – 18 June 2020) was an English singer and entertainer whose musical recordings and performances were very popular during World War II. She is Honorific nicknames in popular music, honorifically known as the "Forces sweetheart, Forces' Sweetheart", having given outdoor concerts for the troops in Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt, British Raj, India, and British rule in Burma, Burma during the war as part of the Entertainments National Service Association (ENSA). The songs most associated with her include "We'll Meet Again", "(There'll Be Bluebirds Over) The White Cliffs of Dover", "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square" and "There'll Always Be an England". She remained popular after the war, appearing on radio and television in the United Kingdom and the United States and recording such hits as "Auf Wiederseh'n, Sweetheart" and her UK number-one single "My Son, My Son". Her last single, "I Love This Land", was released to mark the end of the Fal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Noël Coward Theatre
The Noël Coward Theatre, formerly known as the Albery Theatre, is a West End theatre in St. Martin's Lane in the City of Westminster, London. It opened on 12 March 1903 as the New Theatre and was built by Sir Charles Wyndham behind Wyndham's Theatre which was completed in 1899. The building was designed by the architect W. G. R. Sprague with an exterior in the classical style and an interior in the Rococo style. In 1973, it was renamed the Albery Theatre in tribute to Sir Bronson Albery who had presided as its manager for many years. Since September 2005, the theatre has been owned by Delfont-Mackintosh Ltd. It underwent major refurbishment in 2006 and was renamed the Noël Coward Theatre when it re-opened on 1 June 2006. The building is a Grade II Listed structure. History Early years, 1903–1919 The New was the second of the three theatres in St Martin's Lane. The Trafalgar Square (now the Duke of York's) opened in 1892 and the London Coliseum in 1904. The actor-ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Diane Langton
Diane Shirley Maria Langton (31 May 1944 – 15 January 2025) was a British actress, singer and dancer whose career on stage and screen spanned six decades. After beginning her career in theatre, she went on to appear in television shows, portraying roles such as Kathy Roberts in ''The Rag Trade'' and June Snell in ''Only Fools and Horses'', Ruby Rowan in ''Heartbeat (British TV series), Heartbeat'' and Bev Williams in ''EastEnders''. Her most notable role, however, was her portrayal of Nana McQueen, Marlena "Nana" McQueen in the Channel 4 soap opera ''Hollyoaks'', which she played sporadically between 2007 to 2009 and from 2012 until her death. Early life Diane Shirley Maria Langton was born on 31 May 1944 in Cranmore, Somerset, Cranmore, Somerset, and grew up in Fulham, London. She was the daughter of William Langton, a merchant seaman, and his wife Bridie (''née'' Monahan). Langton began her career as a dancer with several ballet companies on European tours, and trained at t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Youth Theatre
The National Youth Theatre of Great Britain (NYT) is a youth theatre and charity in London, created with the aim of developing young people's artistic skills via theatrical productions and other creative endeavours. Founded in 1956 as the world's first youth theatre, it has built a reputation for nurturing the early talent of actors such as Daniel Craig, Matthew Marsden, Daniel Day-Lewis, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Colin Firth, Derek Jacobi, Ben Kingsley, Ian McShane, Alfred Molina, Helen Mirren, Rosamund Pike, Kate Winslet and Daisy Edgar-Jones. Some former NYT members went on to pursue non-acting careers, such as musicians Sophie Ellis-Bextor and Ed Sheeran. The NYT holds annual acting auditions and technical theatre interviews around the United Kingdom, receiving an average of over 5,000 applicants. Currently, around 500 places are offered on summer acting and technical courses (costume, lighting and sound, scenery and prop making, and stage management), which offer par ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Royal Shakespeare Company
The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and opens around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, Stratford-upon-Avon, and on tour across the UK and internationally. The company's home is in Stratford-upon-Avon, where it has redeveloped its Royal Shakespeare and Swan theatres as part of a £112.8-million "Transformation" project. The theatres re-opened in November 2010, having closed in 2007. As well as the plays of Shakespeare and his contemporaries, the RSC produces new work from living artists. Company history The early years There have been theatrical performances in Stratford-upon-Avon since at least Shakespeare's day, though the first recorded performance of a play written by Shakespeare himself was in 1746 when Parson Joseph Greene, master of Stratford Grammar School, organised a charitable production to fund the restoration ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, during the Second World War) and again from 1951 to 1955. For some 62 of the years between 1900 and 1964, he was a Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), member of parliament (MP) and represented a total of five Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, constituencies over that time. Ideologically an adherent to economic liberalism and imperialism, he was for most of his career a member of the Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party, which he led from 1940 to 1955. He was a member of the Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party from 1904 to 1924. Of mixed English and American parentage, Churchill was born in Oxfordshire into the wealthy, aristocratic Spencer family. He joined the British Army in 1895 and saw action in British R ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Noël Coward
Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time (magazine), Time'' called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise"."Noel Coward at 70" ''Time'', 26 December 1969, p. 46 Coward attended a dance academy in London as a child, making his professional stage début at the age of eleven. As a teenager he was introduced into the high society in which most of his plays would be set. Coward achieved enduring success as a playwright, publishing more than 50 plays from his teens onwards. Many of his works, such as ''Hay Fever (play), Hay Fever'', ''Private Lives'', ''Design for Living'', ''Pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
