British Shakespeare Company
The British Shakespeare Company was a British open-air touring Shakespeare Company. Founded by Robert J. Williamson in 1994 (as the R. J. Williamson Company), it was renamed in 2005. Originally based in Leeds (performing in the ruins of Kirkstall Abbey), the company later established Shakespeare festivals for Brighton, Nottingham, The Kew Gardens, Cannizaro Park in Wimbledon and Holland Park Theatre in central London. The company produced two of Shakespeare's most commercially popular plays each year from 1994 to 2007, totalling over 700 performances, usually featuring household names from film, television and stage. These have included James Alexandrou from ''EastEnders'', Liam Gerrard from ''Odd Squad'', Pierce Brosnan's actor son Sean, the dancer and performer Wayne Sleep, and the comedian Norman Pace. The 2007 shows, ''Henry V'' and ''As You Like It'' toured Norway, Windsor, Leeds and Oxford. In 2008 the company performed ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' for two nights at Arun ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the " Bard of Avon" or simply "the Bard". His extant works, including collaborations, consist of some 39 plays, 154 sonnets, three long narrative poems and a few other verses, some of uncertain authorship. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright. Shakespeare remains arguably the most influential writer in the English language, and his works continue to be studied and reinterpreted. Shakespeare was born and raised in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire. At the age of 18, he married Anne Hathaway, with whom he had three children: Susanna, and twins Hamnet and Judith. Sometime between 1585 and 1592 he began a successful career in Lon ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
A Midsummer Night's Dream
''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a Comedy (drama), comedy play written by William Shakespeare in about 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict among four Athenian lovers. Another follows a group of six amateur actors rehearsing the play which they are to perform before the wedding. Both groups find themselves in a forest inhabited by fairies who manipulate the humans and are engaged in their own domestic intrigue. ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is one of Shakespeare's most popular and widely performed plays. Characters The Athenians: * Theseus – Duke of Athens * Hippolyta – Queen of the Amazons and Theseus' fianceé * Hermia – in love with Lysander * Helena (A Midsummer Night's Dream), Helena – in love with Demetrius * Lysander (A Midsummer Night's Dream), Lysander – in love with Hermia * Demetrius (A Midsummer Night's Dream), Demetrius – s ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Kentwell Hall
Kentwell Hall is a stately home in Long Melford, Suffolk, England. It includes the hall, outbuildings, a rare-breeds farm and gardens. Most of the current building facade dates from the mid-16th century, but the origins of Kentwell are much earlier, with references in the Domesday Book of 1086. Kentwell has been the background location for numerous film and television productions, and, since 1979, has annually been the scene of Tudor and other period historical re-enactments, with weddings and other events. It also hosts ''Scaresville'', an annual Hallowe'en event which won national awards in 2009 and 2018. History Early history The earliest recorded reference to Kentwell is in the Domesday Book of 1086, which states that the manor of Kentwell (along with six others) formed part of the property of Frodo, brother of Abbot Baldwin, of the Abbey of St. Edmund's. At that time, the manor was called by its old English name of Kanewella. The record in the Domesday Book survey, tran ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Norwich Cathedral
Norwich Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, is a Church of England cathedral in the city of Norwich, Norfolk, England. The cathedral is the seat of the bishop of Norwich and the mother church of the diocese of Norwich. It is administered by its dean and chapter, and there are daily Church of England services. It is a Grade I listed building. Construction of the building was begun in 1096 at the behest of the first bishop of Norwich, Herbert de Losinga. When the crossing tower was the last piece of the Norman cathedral to be completed; measuring and wide, the cathedral was the largest building in East Anglia. The cathedral close occupied a tenth of the total area of the medieval city. The present structure of Norwich Cathedral is primarily Norman, being made of flint and mortar and faced with a cream-coloured Caen limestone. The cathedral was damaged during the riots of 1272; repairs were completed in 1278. The cloisters, begun ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Gawsworth Hall
Gawsworth Old Hall is a Grade I listed country house in the village of Gawsworth, Cheshire, England. It is a timber-framed house in the Cheshire black-and-white style. The present house was built between 1480 and 1600, replacing an earlier Norman house. It was probably built as a courtyard house enclosing a quadrangle, but much of it has been demolished, leaving the house with a U-shaped plan. Notable residents have included Mary Fitton, perhaps the " Dark Lady" of Shakespeare's sonnets, and Samuel "Maggoty" Johnson, a playwright described as the last professional jester in England, whose grave is nearby in Maggoty Wood, a small National Trust woodland. In 1712 a dispute about the ownership of the Gawsworth estate culminated in a celebrated duel, in which both the combatants were killed. The hall is surrounded by formal gardens and parkland, which once comprised an Elizabethan pleasure garden and, possibly, a tilting ground for jousting. The grounds are listed Grade&nb ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the University of Dublin in the Republic of Ireland. Founded by Queen Elizabeth I in 1592 through a royal charter, it is one of the extant seven " ancient universities" of Great Britain and Ireland. Trinity contributed to Irish literature during the Georgian and Victorian eras, and areas of the natural sciences and medicine. Trinity was established to consolidate the rule of the Tudor monarchy in Ireland, with Provost Adam Loftus christening it after Trinity College, Cambridge. Built on the site of the former Priory of All Hallows demolished by King Henry VIII, it was the Protestant university of the Ascendancy ruling elite for over two centuries, and was therefore associated with social elitism for most of its history. Trinity has three ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Rose Theatre, Kingston
The Rose Theatre Kingston is a theatre on Kingston High Street in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames in London, England. The theatre seats 822 around a wide, thrust stage. It officially opened on 16 January, 2008 with the play ''Uncle Vanya'' written by Anton Chekhov and directed by Sir Peter Hall. Hall had also directed an "in the raw" production of ''As You Like It'' within the shell of the uncompleted building in December 2004. Design The theatre's layout is based on that of the Rose Theatre in London, an Elizabethan theatre that staged the plays of Christopher Marlowe and early plays by Shakespeare. It features a shallow thrust stage. Unlike the original Rose, it makes the Elizabethan design more comfortable by adding a roof and modern seats, rather like the Swan Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon. The auditorium has since been refurbished to include stall seating in the pit area – reaching a total number of 822 seats. History The Rose was a project supported by Pe ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Much Ado About Nothing
''Much Ado About Nothing'' is a Shakespearean comedy, comedy by William Shakespeare thought to have been written in 1598 and 1599.See textual notes to ''Much Ado About Nothing'' in ''The Norton Shakespeare'' (W. W. Norton & Company, 1997 ) p. 1387 The play was included in the ''First Folio'', published in 1623. The play is set in Messina and revolves around two romantic pairings that emerge when a group of soldiers arrive in the town. The first, between Claudio and Hero (Much Ado About Nothing), Hero, is nearly scuppered by the accusations of the villain, Don John. The second, between Claudio's friend Benedick and Hero's cousin Beatrice (Much Ado About Nothing), Beatrice, takes centre stage as the play continues, with both characters' wit and banter providing much of the humour. Through "noting" (sounding like "nothing" and meaning gossip, rumour, overhearing), Benedick and Beatrice are tricked into confessing their love for each other, and Claudio is tricked into believ ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Steven Blakeley
Steven Blakeley (born 26 February 1982) is a British actor. He is best known for his role as PC Geoff Younger in the British police drama '' Heartbeat'', guest roles in various other television programmes and multiple theatre roles. Early life Steven Blakeley was born in Chesterfield, Derbyshire in 1982 and was brought up in the Derbyshire mining town of Bolsover. He attended the Bolsover School, and was initially interested in pursuing a medical career, before turning his attentions to performing. Career Blakeley started his career as a member of the Derby Playhouse Community and Youth Theatre companies, before going on to work professionally at Derby Playhouse. He trained as an actor at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow and at the Athanor Academy in Germany. His theatre credits include national tours of Peter Shaffer's ''The Private Ear and The Public Eye'', ''Dry Rot'' and ''Funny Peculiar'', ''Diary of a Nobody'' at the Royal and Derngate, '' ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Gabriel Thomson
Gabriel Francis Marshall Thomson (born 27 October 1986) is an English actor, best known for his role as Michael Harper in the British situation comedy series '' My Family''. Career Thomson began his acting career at the age of four, performing in plays with a company called ''the Goliards'' while his family holidayed in Devon. At the age of five, he gave his first TV performance in an advert for '' Frosties'' which he later said he'd "rather forget." In 1995, he appeared in a television version of ''The Bible: Joseph''. He followed this up with a small role in another television mini-series called ''Painted Lady''. It was in 1999 that Thomson secured his first major acting role, playing Young Pip in a BBC adaption of ''Great Expectations''. It was through his role on ''Painted Lady'' that he was cast in ''Great Expectations'', as the casting director of ''Painted Lady'' thought he would be perfect as Pip. The same year, Thomson made his big screen debut as he had replaced Jona ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
David Davies (actor)
David Davies is an English actor best known for his portrayal of Shakespeare's characters and for playing leading parts when he was the Company Manager of The GB Theatre Company. Early life Davies was born on 12 February, and moved from Hounslow, London with his family to Perth, Western Australia. He studied acting at The National Institute of Art, ( NIDA) in Sydney where he was the first male student to play Hamlet. He graduated with a Diploma in Acting in the mid 1990s. Career He played Hamlet again for The Hole in the Wall Theatre Company, directed by Raymond Omedei. Other early work includes ''Silly Cow'' and ''Gasping'' for The Perth Theatre Company, both productions written by Ben Elton and directed by Alan Becher. Television credits at this time include '' Stingers'', ''The Sleepover Club'' and many projects with Soul Films under the direction of Martin Wilson. From 2001 to 2006, Davies was an ensemble member of Bell Shakespeare, directed by John Bell. He played in ' ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Daniela Lavender
Daniela Lavender, Lady Kingsley ( Barbosa de Carneiro; 14 December 1974) is a Brazilian actress, appearing on Brazilian television and on English-language television, film and stage, including touring with the British Shakespeare Company. Early life Lavender was born in Bahia, Brazil, daughter of a policeman father and English teacher mother. At the age of eight, Lavender began training in ballet, jazz and contemporary dance. Lavender studied Flamenco dancing under Roberto Amaral and received a journalism degree from Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro. She studied drama at Dirceu de Mattos school in Rio de Janeiro, studied English for a year and traveled to London. She auditioned for the London International School of Performing Arts, playing Queen Anne from Shakespeare's ''Richard III'', and passed the audition in spite of the language barrier. Acting career Lavender appeared in the low budget independent film '' Emotional Backgammon'' (2003) and was awar ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |