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Doris Hare
Doris Breamer Hare (1 March 1905 – 30 May 2000) was a Welsh actress, comedian, singer, and dancer best known for portraying Ethel Butler in the British sitcom ''On the Buses'' and its film spin-offs, after replacing the original actress Cicely Courtneidge. Early life Hare was born in Bargoed, Glamorgan. Her parents had a portable theatre in South Wales and it seemed inevitable that she would become a part of it, making her debut at the age of three in ''Queen's Evidence'' and appearing in juvenile troupes all over Britain as a child, before going solo as 'Little Doris Hare', appearing in music hall, variety, cabaret, revues and pantomimes. One of five, her brother, Bertie Hare and her sisters, Betty Hare and Winifred Breamer, were also actors and performers. Career In 1930, the actress toured in ''The Show's the Thing'', taking the part previously performed by Gracie Fields. In 1932, she appeared in the West End theatre, West End in Noël Coward's show ''Words and Music (musi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Order Of The British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two of which make the recipient either a Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom#Modern honours, knight if male or a dame (title), dame if female. There is also the related British Empire Medal, whose recipients are affiliated with the order, but are not members of it. The order was established on 4 June 1917 by King George V, who created the order to recognise 'such persons, male or female, as may have rendered or shall hereafter render important services to Our Empire'. Equal recognition was to be given for services rendered in the UK and overseas. Today, the majority of recipients are UK citizens, though a number of Commonwealth realms outside the UK continue to make appointments to the order. Honorary awards may be made to cit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
BBC Forces Programme
The BBC Forces Programme was a national radio station which operated from 7 January 1940 until 26 February 1944, when it was replaced by the BBC General Forces Programme. History Development Upon the outbreak of World War II on 1 September 1939, the BBC closed both existing National and Regional radio programmes, combining the two to form a single channel known as the BBC Home Service. Domestically, the BBC's medium wave transmitters continued to broadcast only the Home Service until the start of 1940, when the lack of choice and of lighter programming for people serving in the British Armed Forces having been noted – some of the former regional frequencies (804 and 877 kHz) were given over to a new service known as the ''Forces Programme''. Programming The BBC Home Service had been put together in a hurry and many of the pre-war favourite programmes had been lost. The new network mainly concentrated on news, informational programmes and music – in the early days o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal National Theatre
The National Theatre (NT), officially the Royal National Theatre and sometimes referred to in international contexts as the National Theatre of Great Britain, is a performing arts venue and associated theatre company located in London, England, adjacent to (but not part of) the Southbank Centre. The theatre was founded by Laurence Olivier in 1963 and List of Royal National Theatre Company actors, many well-known actors have since performed with it. The company was based at The Old Vic theatre in Waterloo Road, London, Waterloo until 1976. The current building is located next to the Thames in the The South Bank, South Bank area of central London. In addition to performances at the National Theatre building, it tours productions at theatres across the United Kingdom. The theatre has transferred numerous productions to Broadway and toured some as far as China, Australia and New Zealand. However, touring productions to European cities were suspended in February 2021 over concerns ab ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 Theatre, Royal Shakespeare and Swan Theatre (Stratford), 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, organise ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marcia Ashton
Marcia Ashton (born 1 July 1932 in Sheffield, England) is an actress best known for her soap opera roles as Lily in ''Compact'' and as Jean Crosby in '' Brookside''. She has made numerous other television appearances including; ''EastEnders'', '' Father, Dear Father'', '' The Brothers'', '' On the Buses'', '' Upstairs, Downstairs'', ''The Bill'', ''Rumpole of the Bailey'', '' Footballers' Wives'' and ''Holby City.'' She has also appeared on the West End stage and on Broadway. Her Shakespearian roles include Titania in ''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 s ....'' References External links * * English television actresses English soap opera actresses Living people 1932 births {{UK-tv-actor-1930s-stub Actresses from Sheffield ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fenella Fielding
Fenella Fielding (born Fenella Marion Feldman; 17 November 1927 – 11 September 2018) was an English stage, film and television actress who rose to prominence in the 1950s and 1960s, and was often referred to as "England's first lady of the double entendre". She was known for her seductive image and distinctively husky voice. Fielding appeared in two ''Carry On (franchise), Carry On'' films, ''Carry On Regardless'' (1961) and ''Carry On Screaming!'' (1966). Early life and education Fenella Marion Feldman was born on 17 November 1927 in Whitechapel, London, to a Romanian Jew, Romanian Jewish mother, Tilly (' Katz; 1902–1977), and a Lithuanian Jews, Lithuanian Jewish father, Philip Feldman. She was the younger sister of Basil, later Basil Feldman, Baron Feldman, Baron Feldman. She grew up in Lower Clapton and later Edgware where she attended North London Collegiate School. Her father at one time managed a cinema in Silvertown, east London. She later resided in Chiswick, w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chichester Festival Theatre
Chichester Festival Theatre is a theatre and Grade II* listed building situated in Oaklands Park in the city of Chichester, West Sussex, England. Designed by Philip Powell and Hidalgo Moya, it was opened by its founder Leslie Evershed-Martin in 1962. The smaller and more intimate Minerva Theatre was built nearby in 1989. The inaugural Artistic Director was Sir Laurence Olivier, and it was at Chichester that the first National Theatre company was formed. Chichester's productions would transfer to the National Theatre's base at the Old Vic in London. The opening productionsFestival - The Stage is Set, 1962 in 1962 were: '' The Chances'' by John Fletcher (first production 1638) which opened on 3 July; '' The Broken Heart'' (1633), by John Ford, opened 9 July; '' Uncle Vanya'' (1896), by Anton Chekov, opened 16 July. Among the actors in the opening season were: Lewis Casson, Fay Compton, Joan Greenwood, Rosemary Harris, Kathleen Harrison, Keith Michell, André Morell, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bertice Reading
Bertice Reading (July 22, 1933 – June 8, 1991) was an American-born actress, singer and revue artiste, who was based in England for most of her career. Early life and career Reading was born in Chester, Pennsylvania. Her performing career started at the age of 3, when she was talent-spotted by Bill "Bojangles" Robinson. She appeared in the all-black revue '' The Jazz Train'', in Paris in the spring of 1955 and at the Piccadilly Theatre in London. In this show she had notable success playing the great blues singer Bessie Smith. Adept at a whole range of musical styles, from gospel to blues to musical comedy, in addition to her talent, Reading also had a striking appearance and a renowned sense of humour. Her straight-acting performance as a nurse in William Faulkner's play '' Requiem for a Nun'' in 1957 earned her a nomination for a Tony Award when it transferred to Broadway. She also appeared in the 1958 musical '' Valmouth'', adapted from a Ronald Firbank novel of the sam ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cleo Laine
Dame Cleo Laine, Lady Dankworth (born Clementine Dinah Hitching; 28 October 1927) is an English singer and actress known for her scat singing. She is the widow of jazz composer and musician Sir John Dankworth and the mother of bassist Alec Dankworth and singer Jacqui Dankworth. Early life Laine was born Clementine Dinah Hitching on 28 October 1927, in Southall, Middlesex (now London), to Alexander Sylvan Campbell, a Jamaican who worked as a building labourer and regularly busked, and Minnie Bullock, an English farmer's daughter from Swindon, Wiltshire, whose maiden name was reportedly Hitching. The family moved constantly, but most of Laine's childhood was spent in Southall. It was not until 1953, when she was 26 and applying for a passport for a forthcoming tour of Germany, that Laine found out her real birth name, owing to her parents not being married at the time and her mother registering her under her own name (Hitching). Education Laine attended the Board school ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lyric Hammersmith
The Lyric Theatre, also known as the Lyric Hammersmith, is a nonprofit theatre on Lyric Square, off King Street, Hammersmith, London."About the Lyric" > "History" ''Lyric'' official website. Retrieved January 2024. Background The Lyric Theatre was originally a music hall established in 1888 on Bradmore Grove, Hammersmith. Success as an entertainment venue led it to be rebuilt and enlarged on the same site twice, firstly in 1890 and then in 1895 by the English theatrical architect Frank Matcham. The 1895 reopening, as The New Lyric Opera House, was accompanied by an opening address by the famous actress Lillie Langtry. In 1966 the theatre was due to be closed and demolished. However, a successful campaign to save it led to the auditorium being dismantled and reinstalled piece by piece within a modern shell on its current site on King Street a short distance from the former Bradmore Grove location. The relocated theatre opened in 1979.John Earl"Presidential Address: The Crest of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Valmouth (musical)
''Valmouth'' is a 1958 musical by Sandy Wilson based on the novel of the same name by Ronald Firbank. It premiered in London at the Lyric Hammersmith, before transferring to the Saville Theatre. The production was directed by Vida Hope. It made a star of Fenella Fielding as Lady Parvula de Panzoust. The musical has since been staged several times including twice at the Chichester Festival Theatre and several cast album recordings have been released. The musical has also been performed on BBC Radio, first broadcast in 1975. Original cast *Captain Dick Thoroughfare - Alan L Edwards *Cardinal Pirelli - Geoffrey Dunn *Carry - Denise Hirst *David Tooke - Peter Gilmore *Dr Dee - Lewis Henry *Father Colley-Mahoney - Robert Bernal *Granny Tooke - Doris Hare *Lady Parvula de Panzoust - Fenella Fielding *Lady Saunter - Celia Helda *Lt. Jack Whorwood - Aubrey Woods *Madame Mimosa - Marcia Owen *Mrs Hurstpierpoint - Barbara Couper *Mrs Q. Comedy - Sally Alsford *Mrs Thoroughfare ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sandy Wilson
Alexander Galbraith "Sandy" Wilson (19 May 1924 – 27 August 2014) was an English composer and lyricist, best known for his musical '' The Boy Friend'' (1953). Biography Wilson was born in Sale, Cheshire, England, and was educated at Harrow School. In 1942 he won a State Scholarship for a wartime course at SOAS and was assigned to study Japanese. He was thus one of the so-called 'Dulwich Boys' who studied at SOAS and boarded at Dulwich College. While there he put together a satirical review titled 'A Matter of Course' based on his experiences on the Japanese course. He was one of the few not to complete the course and he subsequently served in the Royal Army Ordnance Corps in Great Britain, Egypt and Iraq. After the war he went to Oriel College, Oxford and while a student wrote revues for the Oxford University Experimental Theatre Club and then attended the Old Vic Theatre School on a production course. Most of his work for the stage was material for revues, such as Hermion ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
