Jan Graveson
Janice Margaret "Jan" Graveson (born 1965 in Easington, County Durham) is an English actress and singer. She is best known for her roles in Eastenders as Disa O'Brien and Benidorm as Susie . Career An actress who had dreams from an early age. She aspired to get to the top. Graveson never attended any acting schools as her parents could not afford to send her there, so all she learnt she did so by asking and doing. From the age of 7 she attended dance class. By 12 years she won the British Tap Dancing Championships and English Tap Dancing championships, as well as becoming north east tap and song & dance winner. Graveson took her dance teachers tickets at age 18. She furthered her opportunities by moving to London to venture into TV and West End musicals and London theatre productions. Television Born in Easington, County Durham. Childhood: Horden & Peterlee, County Durham Durham New College: Drama & Theatre Arts / Art A level / Music A level / English Lang A level Born into ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Easington, County Durham
Easington, also known as Easington Village, is a village and civil parish in eastern County Durham, England. It is located at the junction of the A182 and B1283, leading north-west to Hetton-le-Hole and south east to Horden. It is near the A19, which travels north to Seaham and Sunderland as well as south to Peterlee and Stockton-on-Tees. The population of Easington Village was 2,164 in 2001, increasing slightly to 2,171 at the 2011 Census. History There is evidence of Easington having been an important pre-Norman conquest site, including architectural fragments (dating from as early as the 8th century) found within the fabric of St Mary's Church. St Mary's itself is mostly 12th–13th century, and contains a notable amount of seventeenth-century woodwork. From 1256 until 1832 the Rector of Easington was also Archdeacon of Durham. One of the most prominent events in the long history of the village was the hanging of two men on the village green for involvement in th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Soho
Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century. The area was developed from farmland by Henry VIII in 1536, when it became a royal park. It became a parish in its own right in the late 17th century, when buildings started to be developed for the upper class, including the laying out of Soho Square in the 1680s. St Anne's Church was established during the late 17th century, and remains a significant local landmark; other churches are the Church of Our Lady of the Assumption and St Gregory and St Patrick's Church in Soho Square. The aristocracy had mostly moved away by the mid-19th century, when Soho was particularly badly hit by an outbreak of cholera in 1854. For much of the 20th century Soho had a reputation as a base for the sex industry in addition to its night life and its location for the headq ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Blood Brothers (musical)
''Blood Brothers'' is a musical with book, lyrics, and music by Willy Russell. The story is a contemporary nature versus nurture plot, revolving around fraternal twins Mickey and Eddie, who were separated at birth, one subsequently being raised in a wealthy family, the other in a poor family. The different environments take the twins to opposite ends of the social spectrum, one becoming a councillor, and the other unemployed and in prison. They both fall in love with the same girl, causing a rift in their friendship and leading to the tragic death of both brothers. Russell says that his work was based on a one-act play that he read as a child "about two babies switched at birth ... it became the seed for Blood Brothers." Originally developed as a school play, ''Blood Brothers'' debuted in Liverpool before Russell transferred it to the West End for a short run in 1983. The musical won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Musical and went on to a year-long national tour before ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Anyone Who Had A Heart (song)
"Anyone Who Had a Heart" is a song written by Burt Bacharach (music) and Hal David (lyrics) for Dionne Warwick in 1963. In January 1964, Warwick's original recording hit the Top Ten in the United States, Canada, Spain, Netherlands, South Africa, Belgium and Australia. In the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and New Zealand, Warwick's recording lost out to a cover version by Cilla Black. Black's version was a UK number-one hit for three weeks in February/March 1964 and was also the fourth best-selling single of 1964 in the UK, with sales of around 950,000 copies. Petula Clark also recorded "Anyone Who Had a Heart" in several foreign language versions for the international market. Clark reached No. 7 in France with "Ceux Qui Ont Un Coeur" in the spring of 1964, then No. 5 in Italy with "Quelli che hanno un cuore"1 that September. In October 1964, Clark reached No. 1 in Spain—for a two-week period—with "Tú no tienes corazón". Original recording "Anyone Who Had a He ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Cilla Black
Priscilla Maria Veronica White (27 May 1943 – 1 August 2015), better known as Cilla Black, was an English singer, actress and television presenter. Championed by her friends the Beatles, Black began her career as a singer in 1963. Her singles " Anyone Who Had a Heart" and "You're My World" both reached number one in the UK in 1964. She had 11 top 10 hits on the UK Singles Chart between then and 1971, and an additional eight hits that made the top 40. In May 2010, new research published by BBC Radio 2 showed that her version of "Anyone Who Had a Heart" was the UK's biggest-selling single by a female artist in the 1960s. "You're My World" was also a modest hit in the U.S., peaking at No. 26 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Along with a successful recording career in the 1960s and early 1970s, Black hosted her own BBC variety show, '' Cilla'' (1968–1976). After a brief time as a comedy actress, she became a prominent television presenter in the 1980s and 1990s, hosting hit ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Octagon Theatre
The Octagon Theatre is a producing theatre located in Bolton, Greater Manchester, England. Programme The Octagon produces eight or nine professional theatre productions each year in its Main Auditorium. Productions come from a wide range of types and genres, including classic drama, contemporary plays, comedies and musicals. In recent years, the Octagon has specialized in producing great American drama, including works by Arthur Miller and Tennessee Williams. The Octagon also runs its Bolton season, which runs alongside the season of plays in the Main Auditorium, with events investigating or complementing the main season. This ranges from professional practical workshops to full-day Investigate Days with casts and creative teams. The Octagon also plays host to touring shows, including touring theatre, children's plays, and stand-up comedy. Performance spaces The Octagon has two performance spaces: * The Main Auditorium, a flexible performance space which can present work ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Liverpool Playhouse
The Liverpool Playhouse is a theatre in Williamson Square in the city of Liverpool, England. It originated in 1866 as a music hall, and in 1911 developed into a repertory theatre. As such it nurtured the early careers of many actors and actresses, some of whom went on to achieve national and international reputations. Architectural changes have been made to the building over the years, the latest being in 1968 when a modern-style extension was added to the north of the theatre. In 1999 a trust was formed, joining the management of the Playhouse with that of the Everyman Theatre. History The present theatre on the site was designed by Edward Davies, and opened in 1866. It replaced an earlier theatre called the Star Concert Hall. The present theatre was originally named the Star Music Hall. In 1895 its name was changed to the Star Theatre of Varieties. The theatre was improved in 1898 by Harry Percival with a new auditorium and foyer, and electricity was installed. In 1911 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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John McArdle
John McArdle (born 16 August 1949) is an English actor. He is most notable for playing Billy Corkhill in the soap opera '' Brookside'', with many other smaller appearances in other soaps and dramas. Playing a regular character in ''Brookside''s heyday (alongside Ricky Tomlinson and Sue Johnston, and working with writers such as Jimmy McGovern), he made himself memorable with his portrayal of a man beyond breaking point, which culminated with him ranting at neighbours and churning up their lawns as he drove his car around in circles. McArdle was the subject of ''This Is Your Life'' in 2003 when he was surprised by Michael Aspel on the set of ''Merseybeat''. In 2006, McArdle portrayed Frank Taylor in an episode of BBC TV's '' Surviving Disaster'' that concerned the Munich air disaster of 1958, which Taylor was the only newspaper reporter to survive. In 2010, McArdle played Christopher Mead's father in '' Waterloo Road''. He is also an accomplished stage actor, recently ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Piccadilly Theatre
The Piccadilly Theatre is a West End theatre located at 16 Denman Street, behind Piccadilly Circus and adjacent to the Regent Palace Hotel, in the City of Westminster, London, England. Early years Built by Bertie Crewe and Edward A. Stone for Edward Laurillard, its simple façade conceals a grandiose Art Deco interior designed by Marc-Henri Levy and Gaston Laverdet, with a 1,232-seat auditorium decorated in shades of pink. Gold and green are the dominant colours in the bars and foyer, which include the original light fittings. Upon its opening on 27 April 1928, the theatre's souvenir brochure claimed, "If all the bricks used in the building were laid in a straight line, they would stretch from London to Paris." The opening production, Jerome Kern's musical '' Blue Eyes'', starred Evelyn Laye, one of the most acclaimed actresses of the period. [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Hard Times (novel)
''Hard Times: For These Times'' (commonly known as ''Hard Times'') is the tenth novel by Charles Dickens, first published in 1854. The book surveys English society and satirises the social and economic conditions of the era. ''Hard Times'' is unusual in several ways. It is by far the shortest of Dickens's novels, barely a quarter of the length of those written immediately before and after it. Also, unlike all but one of his other novels, ''Hard Times'' has neither a preface nor illustrations. Moreover, it is his only novel not to have scenes set in London. Instead the story is set in the fictitious Victorian industrial Coketown, a generic Northern English mill-town, in some ways similar to Manchester, though smaller. Coketown may be partially based on 19th-century Preston. One of Dickens's reasons for writing ''Hard Times'' was that sales of his weekly periodical '' Household Words'' were low, and it was hoped the novel's publication in instalments would boost circulation – a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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South Shields
South Shields () is a coastal town in South Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the south bank of the mouth of the River Tyne. Historically, it was known in Roman times as Arbeia, and as Caer Urfa by Early Middle Ages. According to the 2011 census, the town had a population of 75,337. It is the fourth largest settlement in Tyne and Wear; after Newcastle upon Tyne, Sunderland and Gateshead. The town became part of Tyne and Wear in 1974. It is within the historic county boundaries of County Durham. History The first evidence of a settlement within what is now the town of South Shields dates from pre-historic times. Stone Age arrow heads and an Iron Age round house have been discovered on the site of Arbeia Roman Fort. The Roman garrison built a fort here around AD 160 and expanded it around AD 208 to help supply their soldiers along Hadrian's Wall as they campaigned north beyond the Antonine Wall. Divisions living at the fort included Tigris bargemen (from Pers ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Customs House, South Shields
The Customs House is an arts venue in South Shields, South Tyneside, North East England. It is the only non-amateur theatre in the borough, the local arts development agency, the largest gallery and, until recently, the only cinema. History A customs house was first established in South Shields in 1848. The current building at Mill Dam was constructed in 1863. Meanwhile South Shields was declared a separate customs port (i.e. no longer part of the Port of Tyne for customs purposes) in 1865. The building was extended to the rear to provide local offices for the Merchant Navy in 1878. The Customs House was acquired by the Tyne and Wear Development Corporation, along with the adjoining Daltons Lane warehouses, as part of the redevelopment plans, and the Customs House itself was converted into an arts and entertainment centre in 1994. When the Daltons Lane warehouses were refurbished to form offices for the arts and entertainment centre in 2004 the builder found old mortuary slabs ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |