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Michael Birkett
Michael Birkett, 2nd Baron Birkett (22 October 1929 – 3 April 2015) was a British film producer/director, author and hereditary peer. Early life and education Michael Birkett was the only son of Norman, 1st Baron Birkett by his wife, Ruth (''née'' Nilsson). Birkett attended Stowe before going up to Trinity College, Cambridge, where he completed an MA. Succession On 10 February 1962, Michael Birkett succeeded his father as the 2nd Baron Birkett, a UK Peerage title created in 1958. Career Film productions Birkett produced ''Some People'' (1962) and Harold Pinter's '' The Caretaker'' (1963), starring Alan Bates, Donald Pleasence and Robert Shaw, both directed by Clive Donner. Later production credits include Sir Peter Hall's 1969 film ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' and Peter Brook's pictures ''Marat/Sade'' (1967) and ''King Lear'' (1971), starring Paul Scofield. He was also executive producer of three episodes of Brook's television mini-series ''The Mahabharata'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hereditary Peer
The hereditary peers form part of the peerage in the United Kingdom. As of April 2025, there are 800 hereditary peers: 30 dukes (including six royal dukes), 34 marquesses, 189 earls, 108 viscounts, and 439 barons (not counting subsidiary titles). As a result of the Peerage Act 1963, all peers except those in the peerage of Ireland were entitled to sit in the House of Lords. Since the House of Lords Act 1999 came into force only 92 hereditary peers, elected from all hereditary peers, are permitted to do so, unless they are also life peers. Peers are called to the House of Lords with a writ of summons. Not all hereditary titles are titles of the peerage. For instance, baronets and baronetesses may pass on their titles, but they are not peers. Conversely, the holder of a non-hereditary title may belong to the peerage, as with life peers. Peerages may be created by means of letters patent, but the granting of new hereditary peerages has largely dwindled; only seven hered ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peter Hall (director)
Sir Peter Reginald Frederick Hall (22 November 1930 11 September 2017) was an English theatre, opera and film director. His obituary in ''The Times'' described him as "the most important figure in British theatre for half a century" and on his death, a Royal National Theatre statement declared that Hall's "influence on the artistic life of Britain in the 20th century was unparalleled". In 2018, the Laurence Olivier Awards, recognising achievements in London theatre, changed the award for Best Director to the Sir Peter Hall Award for Best Director. In 1955, Hall introduced London audiences to the work of Samuel Beckett with the UK premiere of '' Waiting for Godot''. Hall founded the Royal Shakespeare Company and was its director from 1960 to 1968. He went on to build an international reputation in theatre, opera, film and television. He was director of the National Theatre (1973–88) and artistic director of Glyndebourne Festival Opera (19841990). He formed the Peter Ha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Foundation (nonprofit)
A foundation (also referred to as a charitable foundation) is a type of nonprofit organization or charitable trust that usually provides funding and support to other charitable organizations through grants, while also potentially participating directly in charitable activities. Foundations encompass public charitable foundations, like community foundations, and private foundations, which are often endowed by an individual or family. Nevertheless, the term "foundation" might also be adopted by organizations not primarily engaged in public grantmaking. Description Legal entities existing under the status of "foundations" have a wide diversity of structures and purposes. Nevertheless, there are some common structural elements. * Legal requirements followed for establishment * Purpose of the foundation * Economic activity * Supervision and management provisions * Accountability and auditing provisions * Provisions for the amendment of the statutes or articles of incorporation * ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Arts
The arts or creative arts are a vast range of human practices involving creative expression, storytelling, and cultural participation. The arts encompass diverse and plural modes of thought, deeds, and existence in an extensive range of media. Both a dynamic and characteristically constant feature of human life, the arts have developed into increasingly stylized and intricate forms. This is achieved through sustained and deliberate study, training, or theorizing within a particular tradition, generations, and even between civilizations. The arts are a medium through which humans cultivate distinct social, cultural, and individual identities while transmitting values, impressions, judgments, ideas, visions, spiritual meanings, patterns of life, and experiences across time and space. The arts are divided into three main branches. Examples of visual arts include architecture, ceramic art, drawing, filmmaking, painting, photography, and sculpture. Examples of literature i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
BAFTA
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual award ceremonies, BAFTA has an international programme of learning events and initiatives offering access to talent through workshops, masterclasses, scholarships, lectures, and mentoring schemes in the United Kingdom and the United States. BAFTA's annual film awards ceremony, the British Academy Film Awards, has been held since 1949, while its annual television awards ceremony, the British Academy Television Awards, has been held since 1955. Their third ceremony, the British Academy Games Awards, was first presented in 2004. Origins BAFTA started out as the British Film Academy, founded in 1947 by a group of directors: David Lean, Alexander Korda, Roger Manvell, Laurence Olivier, Emeric Pressburger, Michael Powell, Michael Balcon, Carol Ree ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal Philharmonic Society
The Royal Philharmonic Society (RPS) is a British music society, formed in 1813. Its original purpose was to promote performances of instrumental music in London. Many composers and performers have taken part in its concerts. It is now a membership society, and while it no longer has its own orchestra, it continues a wide-ranging programme of activities which focus on composers and young musicians. Since 1989, the RPS has promoted the annual Royal Philharmonic Society Music Awards for live music-making in the United Kingdom. The RPS is a registered UK charity No. 213693, located at 48 Great Marlborough Street in London. The current chief executive of the RPS is James Murphy, and its current chairman is John Gilhooly. History In London, at a time when there were no permanent London orchestras, nor organised series of chamber music concerts, a group of thirty music professionals formed the ''Philharmonic Society of London'' on 6 February 1813. The idea was that by cooperat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Greater London Council
The Greater London Council (GLC) was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlier London County Council (LCC) which had covered a much smaller area. The GLC was dissolved in 1986 by the Local Government Act 1985 and its powers were devolved to the London boroughs and other entities. A new administrative body, known as the Greater London Authority (GLA), was established in 2000. Background In 1957 a Royal Commission on Local Government in Greater London had been set up under Edwin Herbert, Baron Tangley, Sir Edwin Herbert to consider the local government arrangements in the London area. It reported in 1960, recommending the creation of 52 new London boroughs as the basis for local government. It further recommended that the LCC be replaced by a weaker strategic authority, with responsibility for public transport, road schemes, housing development and regeneration. The Greater London Group, a research centre of ac ... [...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] |
Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most opera composers, Wagner wrote both the libretto and the music for each of his stage works. Initially establishing his reputation as a composer of works in the romantic vein of Carl Maria von Weber and Giacomo Meyerbeer, Wagner revolutionised opera through his concept of the ''Gesamtkunstwerk'' ("total work of art"), whereby he sought to synthesise the poetic, visual, musical and dramatic arts, with music subsidiary to drama. The drama was to be presented as a continuously sung narrative, without conventional operatic structures like arias and recitatives. He described this vision in a series of essays published between 1849 and 1852. Wagner realised these ideas most fully in the first half of the 16-hour, four-opera cycle ''Der Ring des N ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Mahabharata (1989 Film)
''The Mahabharata'' is a 1989 film version of the Hindu epic poetry, epic ''Mahabharata'' directed by Peter Brook. Brook's The Mahabharata (1985 stage play), original 1985 stage play was nine hours in length and toured worldwide for four years. In 1989, and abridged adaptation, just short of six hours, was made as a television miniseries. This was in return edited into a nearly three hour cut for theatrical release. The screenplay was the result of eight years' work by Brook, Jean-Claude Carrière and Marie-Hélène Estienne. Synopsis In general terms, the story involves epic incidents between two warring families, the Pandavas (representing good) and the Kauravas (representing evil). Each side, being the offspring of kings and gods, struggles for dominion. They have both been advised by the god Krishna to live in harmony and abstain from the bloody lust for power. Their fights come to threaten the very order of the Universe. The plot framing device, is framed by a dialogue betw ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Miniseries
In the United States, a miniseries or mini-series is a television show or series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. Many miniseries can also be referred to, and shown, as a television film. " Limited series" is a more recent American term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format has increased in both streaming services and broadcast television. The term " serial" is used in the United Kingdom and in other Commonwealth nations to describe a show that has an ongoing narrative plotline, while "series" is used for a set of episodes in a similar way that "season" is used in North America. Definitions A miniseries is distinguished from an ongoing television series; the latter does not usually have a predetermined number of episodes and may continue for several years. Before the term was coined in the United States in the early 1970s, the ongoing episodic form was always called a "serial", just as a novel appea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paul Scofield
David Paul Scofield (21 January 1922 – 19 March 2008) was an English actor. During a six-decade career, Scofield achieved the Triple Crown of Acting, winning an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Tony Award for his work. Scofield established a reputation as one of the greatest Shakespearean performers. He declined the honour of a knighthood, but was appointed CBE in 1956 and became a CH in 2001. Scofield received the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for portraying Sir Thomas More in the Broadway production of '' A Man for All Seasons'' (1962). Four years later, he won the Academy Award for Best Actor when he reprised the role in the 1966 film adaptation, making him one of eleven to receive a Tony and Academy Award for the same role. He received the Primetime Emmy Award for ''Male of the Species'' (1969). Scofield garnered acclaim for his roles in films such as '' The Train'' (1964), ''King Lear'' (1971), '' A Delicate Balance'' (1973), '' Henry V'' (1989 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
