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Michael Bradshaw (actor)
Michael Bradshaw (18 April 1933 – 13 December 2001) was an English actor. Early life in England Born in Plumstead, London, he grew up in Boxmoor, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire to the north west of London. While growing up there he sang as a boy soprano in the Choir of St John's Church, Boxmoor and began working in non-professional theatre at the Hemel Hempstead Amateur Operatic and Dramatic Society, now known as the Hemel Hempstead Theatre Company. Once he left school he would train as a type setter and printer for most of his teen years at John Dickinson Stationery's Apsley Mill. In 1950, when he turned 18, he suspended his apprenticeship at John Dickinson's for mandatory service in the British armed forces ("National Service") which he served in the Royal Air Force. Over the next four years he would be stationed at both RAF Ternhill near Market Drayton, Shropshire as well as RAF Little Rissington, Gloucestershire and would reach the rank of Senior Aircraftsman ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plumstead
Plumstead is an area in southeast London, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich, England. It is located east of Woolwich. History Plumstead has been settled since ancient times, and London's earliest timber structure has been found here. During the excavation of a peat bog near Belmarsh Prison in 2009, an ancient timber trackway, radiocarbon dated to be nearly 6,000 years old, was discovered by archaeologists. In 960 King Edgar I of England, Edgar gave four plough lands, collectively called Plumstead, to a monastery - St Augustine's Abbey near Canterbury, Kent. These were subsequently taken from the monastery by Godwin, Earl of Wessex, Earl Godwin for his fourth son, Tostig Godwinson, Tostig. King Edward the Confessor restored them again to the monastery on taking power, however Tostig saw the opportunity to take possession of them once again after Edward's death in 1066 when Harold Godwinson, King Harold seized his brother's estates. After the Battle of Hastings in 106 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire to the east, Wiltshire to the south, Bristol and Somerset to the south-west, and the Wales, Welsh county of Monmouthshire to the west. The city of Gloucester is the largest settlement and the county town. The county is predominantly rural, with an area of and a population of 916,212. After Gloucester (118,555) the largest distinct settlements are Cheltenham (115,940), Stroud (26,080), and Yate (28,350). In the south of the county, the areas around Filton and Kingswood, South Gloucestershire, Kingswood are densely populated and part of Bristol Built-up Area, Bristol built-up area. For Local government in England, local government purposes Gloucestershire comprises a non-metropolitan county, with six districts, and the Unitary authorities ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
A Man For All Seasons (play)
''A Man for All Seasons'' is a play by Robert Bolt based on the life of Sir Thomas More. An early form of the play had been written for BBC Radio in 1954, and a one-hour live television version starring Bernard Hepton was produced in 1957 by the BBC, but after Bolt's success with ''The Flowering Cherry'', he reworked it for the stage. It was first performed in London opening at the Gielgud Theatre, Globe Theatre (now Gielgud Theatre) on 1 July 1960. It later found its way to Broadway, enjoying a critically and commercially successful run of over a year. It has had several revivals, and was subsequently made into a multi-Academy Award-winning A Man for All Seasons (1966 film), 1966 feature film and a A Man for All Seasons (1988 film), 1988 television movie. The plot is based on the historical events leading up to the execution of Thomas More, More, the 16th-century Lord Chancellor of England, who refused to endorse Henry VIII's wish to divorce his wife Catherine of Aragon, who d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sir Thomas More
Sir Thomas More (7 February 1478 – 6 July 1535), venerated in the Catholic Church as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, judge, social philosopher, author, statesman, theologian, and noted Renaissance humanist. He also served Henry VIII as Lord Chancellor from October 1529 to May 1532. He wrote ''Utopia'', published in 1516, which describes the political system of an imaginary island state. More opposed the Protestant Reformation, directing polemics against the theology of Martin Luther, Huldrych Zwingli and William Tyndale. More also opposed Henry VIII's separation from the Catholic Church, refusing to acknowledge Henry as supreme head of the Church of England and the annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon. After refusing to take the Oath of Supremacy, he was convicted of treason on what he stated was false evidence, and was executed. At his execution, he was reported to have said: "I die the King's good servant, and God's first." Pope Pius XI canoni ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pygmalion (play)
''Pygmalion'' is a play by Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw, named after the Pygmalion (mythology), Greek mythological figure. It premiered at the Burgtheater, Hofburg Theatre in Vienna on 16 October 1913 and was first presented on stage in German. Its English-language premiere took place at Her Majesty's Theatre, His Majesty's Theatre in London's West End theatre, West End in April 1914 and starred Herbert Beerbohm Tree as phonetics professor Henry Higgins and Mrs Patrick Campbell as Cockney flower-girl Eliza Doolittle. Inspiration In ancient Greek mythology, Pygmalion (mythology), Pygmalion fell in love with one of his sculptures, which then came to life. The general idea of that myth was a popular subject for Victorian era British playwrights, including one of Shaw's influences, W. S. Gilbert, who wrote a successful play based on the story called ''Pygmalion and Galatea (play), Pygmalion and Galatea'' that was first presented in 1871. Shaw would also have been familiar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Separate Tables
''Separate Tables'' is the collective name of two one-act plays by Terence Rattigan, both taking place in the Beauregard Private Hotel, Bournemouth, on the south coast of England. The first play, titled ''Table by the Window'', focuses on the troubled relationship between a disgraced Labour politician and his ex-wife. The second play, ''Table Number Seven'', is set about 18 months after the events of the previous play, and deals with the touching friendship between a repressed spinster and Major Pollock, a kindly but bogus man posing as an upper-class retired army officer. The two main roles in both plays are written to be played by the same performers. The secondary characters – permanent residents, the hotel's manager, and members of the staff – appear in both plays. Synopses In ''Table by the Window'', Martin, a once-rising politician now turned to drink, is dining with his ex-wife. Earlier he was sent to prison for beating her. She, having remarried, is now divorced ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Auntie Mame
''Auntie Mame: An Irreverent Escapade'' is a 1955 novel by American author Patrick Dennis chronicling the madcap adventures of a boy, Patrick, growing up as the Ward (law), ward of his Aunt Mame Dennis, the sister of his dead father. The book is often described as having been inspired by Dennis' real-life eccentric aunt, Marion Tanner, whose life and outlook mirrored those of Mame, but Dennis denied the connection. The novel was a runaway bestseller, setting records on the New York Times bestseller list, ''New York Times'' bestseller list, with more than 2 million copies in print during its initial publication. It became the basis of a Auntie Mame (play), stage play, a Auntie Mame (film), film, a Mame (musical), stage musical, and a Mame (film), film musical. In 1958, Dennis wrote a sequel titled ''Around the World with Auntie Mame.'' Stage adaptations The novel was adapted for the stage by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee (playwright), Robert E. Lee. Running from October 31, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arms And The Man
''Arms and the Man'' is a comedy by George Bernard Shaw, whose title comes from the opening words of Virgil's ''Aeneid'', in Latin: ''Arma virumque cano'' ("Of arms and the man I sing"). The play was first produced on 21 April 1894 at the Avenue Theatre and published in 1898 as part of Shaw's '' Plays Pleasant'' volume, which also included '' Candida'', '' You Never Can Tell,'' and '' The Man of Destiny.'' ''Arms and the Man'' was one of Shaw's first commercial successes. He was called on to stage after the curtain, where he received enthusiastic applause. Amidst the cheers, one audience member booed. Shaw riposted, "My dear fellow, I quite agree with you, but what are we two against so many?" ''Arms and the Man'' humorously exposes the futility of war and the hypocrisies of human nature. Plot summary The play takes place during the 1885 Serbo-Bulgarian War. Its heroine, Raina Petkoff, is a young Bulgarian woman engaged to Sergius Saranoff, a battlefield hero whom she ido ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Heiress
''The Heiress'' is a 1949 American romantic drama film directed and produced by William Wyler, from a screenplay written by Ruth and Augustus Goetz, adapted from their 1947 stage play of the same title, which was itself adapted from Henry James' 1880 novel '' Washington Square''. The film stars Olivia de Havilland as Catherine Sloper, a naive young woman who falls in love with a handsome young man despite the objections of her emotionally abusive father who suspects the man of being a fortune hunter. Montgomery Clift stars as Morris Townsend, and Ralph Richardson as Dr. Sloper. ''The Heiress'' premiered in Los Angeles on October 6, 1949, and was theatrically released by Paramount Pictures on December 28, 1949. Although a box office failure, grossing $2.3 million on a $2.6 million budget, the film garnered critical acclaim, with reviewers praising Wyler's direction, its screenplay and the performances of the cast. The film received a leading eight nominations at the 22nd Aca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thomas Becket
Thomas Becket (), also known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury, Thomas of London and later Thomas à Becket (21 December 1119 or 1120 – 29 December 1170), served as Lord Chancellor from 1155 to 1162, and then as Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 until his death in 1170. He engaged in conflict with Henry II, King of England, over the rights and privileges of the Church and was murdered by followers of the King in Canterbury Cathedral. Soon after his death, he was canonised by Pope Alexander III. He is venerated as a saint and martyr by the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion. Sources The main sources for the life of Becket are a number of biographies written by contemporaries. A few of these documents are by unknown writers, although traditional historiography has given them names. The known biographers are John of Salisbury, Edward Grim, Benedict of Peterborough, William of Canterbury, William fitzStephen, Guernes of Pont-Sainte-Maxence, Robert of Cricklade, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Murder In The Cathedral
''Murder in the Cathedral'' is a verse drama by T. S. Eliot, first performed in 1935 (published the same year). The play portrays the assassination of Archbishop Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral during the reign of Henry II in 1170. Eliot drew heavily on the writing of Edward Grim, a clerk who was an eyewitness to the event. Some material that the producer asked Eliot to remove or replace during the writing was transformed into the poem "Burnt Norton". Plot The action occurs between 2 and 29 December 1170, chronicling the days leading up to the martyrdom of Thomas Becket following his absence of seven years in France. Becket's internal struggle is a central focus of the play. The book is divided into two parts. Part one takes place in the Archbishop Thomas Becket's hall on 2 December 1170. The play begins with a Chorus singing, foreshadowing the coming violence. The Chorus is a key part of the drama, with its voice changing and developing during the play, offering co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ontario
Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it is home to 38.5% of the country's population, and is the second-largest province by total area (after Quebec). Ontario is Canada's fourth-largest jurisdiction in total area of all the Canadian provinces and territories. It is home to the nation's capital, Ottawa, and its list of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city, Toronto, which is Ontario's provincial capital. Ontario is bordered by the province of Manitoba to the west, Hudson Bay and James Bay to the north, and Quebec to the east and northeast. To the south, it is bordered by the U.S. states of (from west to east) Minnesota, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York (state), New York. Almost all of Ontario's border with the United States follows riv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
