|
The Cellar Tapes
The ''Cambridge Footlights Revue'' is an annual revue by the Footlights Club, a group of comedy writer-performers at the University of Cambridge. Three of the more notable revues are detailed below. 1963 revue "A Clump of Plinths" — "Cambridge Circus" The 1963 revue, entitled "A Clump of Plinths" (later retitled ''Cambridge Circus''), played at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1963 before opening at West End in London on 10 July 1963. Unfortunately, the revised title sometimes confused audiences, as it was not actually playing at Cambridge Circus itself. "Cambridge Circus" then toured New Zealand in July and August 1964, where they recorded a television special and four radio shows. which were eventually broadcast in November and December 1964. The radio shows were rediscovered in the New Zealand national sound and film archives in 2015 and broadcast again in January 2016 under the title "Goodie, Goodie! Python, Python! The Cambridge Circus Tapes" The New Zealand tour ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Revue
A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatre, theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketch comedy, sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own during its golden years from 1916 to 1932. Though most famous for their visual spectacle, revues frequently satirized contemporary figures, news or literature. Similar to the related subforms of operetta and musical theatre, the revue art form brings together music, dance and sketches to create a compelling show. In contrast to these, however, revue does not have an overarching storyline. Rather, a general theme serves as the motto for a loosely related series of acts that alternate between solo performances and dance ensembles. Owing to high ticket prices, wikt:ribald, ribald publicity campaigns and the occasional use of wikt:prurient, prurient material, the revue was typically patronized by audience members who earned mo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jonathan Lynn
Jonathan Adam Lynn (born 3 April 1943) is an English film director, screenwriter, and actor. He directed the comedy films '' Clue'', '' Nuns on the Run'', '' My Cousin Vinny'', and '' The Whole Nine Yards''. He also co-created and co-wrote the political-satirical television series '' Yes Minister''. Early life Lynn was born in Bath, Somerset, the son of physician Robin Lynn and sculptor Ruth Helen (née Eban), whose first cousin on her mother's side was the neurologist Oliver Sacks. Another cousin, Caroline Sacks, married Nicholas Samuel, 5th Viscount Bearsted. Lynn was educated at Kingswood School, Bath, between 1954 and 1961, after which he studied law at Pembroke College, Cambridge. (His maternal uncle, Israeli statesman Abba Eban, had also studied at Cambridge in the 1930s.) There he participated in the Cambridge University Footlights Club revue '' Cambridge Circus'' (appearing with the revue in 1964 on Broadway and on ''The Ed Sullivan Show''). Career Acting Lynn's fir ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jan Ravens
Janet Ravens (born 14 May 1958) is an English actress and impressionist, known for her voice work on '' Spitting Image'' and '' Dead Ringers''. Early life Ravens grew up in Hoylake, then in Cheshire, on the west side of the Wirral with her father, a local government clerk, and her mother, a nurse. She attended West Kirby Grammar School for Girls, where BBC Radio 4 presenter Sheila McClennon ('' You and Yours'') was two years below her. She read education studies and drama at Homerton College, Cambridge, and was the first female president of Cambridge University Footlights Club in 1979–80. Career After Cambridge, Ravens became a radio comedy producer. Her first television role was in the ITV series, ''Just Amazing''. She joined Jasper Carrott's comedy, ''Carrott's Lib'', in 1983. In 1986, she played the heavily pregnant Vanessa Plowright in the "Tourists" episode of '' Farrington of the F.O.'' (broadcast 13 March). In 1986, she accompanied then husband Steve Brown on the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Penny Dwyer
Penelope Dwyer (24 September 1953 – 4 September 2003) was a British comedy writer. She was a member of the Cambridge Footlights revue '' The Cellar Tapes'' which won the inaugural Perrier Comedy Awards in 1981. The other performers in ''The Cellar Tapes'' were Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, Emma Thompson, Tony Slattery and Paul Shearer. Career Educated at the University of Cambridge, Dwyer worked as a writer and performer in Cambridge throughout the late 1970s and early 1980s. However, unlike her fellow Perrier winners, she chose not to pursue a full-time career in the entertainment business. Instead, after becoming a metallurgist, Dwyer worked on the construction of the Channel Tunnel The Channel Tunnel (), sometimes referred to by the Portmanteau, portmanteau Chunnel, is a undersea railway tunnel, opened in 1994, that connects Folkestone (Kent, England) with Coquelles (Pas-de-Calais, France) beneath the English Channel at .... Death Dwyer died in Somerset in 2003, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Emma Thompson
Dame Emma Thompson (born 15 April 1959) is a British actress and screenwriter. Emma Thompson on screen and stage, Her work spans over four decades of screen and stage, and List of awards and nominations received by Emma Thompson, her accolades include two Academy Awards, three British Academy of Film and Television Arts, BAFTA Awards, two Golden Globe Awards and a Primetime Emmy Award. In 2018, she was made a dame (DBE) by Queen Elizabeth II for her contributions to drama. Born to actors Eric Thompson and Phyllida Law, Thompson was educated at Newnham College, Cambridge, where she became a member of the Footlights troupe, and appeared in the comedy sketch series ''Alfresco (TV series), Alfresco'' (1983–1984). In 1985, she starred in the West End theatre, West End revival of the musical ''Me and My Girl'', which was a breakthrough in her career. In 1987, she came to prominence for her performances in two BBC series, ''Tutti Frutti (1987 TV series), Tutti Frutti'' and ''Fort ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stephen Fry
Sir Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director, narrator and writer. He came to prominence as a member of the comic act Fry and Laurie alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring in ''A Bit of Fry & Laurie'' (1989–1995) and ''Jeeves and Wooster'' (1990–1993). He also starred in the sketch series ''Alfresco (TV series), Alfresco'' (1983–1984) with Laurie, Emma Thompson, and Robbie Coltrane, and in ''Blackadder'' (1986–1989) alongside Rowan Atkinson. Since 2011 he has served as president of the mental health charity Mind (charity), Mind. In 2025, he was Knight Bachelor, knighted for services to mental health awareness, the environment and charity. Fry's film acting roles include playing Oscar Wilde in the film ''Wilde (film), Wilde'' (1997), for which he was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama, Golden Globe Award for Best Actor; Inspector Thompson in Robert Altman's murder mystery ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hugh Laurie
James Hugh Calum Laurie (; born 11 June 1959) is an English actor, comedian, singer, musician and writer. He first gained professional recognition as a member of the English comedy double act Fry and Laurie with Stephen Fry. Fry and Laurie acted together in a number of projects during the 1980s and 1990s, including the BBC sketch comedy series ''A Bit of Fry & Laurie'' and the P. G. Wodehouse adaptation ''Jeeves and Wooster''. From 1986 to 1989 he appeared in three series of the period comedy ''Blackadder'', first as a recurring guest star in the last two episodes of ''Blackadder II'', before joining the main cast in ''Blackadder the Third'', and going on to appear in ''Blackadder Goes Forth'' and many related specials. From 2004 to 2012, Laurie starred as Gregory House, Dr. Gregory House on the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox medical drama series ''House (TV series), House''. He received two Golden Globe Awards and many other accolades for the role. He was listed in the 2011 ''G ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Perrier Comedy Award
The Edinburgh Comedy Awards (formerly the Perrier Comedy Awards, and also briefly known by other names for sponsorship reasons) are presented to the comedy shows deemed to have been the best at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Scotland. Established in 1981, they are the most prestigious comedy prize in the United Kingdom. The awards have been directed and produced by Nica Burns since 1984. Format The main prize, which was for many years the only prize, and is now known as The Donald and Eleanor Taffner Best Comedy Show, is awarded "for the funniest, most outstanding, up-and-coming comic / comedy show / act" at the Fringe. The winner receives a cash prize of £10,000. The DLT Entertainment Best Newcomer Award category was introduced in 1992 for Harry Hill, and is given to the best "performer or act who is performing their first full-length show (50 minutes or more)". The prize is £5,000. Newcomers are eligible for the Best Comedy Show Award, but no act is allowed to appear on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again
''I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again'' (often abbreviated as ''ISIRTA'') was a BBC radio comedy programme that was developed from the 1964 University of Cambridge, Cambridge University Footlights revue, ''Cambridge Circus (comedy), Cambridge Circus''., as a scripted sketch show. It had a devoted youth following, with the live tapings enjoying very lively audiences, particularly when familiar themes and characters were repeated; a tradition that continued into the spinoff show ''I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue''. The show ran for nine series and was first broadcast on 3 April 1964, a pilot programme having been broadcast on 30 December 1963 under the title "Cambridge Circus", on the BBC Home Service (renamed BBC Radio 4 in September 1967). Series 1 comprised three episodes. Subsequent series were broadcast on the BBC Light Programme (renamed BBC Radio 2 in September 1967). Series 2 (1965) had nine episodes, series 3 (1966) and series 6 to 8 (1968 to 1970) each had thirteen episodes, whil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jethro Tull (band)
Jethro Tull are a British Rock music, rock band formed in Blackpool, Lancashire in 1967. Initially playing blues rock and jazz fusion, the band soon incorporated elements of English folk music, hard rock and classical music, forging a signature progressive rock sound. The group's founder, bandleader, principal composer, lead vocalist, and only constant member is Ian Anderson, a multi-instrumentalist who mainly plays flute and acoustic guitar. The group has featured a succession of musicians throughout the decades, including significant contributors such as guitarists Mick Abrahams and Martin Barre (with Barre being the longest-serving member besides Anderson); bassists Glenn Cornick, Jeffrey Hammond, John Glascock, Dave Pegg, Jonathan Noyce, and David Goodier; drummers Clive Bunker, Barriemore Barlow, Barrie "Barriemore" Barlow and Doane Perry; and keyboardists John Evan, Dee Palmer, Eddie Jobson, Peter-John Vettese, Andrew Giddings, and John O'Hara. The band achieved moderate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dee Palmer
Dee Palmer (formerly David Palmer; born 2 July 1937) is an English composer, arranger, and keyboardist best known for having been a member of the progressive rock group Jethro Tull from 1976 to 1980 (although she had worked with the band as an arranger since their inception in 1967). Early life and career Palmer was born in Hendon, London. She later studied composition at the Royal Academy of Music with Richard Rodney Bennett, winning the Eric Coates Prize and The Boosey and Hawkes Prize and during her studentship taught clarinet to second study students. She was appointed a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music in 1994. Jethro Tull Going about her early career as a jobbing arranger and conductor of recording sessions, Palmer recorded her first album project, '' Nicola'', in 1967 with Bert Jansch. She was then referred to Terry Ellis, then manager of the early Jethro Tull, which was making its first album at Sound Techniques Studio in Chelsea, London. At short notice, Pal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Emmerdale
''Emmerdale'' (known as ''Emmerdale Farm'' until 1989) is a British television soap opera that is broadcast on ITV (TV network), ITV. The show is set in Emmerdale (known as Beckindale until 1994), a List of fictional towns and villages, fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffan, ''Emmerdale Farm'' was first broadcast on 16 October 1972. Interior scenes have been filmed at the Leeds Studios since its inception. Exterior scenes were first filmed in Arncliffe, North Yorkshire, Arncliffe in Littondale, and the series may have taken its name from Amerdale, an ancient name of Littondale. Exterior scenes were later shot at Esholt, but are now shot at a purpose-built set on the Harewood House#Popular culture, Harewood estate. The series originally aired during the afternoon and was intended to be a three-month television series. However, more episodes were ordered and transmitted during the daytime until 1978, when it was moved to an early-evening prime time ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
