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''The Stage'' is a British weekly newspaper and website covering the entertainment industry and particularly theatre. Founded in 1880, ''The Stage'' contains news, reviews, opinion, features, and recruitment advertising, mainly directed at those who work in theatre and the performing arts.


History

The first edition of ''The Stage'' was published (under the title ''The Stage Directory – a London and Provincial Theatrical Advertiser'') on 1 February 1880 at a cost of three
old pence The British pre-decimal penny was a denomination of sterling coinage worth of one pound or of one shilling. Its symbol was ''d'', from the Roman denarius. It was a continuation of the earlier English penny, and in Scotland it had the same ...
for twelve pages. Publication was monthly until 25 March 1881, when the first weekly edition was produced. At the same time, the name was shortened to ''The Stage'' and the publication numbering restarted at number 1. The publication was a joint venture between founding editor Charles Lionel Carson and business manager Maurice Comerford. It operated from offices opposite the
Theatre Royal, Drury Lane The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, commonly known as Drury Lane, is a West End theatre and listed building, Grade I listed building in Covent Garden, London, England. The building faces Catherine Street (earlier named Bridges or Brydges Street) an ...
. Carson, whose real name was Lionel Courtier-Dutton, was cited as the founder. His wife
Emily Courtier Dutton Emily Courtier-Dutton became Mrs Charles L. Carson and appeared as Kittie Claremont (1862 – 21 March 1919) was a British actor and theatrical philanthropist. Life Courtier-Dutton was born in London in very probably 1862. He birth name is not k ...
later founded several theatrical charities. ''The Stage'' entered a crowded market, with many other theatre titles (including '' The Era'') in circulation. Undercutting their rivals, Carson and Comerford dropped the price of the paper to one
penny A penny is a coin (: pennies) or a unit of currency (: pence) in various countries. Borrowed from the Carolingian denarius (hence its former abbreviation d.), it is usually the smallest denomination within a currency system. At present, it is ...
; soon it became the only remaining title in the field. The newspaper has remained in family ownership. Upon the death in 1937 of Charles Carson's son Lionel, who had assumed the joint role of managing director and editor, control passed to the Comerford family. In 1959, the newspaper was renamed ''The Stage and Television Today'', incorporating the ''Television Today'' pull-out supplement dedicated to broadcasting news and features. Derek Hoddinott, who was the existing TV editor of ''The Stage'', was retitled as editor of the ''Television Today'' supplement. The overall name and pull-out supplement remained until 1995, when broadcasting coverage was re-incorporated into the main paper. The name on the masthead reverted to ''The Stage'', but in 2006, the paper introduced a blog concentrating on television, named ''TV Today''. From 1995, the newspaper has awarded The
Stage Awards for Acting Excellence The ''Stage'' Awards for Acting Excellence are a set of Scottish theatre awards which were established in 1995 to recognise outstanding theatre performances by individuals and companies on the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Organised by the theatric ...
at the
Edinburgh Festival Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as the Edinburgh Fringe, the Fringe or the Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest performance arts festival, which in 2024 spanned 25 days, sold more than 2.6 million tickets and featur ...
. In 2004, 96-year-old contributor
Simon Blumenfeld Simon Blumenfeld (25 November 1907 – 13 April 2005) was a British columnist, novelist, playwright, theatre critic, editor and Communist. Although he described himself as Jewish, he was born to a family of Sicilian refugees, who eventually ...
was recognised by ''
Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, list ...
'' as the world's oldest weekly newspaper columnist. The column continued until shortly before his death in 2005.
The Stage Awards ''The Stage'' Awards are theatre awards created by ''The Stage'' to recognise and celebrate theatrical achievements across the UK and internationally. Established in 2011, the awards recognise accomplishments by West End theatres, regional theat ...
were launched in 2010. They are given annually and recognise outstanding organisations working in theatre and beyond in the following categories: London theatre, regional theatre, producer, school, fringe theatre, theatre building, unsung hero and international. In August 2013, ''The Stage'' launched The Stage Castings, an online casting service with a video audition function. In May 2019, ''The Stage'' partnered with the Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation and
UK Theatre UK Theatre is a British non-profit trade organisation representing theatre producers, managers, owners and operators in the United Kingdom. It partners and shares an office with the Society of London Theatre, its sister organisation. The organisat ...
to launch Get Into Theatre, a website dedicated to theatre careers.


Careers started via ''The Stage''

In 1956, writer
John Osborne John James Osborne (12 December 1929 – 24 December 1994) was an English playwright, screenwriter, actor, and entrepreneur, who is regarded as one of the most influential figures in post-war theatre. Born in London, he briefly worked as a jo ...
submitted his script for ''
Look Back in Anger ''Look Back in Anger'' (1956) is a realist play written by John Osborne. It focuses on the life and marital struggles of an intelligent and educated but disaffected young man of working-class origin, Jimmy Porter, and his equally competent yet i ...
'' in response to an advertisement by the soon-to-be-relaunched
Royal Court Theatre The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a West End theatre#London's non-commercial theatres, non-commercial theatre in Sloane Square, London, England, opene ...
.
Dusty Springfield Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien (16 April 1939 – 2 March 1999), better known by her stage name Dusty Springfield, was a British singer. With her distinctive mezzo-soprano voice, she was a popular singer of blue-eyed soul, Pop mus ...
responded to an advertisement for female singers in 1958.
Idris Elba Idrissa Akuna Elba Order of the British Empire, OBE ( ; born 6 September 1972) is an English actor and musician. He has received a Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for three BAFTA Awards and six Primetime Emmy Awards, Emmy Awards. He w ...
got his first acting role in a play after applying to a job ad in the paper.
Harold Pinter Harold Pinter (; 10 October 1930 – 24 December 2008) was a British playwright, screenwriter, director and actor. A List of Nobel laureates in Literature, Nobel Prize winner, Pinter was one of the most influential modern British dramat ...
gained his first job after responding to an advert and
Kenneth Branagh Sir Kenneth Charles Branagh ( ; born 10 December 1960) is a British actor and filmmaker. Born in Belfast and raised primarily in Reading, Berkshire, Branagh trained at RADA in London and served as its president from 2015 to 2024. List of award ...
landed the lead in ''The Billy Trilogy'', in the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
''
Play for Today ''Play for Today'' is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more than three hundred programmes, featuring original television plays, and adaptations of stage ...
'' series, after it was advertised in the paper. The creation of
Internationalist Theatre Internationalist Theatre is a London theatre company founded by South African Greek actress Angelique Rockas in September 1980. The company was originally named New Internationalist Theatre, with an intention to pursue an Internationalism (polit ...
was first announced in the Stage editorial in April 1981.
Ricky Tomlinson Eric "Ricky" Tomlinson (born 26 September 1939) is an English actor. He is best known for his television roles as Bobby Grant in the soap opera '' Brookside'' (1982–1988), DCI Charlie Wise in '' Cracker'' (1993–2006) and Jim Royle in '' T ...
responded to an ad for ''United Kingdom'', another ''Play for Today'', in 1981 and
Sandi Toksvig Sandra Birgitte Toksvig (; ; born 3 May 1958) is a Danish-British broadcaster, comedian, presenter and writer on British radio, stage and television. She is also a political activist, having co-founded the Women's Equality Party in 2015. She ha ...
landed her first television job playing the part of Ethel in '' No. 73'' after answering an ad in ''The Stage''. Television presenter
Maggie Philbin Margaret Elizabeth Philbin Officer of the Order of the British Empire, OBE (born 23 June 1955) is an English radio and television presenter whose credits include ''Tomorrow's World'', ''Multi-Coloured Swap Shop'' and latterly ''Bang Goes the Th ...
won her first major role, as a co-presenter of ''
Multi-Coloured Swap Shop ''Multi-Coloured Swap Shop'', more commonly known simply as ''Swap Shop'', is a British children's television series that aired on BBC1 from 2 October 1976 to 27 March 1982. It was groundbreaking in many ways: by broadcasting on Saturday morning ...
'', after answering an advertisement in ''The Stage''. A number of pop groups have recruited all or some of their members through advertisements placed in the newspaper, most notably the
Spice Girls The Spice Girls are an English girl group formed in 1994, consisting of Mel B ("Scary Spice"), Melanie C ("Sporty Spice"), Emma Bunton ("Baby Spice"), Geri Halliwell ("Ginger Spice"), and Victoria Beckham ("Posh Spice"). They have sold over 10 ...
in 1994,The Spice Girls; Cripps, Rebecca; & Peachey, Mal (1997). ''Real Life: Real Spice The Official Story''. London: Zone Publishers.
Scooch Scooch is a British pop group, comprising performers Natalie Powers, Caroline Barnes, David Ducasse and Russ Spencer. Scooch represented the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 in Helsinki with their song "Flying the Flag (For Y ...
in 1998 and
5ive Five (occasionally stylised as 5ive) are an English boy band formed in 1997 consisting of members Sean Conlon, Ritchie Neville, Scott Robinson, Abz Love and Jason "J" Brown. Five released several hit singles around the turn of the 21st centu ...
in 1997.
Lee Mead Lee Stephen Mead (born 14 July 1981) is an English musical theatre, television actor and occasional singer, best known for winning the title role in the 2007 West End revival of ''Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'' through the BBC TV ...
(the actor who won
BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...
talent show '' Any Dream Will Do'' to gain the lead role in ''
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat ''Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'' is a sung-through musical with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice, based on the character of Joseph from the Bible's Book of Genesis. This was the first Lloyd Webber and Rice ...
'') got his first professional job, working on a cruise ship, through a recruitment ad in the paper.
Lee Mead Lee Stephen Mead (born 14 July 1981) is an English musical theatre, television actor and occasional singer, best known for winning the title role in the 2007 West End revival of ''Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'' through the BBC TV ...
interview, ''
Midweek ''MidWeek'' is a weekly United States tabloid shopper and advertisement periodical published Wednesday in Honolulu, Hawaii and distributed throughout the Islands of Oahu and Kauai. It is owned by Black Press and is a sister publication of th ...
'', broadcast on
BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...
, 11 July 2007.
Television presenter
Ben Shephard Benjamin Peter Sherrington Shephard (born 11 December 1974) is an English television presenter and journalist who is currently the co-presenter of ITV's '' This Morning'' (2024–present), alongside Cat Deeley. Shephard was a main presenter ...
auditioned for
GMTV GMTV (an initialism for Good Morning Television), now legally known as ''ITV Breakfast, ITV Breakfast Broadcasting Limited'', was the name of the national ITV (TV network), ITV breakfast television contractor/licensee, broadcasting in the Uni ...
children's show
Diggit The following details are for the programmes that GMTV (Good Morning Television) broadcast on ITV. GMTV is the former breakfast television franchise for the UK's ITV network. It began broadcasting on Friday 1 January 1993 and finished on Friday ...
following an advert in ''The Stage''. While he did not get the part, he met
Andi Peters Andi Eleazu Peters (born 29 July 1970) is a British television presenter, producer, journalist and voice actor, currently employed by ITV and known for presenting Children's BBC, roles on breakfast TV shows ''Live & Kicking'', ''GMTV'', '' Go ...
, who subsequently hired him for the
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...
youth strand T4.Mary Comerford, "Stepping up", ''The Stage'', 12 July 2007.
Charles Dance Walter Charles Dance (born 10 October 1946) is an English actor. He is known for playing intimidating, authoritarian characters and villains. Dance started his career on stage with the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) before appearing in film an ...
landed his first role in a Welsh theatre and
Alexandra Burke Alexandra Imelda Cecelia Ewen Burke (born 25 August 1988) is an English singer, songwriter and actress. She won the fifth series of the talent television show ''The X Factor'' in 2008. Following the show, she was signed to Syco Music and releas ...
stated in an interview "My mum used to buy ''The Stage'' all the time for auditions for me. That's how I got to go on BC TV talent show'' Star for a Night'' with
Jane McDonald Jane Anne McDonald (born 4 April 1963) is an English singer, songwriter and television presenter. Born and raised in Wakefield, McDonald spent much of her early career performing in local clubs and pubs before landing work as a singer on crui ...
." Olivier Award-winning actor Sharon D. Clarke found her first role at
Battersea Arts Centre The Battersea Arts Centre ("BAC") is a performance space specialising in Theater, theatre productions. Located near Clapham Junction railway station in Battersea, in the London Borough of Wandsworth, it was formerly Battersea Town Hall. It is a ...
through an audition advert in the paper.
Lisa Scott-Lee Lisa Scott-Lee (born 5 November 1975) is a British singer from St Asaph, Wales. She is a member of the pop group Steps, formed in 1997. Scott-Lee signed a record deal with Mercury Records and launched a solo career in 2003, achieving only min ...
revealed that pop band Steps were formed through an advert in ''The Stage''. Sir
Michael Caine Sir Michael Caine (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite, 14 March 1933) is a retired English actor. Known for his distinct Cockney accent, he has appeared in more than 160 films over Michael Caine filmography, a career that spanned eight decades an ...
stated in an interview with Steve Wright on BBC Radio 2 that at the beginning of his career he applied for acting roles he found in ''The Stage''.


Editors

* 1880–1901: Charles Carson * 1901–1904: Maurice Comerford * 1904–1937: Lionel Carson * 1937–1943: Bernard Weller * 1943–1952: S. R. Littlewood * 1952–1972: Eric Johns * 1972–1992: Peter Hepple * 1992–1994: Jeremy Jehu * 1994–2014: Brian Attwood * 2014–2017: Alistair Smith (print); Paddy Smith (online) * 2017–present: Alistair Smith


Digital archive

The paper's full content from 1880–2007 is available digitally via subscription.


Quotations

* "The moment you have arrived in the profession is when you realise you don't have to read ''The Stage''" –
Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time (magazine), Time'' called "a sense of personal style, a combination of c ...
(attributed) * "The stage would not be the stage without ''The Stage''" –
Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier ( ; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director. He and his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud made up a trio of male actors who dominated the British stage of the m ...
(''The Stage'', 25 October 1976)


References


External links

*
''The Stage'' reviews of Internationalist Theatre productions London during the editorship of Peter Hepple
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stage, The 1880 establishments in the United Kingdom Magazines established in 1880 Theatre magazines published in the United Kingdom Weekly magazines published in the United Kingdom Magazines published in London Professional and trade magazines published in the United Kingdom