Rochdale News | News Headlines | Appeal for Gracie Fields memories for new biography – Rochdale Online
It is 40 years next year since the death of Rochdale and Britain’s first superstar, Dame Gracie Fields. To commemorate the anniversary, Seb. Lassandro, the president of the Dame Gracie … Continue reading
Greta Garbo in “The Temptress” (1926) | FROM THE BYGONE
I find photographs of Garbo impossible to ignore! Click for more Greta Garbo in “The Temptress” (1926) | FROM THE BYGONE
The Old Vic is throwing a free party and parade for its 200th birthday
The extremely venerable Old Vic will be celebrating its double centenary this Saturday (May 12) with a series of free events, kicking off with a jolly good old-fashioned procession featuring special dance, theatre and opera … Continue reading
Riot at the King’s Theatre in 1813 – All Things Georgian
On Saturday 1st May 1813 at the King’s theatre a serious disturbance broke out, proceeding apparently a call from the audience for the reappearance of Madame Catalani, who had withdrawn … Continue reading
Amazing Vintage Photos of Actresses attending the Film Festival in Cannes during the Sixties | FROM THE BYGONE
The Cannes Film Festival was founded in 1946. The invitation-only festival is held annually (usually in May) at the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès. via Amazing Vintage Photos of … Continue reading
A flying visit – A Shakespearean story arc… | Sue Vincent’s Daily Echo
The afternoon was drawing to a close and the chill of early spring was settling over Stratford-upon-Avon as we made our way back towards the car. There were still many … Continue reading
Shakespeare in Politics: Ustinov’s Romanoff and Juliet
On the 2nd of April 1956, German-Russian born director Peter Ustinov’s screenplay Romanoff and Juliet premiered as a theatrical performance in Manchester, England. A Broadway production followed an… Source: Shakespeare … Continue reading
Madhubala, a Bollywood Legend Whose Tragic Life Mirrored Marilyn Monroe’s
A Bollywood legend whose tragic life mirrored Marilyn Monroe’s. via Madhubala, a Bollywood Legend Whose Tragic Life Mirrored Marilyn Monroe’s
London’s Cinema Museum is keeping cinephilia alive. Can it be saved? | Sight & Sound | BFI
The threatened sale of the south London premises of the Cinema Museum would sacrifice a rare, grassroots collection of cinephile memorabilia – and a key community resource – to the forces … Continue reading
The Life of Actress, Mary Wells – All Things Georgian
Mary Stephens Davies was baptised on 14th December 1761 in the village of Little Haywood near Colwich, Staffordshire, the daughter of Thomas Davies and his wife, Anna. At the tender age of … Continue reading
GIULIETTA MASINA (1921-1994) – Beauty Bellezza Beauté
Giulietta Masina (1921-1994). Click here for more photos: GIULIETTA MASINA – Beauty Bellezza Beauté
How ‘Strange Fruit’ Killed Billie Holiday – Progressive.org
“Strange Fruit” may have been written by American songwriter and poet Abel Meeropol (a.k.a. Lewis Allen), but ever since Billie Holiday sang the three brief stanzas to music in 1937, she’s … Continue reading
Preserving Vivien Leigh’s Photo Albums – Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier
I’ve been collecting original Vivien Leigh (and Laurence Olivier, but mostly Vivien) memorabilia in earnest for about 10 years now. It began with vintage fan magazines and playbills, and gradually … Continue reading
Theatre and Morality: Synge’s Playboy of the Western World | A R T L▼R K
On the 26th of January 1907, The Playboy of the Western World, a three-act drama, written by Irish playwright John Millington Synge, was first performed at the Abbey Theatre in … Continue reading
Richard Wroughton (1749-1822): Actor – All Things Georgian
In a previous blog post ‘Miss Jenny Davis as a bride’ we briefly mentioned Richard Wroughton, so thought we would take a closer look at him to see if we … Continue reading
London’s Theatre Royal Haymarket goes up for sale | Stage | The Guardian
London’s Theatre Royal Haymarket, which has staged premieres of Oscar Wilde plays and was John Gielgud’s temporary home during the blitz, has been put up for sale by its owners. … Continue reading
Henry Montague: First Shepherd of the Lambs
Just a quick shout out to honor the natal day of actor Henry James Montague (Henry John Mann, 1843-1878). Montagu came to our attention through that eerie, ghostly portrait above, … Continue reading
Pass the popcorn: a brief introduction to cinemas | Heritage Calling
Film was first shown in Britain in 1896 in temporary fairground booths and converted shops – so-called ‘penny gaffs’ or theatre ‘turns’. What followed was an endless love affair between … Continue reading
The Toy Theatre Publishers Of Old St
These days the vicinity of Old St is renowned for its digital industries but, for over a hundred years, this area was celebrated as the centre of toy theatre manufacture … Continue reading
The History Girls: Tamara Karsavina: Stravinsky’s First Firebird by Janie Hampton
This is the story of a British diplomat and a Russian prima ballerina caught up in the October 1917 Russian revolution, and their dramatic escape with their love-child. In old age, relatives … Continue reading
Book Review: Fools and Mortals by Bernard Cornwell. | Adventures In Historyland
When a writer chooses as their lead protagonist an actor and his main theme the theatre, possibilities abound. At first looking at Bernard Cornwell’s new novel “Fools and Mortals”… Source: … Continue reading
From Olivier’s dance of death to Picasso’s Quixote: the National Theatre’s poster power | Stage | The Guardian
An exhibition of highlights from the NT’s archive triggers memories of striking productions and shows how the poster imprints a play on the public’s imagination Source: From Olivier’s dance of … Continue reading
The Gallery of Achievers: The Inescapable Sarah Bernhardt | Victorian Paris
Be a little careless in your hearing and when I give you my name, it sounds as if I’m saying, Sarah Bernhardt. I love it. Perhaps I’d have done better if I’d … Continue reading
Anton Chekhov says: | The Müscleheaded Blog
“People don’t really notice whether it’s winter or summer when they’re happy.” Source: Anton Chekhov says: | The Müscleheaded Blog
She was absolutely beautiful, the most beautiful woman I had ever seen… | BEGUILING HOLLYWOOD
Myrna Loy grew up in Los Angeles and when she was a teenager she posed for this statue outside the old Venice High School. Around the same age, she was … Continue reading
On this day: a choreographer and his muse. | In Times Gone By…
This is the edition of LIFE Magazine for the 23rd of August, 1965. The cover features choreographer George Balanchine, who was born into a Georgian family in Saint Petersburg before moving to … Continue reading
Norma Shearer: The Subtle Magnet | Travalanche
I have a friend — a female friend — who never talks about Norma Shearer (1902-1983) without talking about how ugly and unappealing she finds her. I suppose my friend … Continue reading
The Strange, Sad Story of Joe Orton, His Lover, and 72 Stolen Library Books – Atlas Obscura
Police came to the door of Joe Orton, the man who would one day be one of the most famous playwrights in the United Kingdom, and his partner Kenneth Halliwell’s one-bedroom … Continue reading
“Vamp” – Theda Bara | The Müscleheaded Blog
There was no actress who steamed up the screens of early motion picture theatres more than Theda Bara – – She has been called the original ‘vamp’: and she really was the … Continue reading
Forgotten London films: Night and the City (1950) – Mathew Lyons
Unarguably the finest British film noir ever made, Night and the City was directed by American Jules Dassin. Its strikingly dark tone may not be unrelated to the fact that … Continue reading
Rogues & Vagabonds 