The Stage – News – Coronavirus: ‘Theatre is to UK what Venice is to Italy’ – Helen Mirren
Helen Mirren has become the latest high-profile figure to call for major investment to prevent the arts from collapsing.She follows the likes of Judi Dench, who appeared on Channel 4 … Continue reading
Quote • CARL REINER
The critic Pauline Kael “once wrote that she’s not sure if I’m a serious filmmaker or not,” Carl Reiner once recalled in an interview. “So I assured her: I’m not.” … Continue reading
Carl Reiner dies: Comedy icon created ‘Dick Van Dyke Show’ – Los Angeles Times
Carl Reiner, the veteran comedy actor, writer, director and producer who created the classic sitcom “The Dick Van Dyke Show” and played second banana to Sid Caesar and straight man … Continue reading
Quote • HELEN McCRORY • RSC Types
Quote | HELEN McCRORY ‘…she is identifiably an RSC type, the small, punchy actress with a voice that can coat a back wall in honey from 100 paces… You already … Continue reading
‘This is the best moment of my life,’ he said, lying in the bath: Ian Holm remembered | Film | The Guardian
That sense of emotional ruthlessness was what made him such a brilliant Lear Richard Eyre Ian Holm was, as it was so often said, the actor’s actor. Not because … Continue reading
Obituary: Ian Holm – BBC News
Sir Ian Holm was the consummate supporting actor, happy to let others bask in the limelight of stardom. He built his career in the theatre with the Royal Shakespeare Company, … Continue reading
London’s oldest theatre discovered in East End excavation | The Independent
Archaeologists have discovered London’s oldest theatre – an Elizabethan playhouse constructed in the mid-16th century. Known as the Red Lion, it represents a major “missing link” in the history of … Continue reading
Actors offer action plan over drama school racism – BBC News
A group of young BAME actors who have spoken out about racial discrimination they endured at a leading drama school have proposed their own action plan. The Royal Central School … Continue reading
First Night Design | Joseph Grimaldi, Clown 1778–1837 | First Night Design
A story is told that in 1806 a man goes to visit a doctor who is acclaimed for his ability to treat melancholia. “I can’t eat, I can’t sleep,” says … Continue reading
YVONNE ARNAUD: BEAUTIFUL FRENCH PIANIST, SINGER, AND ACTRESS | THE CABINET CARD GALLERY
The pretty woman seen in this vintage real photo postcard is Germaine Yvonne Arnaud (1890-1958). She had a noteworthy career as a pianist, singer, and actress. She was most popular … Continue reading
Arts funding plea as Globe warns it may not survive Covid-19 crisis | Culture | The Guardian
A call for the government to step up with urgent funding “to shore up our cultural landscape” has been made as Shakespeare’s Globe warned it faces insolvency without extra help. … Continue reading
The Great Escape actor George Mikell dies aged 91 | London Evening Standard
Actor George Mikell, best known for his roles in The Guns Of Navarone and The Great Escape, has died at the age of 91. The Lithuanian-born actor also appeared in … Continue reading
Uncle Frank Matcham | Gralefrit Theology
[Theatre architect Frank Matcham], second of nine children of Elizabeth and Charles, was born at East Street, Newton Abbot on November 22, 1854. His father, who was manager of the … Continue reading
How I Became An Award-winning Theatre Director, Playwright, Actor and Designer | LUCK-IT
Oliver Chong joined the theatre industry at age 25 as an actor and set designer, added the title of director and playwright to his repertoire at age 29 and won … Continue reading
The Stage – Features – Simon McBurney: ‘It is clear – above all else – that we need to begin again’
“How are the birds?” Simon McBurney asks. “Loud”, I say, “beautiful”. “Yes,” the actor, writer and artistic director of theatre company Complicité hums in his thoughtful, growling voice. “Sometimes I … Continue reading
Losing its edge: the precise point Peaky Blinders peaked | Television & radio | The Guardian
I agree entirely with this overall assessment of Peaky Blinders by Guardian writer Stuart Jeffries. Peaky Blinders tore up the playbook from its first scene, when Cillian Murphy rode into shot … Continue reading
From theatre director to crisis co-ordinator… and game show host – BBC News
Alan Lane’s theatre company is now delivering food and staging an online game show to lift spirits. Source: From theatre director to crisis co-ordinator… and game show host – BBC … Continue reading
Brian Dennehy, veteran stage and screen actor, dies aged 81
“It is with heavy hearts we announce that our father, Brian passed away last night from natural causes, not Covid19-related,” his daughter Elizabeth tweeted. Source: Brian Dennehy, veteran stage and screen … Continue reading
Emmerdale and Aliens actor Jay Benedict dies of coronavirus
Former Emmerdale and Foyle’s War star Jay Benedict has died at the age of 68. The American born actor’s agency announced that Benedict died on 4 April as a result … Continue reading
Obituary: Honor Blackman
Honor Blackman was born into a lower middle-class family in Plaistow, east London, on 22 August 1925. Her father offered her a choice of presents for her 16th birthday; a … Continue reading
John Shrapnel obituary
Richly variegated and utterly plausible, with a distinctively weak “r”, the voice of the actor John Shrapnel, who has died aged 77 after suffering from cancer, was instantly recognisable on … Continue reading
What I’ve learnt: Kevin Bacon
‘We all have a desire to be loved but with actors we want to be seen and we want the love of the masses. I felt that even when I … Continue reading
Marie Lloyd – Queen of the Halls
2020 marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of the legendary music hall performer Marie Lloyd and I think she would have appreciated the lecture about her colourful life and spectacular career that … Continue reading
Roy Hudd obituary
‘In 1958 Hudd’s agent, Morris Aza, suggested he audition for Launcelot Gobbo in The Merchant of Venice. As Hudd later explained: “Morris said, ‘In about three or four years variety … Continue reading
Max von Sydow obituary
The great Swedish film and stage actor Max von Sydow, who has died aged 90, will be remembered by different people for different roles: the title role in The Exorcist, … Continue reading
The actor who was really stabbed on stage
When he was cast as Hamlet at age 24, Conor Madden thought his stage career was about to take off – but then an accident during a sword-fighting scene [during … Continue reading
Michael Billington on Stage
Over the course of 50 years, Guardian theatre critic Michael Billington has reviewed over 10,000 productions. He is, joked National Theatre Director Rufus Norris, at tonight’s event: “The critic who’s struck more … Continue reading
Sean Foley Q&A: the new artistic director of Birmingham Rep outlines his vision
As Sean Foley announces his first season as artistic director of the Birmingham Rep, he tells Matthew Hemley about his vision for the company The season opens with a run of … Continue reading
The (Gasp!) Canadian Who Played Abraham Lincoln
An old trick of the media is to suggest an upcoming event will cause Great Offence and Controversy, without waiting to see if it actually does. Source: The (Gasp!) Canadian … Continue reading
Revivals of Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman and Henrik Ibsen’s Rosmersholm pick up 5 Oliviers
Revivals of Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman and Henrik Ibsen’s Rosmersholm picked up five [Olivier Award] nominations each, including best actor for Wendell Pierce as Miller’s Willy Loman and … Continue reading
Rogues & Vagabonds 