The cultural life of Sydney, Australia is dynamic and multicultural. Many of the individual cultures that make up the Sydney mosaic are centred on the cultural, artistic, ethnic, linguistic and religious communities formed by waves of immigration. Sydney is a major global city with a vibrant scene of musical, theatrical, visual, literary and other artistic activity.
Guildford is a town in Surrey, England. It lies 28 miles (45 km) southwest of London on the A3 trunk road between the capital and Portsmouth. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 80,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford which had an estimated 147,889 inhabitants in 2018.
Bonita Melody Lysette "Bonnie" Langford is an English actress, dancer and singer. She came to prominence as a child star in the 1970s, when she had a notable role in the TV series Just William. In the 1980s, she played companion Mel Bush in Doctor Who. She has also been known for appearing in various musicals in the West End and on Broadway, including shows such as Peter Pan, Cats, The Pirates of Penzance and Chicago. From 2015 to 2018, she portrayed the role of Carmel Kazemi on the BBC soap opera EastEnders, for which she received the 2016 British Soap Award for Best Newcomer.
GuilFest, formerly the Guildford Festival of Folk and Blues, was a music festival held in Stoke Park, Guildford, England, each July. The festival, like the larger Glastonbury Festival, featured a range of genres including rock, folk, blues, and in recent years pop. In 2006 GuilFest was awarded the title of "Best Family Festival" in the UK Festival awards.
Michael Ashley Ball is an English singer, presenter and actor. He made his West End debut in 1985 playing Marius Pontmercy in the original London production of Les Misérables, and went on to star in 1987 as Raoul in The Phantom of the Opera. In 1989, he reached number two in the UK Singles Chart with "Love Changes Everything", a song taken from the musical Aspects of Love, where he played Alex. He played the role in London and on Broadway. His album Coming Home To You reached number one in the UK making it his 4th number one album to date. On 24 April 2020, Ball and Captain Tom Moore entered the UK Singles Chart at number one with a cover of "You'll Never Walk Alone", with combined chart sales of 82,000 making it the fastest-selling single of 2020.
The Roundhouse is a performing arts and concert venue situated at the Grade II* listed former railway engine shed in Chalk Farm, London, England. The building was erected in 1846–1847 by the London & North Western Railway as a roundhouse, a circular building containing a railway turntable, but was used for that purpose for only about a decade. After being used as a warehouse for a number of years, the building fell into disuse just before World War II. It was first made a listed building in 1954.
Buxton Opera House is in The Square, Buxton, Derbyshire, England. It is a 902-seat opera house that hosts the annual Buxton Festival and, from 1994 to 2013, the International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival, among others, as well as pantomime at Christmas, musicals and other entertainments year-round. Hosting live performances until 1927, the theatre then was used mostly as a cinema until 1976. In 1979, it was refurbished and reopened as a venue for live performance.
The culture of London concerns the music, museums, festivals and lifestyle within London, the capital city of the United Kingdom. London has frequently been described as a global cultural capital and is one of the world's leading business centres, renowned for its technological readiness and economic clout, as well as attracting the most foreign investment of any global city. As such, London has often been ranked as the world's capital city.
The Academy of Contemporary Music (ACM) is a music academy in Guildford, Surrey, England providing its own contemporary music-based courses and partnering three public institutions, one college and two universities in respect of many of their contemporary music courses.
Sheffield has a growing cultural reputation. 7.2% of Sheffield's working population are employed in the creative industries, well above the national average of 4%. The music scene has produced many music acts during the last 25 years. It is also home to the largest theatre complex outside London. The council has attempted to build upon these foundations with the creation of the Cultural Industries Quarter. Sheffield made the shortlist for the first city to be designated UK City of Culture, but in July 2010 it was announced that Derry had been selected.
Bristol is a city in South West England. As the largest city in the region it is a centre for the arts and sport. The region has a distinct West Country dialect.
The performing arts community in Louisville, Kentucky is undergoing a renaissance. The Kentucky Center, dedicated in 1983, located in the downtown hotel and entertainment district, is a premiere performing arts center. It features a variety of plays and concerts, and is the performance home of the Louisville Ballet, Louisville Orchestra, Broadway Across America - Louisville, Music Theatre Louisville, Stage One, KentuckyShow! and the Kentucky Opera, which is the twelfth oldest opera in the United States. The center also manages the historic W. L. Lyons Brown Theatre, which opened in 1925 and is patterned after New York's acclaimed Music Box Theatre.
Kerry Jane Ellis is an English actress and singer who is best known for her work in musical theatre and subsequent crossover into music. Born and raised in Suffolk, Ellis began performing at an early age before training at Laine Theatre Arts from the age of 16.
Richard Durrant Dip RCM, ARCM, FLCM is an English guitarist and composer. He studied guitar, cello, and composition at the Royal College of Music in London between 1981 and 1986. Since his debut at the Purcell Room, London in July 1986. Richard Durrant has gained an international reputation as one of the great guitarists of his generation. He has pursued both performance and composition in an unconventional career that has avoided categorisation and he has built a faithful, ever expanding audience who warm to his unpretentious manner and natural skills of communication. He is one of the only classical guitar virtuosi who performs standing up.
Daniel Boys is an English musical theatre actor, who was a contestant on the BBC talent series Any Dream Will Do in 2007 before becoming known as a stage actor in various musicals including Avenue Q, Spamalot and Falsettos.
Anthony Drewe is a British lyricist and book writer for Broadway and West End musicals. He is best known for his collaborations with George Stiles.
Julian Woolford is a British theatre director, writer and educationalist based in the UK and working internationally. He was educated at the University of Kent and Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. He is currently Head of Musical Theatre at GSA Guildford School of Acting, the conservatoire based at the University of Surrey.
Sarah Lark is a Welsh singer and actress who rose to fame when she competed as one of the finalists in the BBC talent show-themed television series I'd Do Anything in 2008.
Sarah Tullamore is an English-born actress, singer, dancer and voice-over artist.
Kirsten Joy Child is an English singer-songwriter who is best known for singing with the pop group Clean Bandit after coming to prominence after taking part in the 2012 inaugural series of the singing talent contest The Voice UK. Having been chosen by judge Jessie J in the programme's 'blind auditions' round, Kirsten joined other contestants on Jessie's team to compete for a place in the finals. During the 'battle rounds' Kirsten lost out to fellow contestant Toni Warne.
