R.U.R. is a 1920 Science fiction play by the Czech writer Karel Čapek. "R.U.R." stands for Rossumovi Univerzální Roboti. The play had its world premiere on 2 January 1921 in Hradec Králové; it introduced the word "robot" to the English language and to science fiction as a whole. R.U.R. became influential soon after its publication. By 1923, it had been translated into thirty languages. R.U.R. was successful in its time in Europe and North America. Čapek later took a different approach to the same theme in his 1936 novel War with the Newts, in which non-humans become a servant-class in human society.
William Francis Nighy is an English actor. Known for his work in several stage, television and film productions, he has received several awards including a British Academy Film Award and a Golden Globe Award, and also has had nominations for an Academy Award, a Tony Award and a Laurence Olivier Award.
Anthony Minghella, was a British film director, playwright, and screenwriter. He was chairman of the board of Governors at the British Film Institute between 2003 and 2007. He directed Truly, Madly, Deeply (1991), The English Patient (1996), The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), and Cold Mountain (2003), and produced Iris (2001), The Quiet American (2002), Michael Clayton (2007), and The Reader (2008).
Travesties is a 1974 play by Tom Stoppard. It centres on the figure of Henry Carr, an old man who reminisces about Zürich in 1917 during the First World War, and his interactions with James Joyce when he was writing Ulysses, Tristan Tzara during the rise of Dada, and Lenin leading up to the Russian Revolution, all of whom were living in Zürich at that time.
Michael Ashley Ball is an English singer, presenter and actor. In 1985, he made his West End debut as Marius Pontmercy in the original production of Les Misérables. In 1989, he reached number two in the UK Singles Chart with "Love Changes Everything", from the musical Aspects of Love, where he played Alex Dillingham. He played the role in the West End 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.
Roger William Allam is a British actor, who has performed on stage, in film, on television and radio.
Sarah Ann Akers, known professionally as Suranne Jones, is an English actress and producer. Known for her numerous collaborations with screenwriter Sally Wainwright, she rose to prominence playing Karen McDonald on ITV's Coronation Street between 2000 and 2004. Upon leaving, she furthered her television career in drama series such as Vincent (2005–2006), Strictly Confidential (2006), Harley Street (2008), and Unforgiven (2009).
Valentine Ruth Henshall, known professionally as Ruthie Henshall, is an English actress, singer and dancer, known for her work in musical theatre. She began her professional stage career in 1986, before making her West End debut in Cats in 1987. A five-time Olivier Award nominee, she won the 1995 Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her role as Amalia Balash in the London revival of She Loves Me (1994).
Steven James Pemberton is a British actor, comedian, director and writer. He was a writer and actor for BBC's The League of Gentlemen with Reece Shearsmith, Mark Gatiss, and Jeremy Dyson. Pemberton and Shearsmith also co-wrote and starred in the black comedy Psychoville and the anthology series Inside No. 9. His other notable television performance credits include Doctor Who, Benidorm, Blackpool, Shameless, Whitechapel, Happy Valley and Mapp & Lucia.
Thomas Anthony Hollander is a British actor who has gained success for his roles on stage and screen, winning BAFTA and two Screen Actors Guild Awards.
Susannah Harker is an English film, television, and theatre actress. She was nominated for a BAFTA TV Award in 1990 for her role as Mattie Storin in House of Cards. She played Jane Bennet in the 1995 TV adaptation of Pride and Prejudice.
Daniel Jonathan Stevens is an English actor. He first drew international attention for his role as Matthew Crawley in the ITV acclaimed period drama series Downton Abbey (2010–2012). He also starred as David in the thriller film The Guest (2014), Sir Lancelot in the adventure film Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb (2014), The Beast/Prince in Disney's live action adaptation of Beauty and the Beast (2017), Lorin Willis in the biographical legal drama Marshall (2017), Charles Dickens in the biographical drama The Man Who Invented Christmas (2017) and Russian Eurovision singer Alexander Lemtov in Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga (2020). From 2017 to 2019, he starred as David Haller in the FX series Legion. In 2018, he starred in the Netflix horror Apostle, and since 2023, he has starred as Korvo Opposites in the animated series Solar Opposites. In 2024, Stevens starred as Trapper in Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire.
Michael Bartlett is an English playwright and screenwriter for film and TV series. His 2015 psychological thriller TV series, Doctor Foster, starring Suranne Jones, won the New Drama award from National Television Awards. Bartlett also won Best Writer from the Broadcast Press Guild Awards. A BBC TV Film of Bartlett's play King Charles III was broadcast in May 2017 and while critically acclaimed, generated some controversy.
Masters Performing Arts College is an independent dance/musical theatre college based in the town of Rayleigh in Essex, England.
Denise Gough is an Irish actress. She has received a number of accolades, including two Laurence Olivier Awards as well as a nominations for a Tony Award and a British Academy Television Award.
Marianne Phoebe Elliott is a British theatre director and producer who works on the West End and Broadway. She has received numerous accolades including two Laurence Olivier Awards and four Tony Awards.
Alexander George Clare is a British singer and songwriter. His debut album, The Lateness of the Hour, was released in the UK on 11 July 2011 on Island Records and was produced by Mike Spencer and Major Lazer.
Robert Hudson is a British novelist and comedy writer who has written journalism, particularly on sport and digital media, for many UK newspapers.
Sam Esmail is an American film and television producer, director, and screenwriter who runs the production company Esmail Corp. He is best known as the creator, writer, and director of the award-winning USA Network television series Mr. Robot (2015–2019), starring Rami Malek. He wrote and directed the feature films Comet (2014) and Leave the World Behind (2023). He produced and directed the first season of the acclaimed Amazon Prime Video psychological thriller Homecoming (2018–2020), starring Julia Roberts and Janelle Monáe, and produced USA's Briarpatch (2020), Starz's Gaslit (2022), and Peacock's Angelyne (2022) and The Resort (2022).
Pearl Mackie is a British actress. She is best known for playing Bill Potts in the long-running television series Doctor Who. Mackie is a graduate of the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. Her first major television role came in 2014, when she played Anne-Marie Frasier in BBC One soap opera Doctors.
