Lionel Hamilton was an English theatre director and actor, director of the Northampton Repertory Company in Northampton, England. [1] Much of his work was conducted at the Northampton Repertory Theatre and the Kettering Savoy in the late 1940s and 1950s.
As part of the Northampton Repertory Theatre, in 1951, Hamilton put on a production of The Romantic Young Lady at the Kettering Savoy, starring Jean Charlesworth, Peter Bell and Ronald Radd. [2] Glyn Idris Jones said that he was "not the most brilliant of directors but a delightfully pleasant man and, competent, I suppose, would be the right word. Even if they lacked imagination, his productions were clean, professional, and at least he didn't always abide by French's acting editions." [3] Upon the resignation of John Ellin as general manager of the Northampton Repertory Theatre in May 1954, Hamilton assumed his position, having already become acting director of productions of the theatre company at the time. [4]
During World War II, Hamilton was attached to the British military's 02E unit, Headquarters Malta Command, [5] where he produced Men in Shadows. Here, Hamilton worked with Spike Milligan. [6]
Described as a "hammy actor", [7] Hamilton acted in several plays, including Oscar Wilde's An Ideal Husband at the Northampton Repertory Theatre with Jonathan Adams, Marion McNaughton, and Valerie Bond. At the end of 1949, he starred as Arthur Gosport in the Harlequinade at the Northampton Repertory Theatre and Kettering Savoy. [8] In 1952, he played various roles in the Theatre Royal, Nottingham production of Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap . [9] At Christmas 1954, Hamilton starred as Dame Whittington opposite John Scott and Tenniel Evans in a production of the pantomime Dick Whittington at the Northampton Repertory Theatre. [10] He also appeared in the ITV Play of the Week (1964) and BBC Play of the Month (1968) and in two episodes of the 1966 serial David Copperfield as Mr. Jorkins. [11]
Richard D'Oyly Carte was an English talent agent, theatrical impresario, composer, and hotelier during the latter half of the Victorian era. He built two of London's theatres and a hotel empire, while also establishing an opera company that ran continuously for over a hundred years and a management agency representing some of the most important artists of the day.
The Savoy Theatre is a West End theatre in the Strand in the City of Westminster, London, England. The theatre was designed by C. J. Phipps for Richard D'Oyly Carte and opened on 10 October 1881 on a site previously occupied by the Savoy Palace. Its intended purpose was to showcase the popular series of comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan, which became known as the Savoy operas.
Dame Edith Margaret Emily Ashcroft, known professionally as Peggy Ashcroft, was an English actress whose career spanned more than 60 years.
The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company is a professional British light opera company that, from the 1870s until 1982, staged Gilbert and Sullivan's Savoy operas nearly year-round in the UK and sometimes toured in Europe, North America and elsewhere. The company was revived for short seasons and tours from 1988 to 2003, and since 2013 it has co-produced four of the operas with Scottish Opera.
Sir Henry Lytton was an English actor and singer who was the leading exponent of the starring comic patter-baritone roles in Gilbert and Sullivan operas from 1909 to 1934. He also starred in musical comedies. His career with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company spanned 50 years, and he is the only performer ever knighted for achievements in Gilbert and Sullivan roles.
Rosina Brandram was an English opera singer and actress primarily known for creating many of the contralto roles in the Savoy operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company.
Northampton was a parliamentary constituency, which existed until 1974.
Helen Carte Boulter, also known as Helen Lenoir, was a Scottish businesswoman known for her diplomatic skills and grasp of detail. Beginning as his secretary, and later marrying, impresario and hotelier Richard D'Oyly Carte, she is best remembered for her stewardship of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company and Savoy Hotel from the end of the 19th century into the early 20th century.
Ronald Radd was a British television actor. He originated the role of Hunter in the television thriller series Callan. In 1971, he was nominated for a Tony Award for Abelard and Heloise.
Zahrah Mary Chassib Jaber, born 19 August 1924 – 9 October 2016), better known by her stage name Zara Nutley, was an English actress. She is best known for her roles in two television comedy series, Mind Your Language and Never the Twain.
Henry Hamilton was an English playwright, lyricist and actor. He is best remembered for his musical theatre libretti, including The Duchess of Dantzic (1903), The School Girl (1903), Véronique (1905) and The Little Michus (1907), often adapting foreign works for the British stage.
Northampton St. John's Street was a railway station and the northern terminus of the Midland Railway's former Bedford to Northampton Line which served the English county town of Northampton from 1872 to 1939. Its closure came about as a cost-cutting measure implemented by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway which diverted services to the nearby Northampton Castle station. After closure the elegant station building was used as offices and the line for the storage of rolling stock; the site was cleared in 1960 to make way for a car park. The car park has now been built on and is the location of St Johns Halls of Residence for The University of Northampton.
Royal & Derngate is a theatre complex in the Cultural Quarter of Northampton, England, consisting of the Royal Theatre, Derngate Theatre and the Northampton Filmhouse. The Royal was built by theatre architect Charles J. Phipps and opened in 1884. Ninety-nine years later in 1983, Derngate, designed by RHWL, was built to the rear of the Royal. Whilst the two theatres were physically linked, they did not combine organisations until a formal merger in 1999; they are run by the Northampton Theatres Trust. The Royal Theatre, established as a producing house, has a capacity of 450 seats and since 1976 has been designated a Grade II listed building; Derngate Theatre seats a maximum of 1,200 and is a multi-purpose space in which the auditorium can be configured for a variety of events including theatre, opera, live music, dance, fashion and sports. The Northampton Filmhouse, an independent cinema built to the side of the complex, opened in 2013.
Ben Harrison is a British sound designer specialising in musical theatre and live events.
The Kettering Savoy was a theatre and cinema in Russell Street, Kettering, Northamptonshire, England.
Peter Bell was a British stage actor and producer. In 1951 he appeared opposite Jean Charlesworth and Ronald Radd in a Lionel Hamilton production of The Romantic Young Lady at the Kettering Savoy. He was employed by the Northampton Repertory Company in the early 1950s, but by 1953 had appeared to have moved on. His wife, Mary Honer, was involved with training young actors on stage in Northampton. In 1950, Bell and Jack Livesey produced youth productions of Stanley Houghton's comedy The Dear Departed and Ian Haly's farce The Crimson Coconut at Towcester Town Hall.
Frederick Strafford Moss was a British tenor and actor. He appeared in the Savoy operas of Gilbert and Sullivan from 1897 to 1913, mainly in touring companies of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, following which he had a career in musical theatre on the West End stage until 1931.
Owen Parker was a British industrialist, who served as Conservative MP for Kettering in 1922–23.
Charles Childerstone was an English operatic tenor and actor who after a career on the stage including a period with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company from 1896 to 1903 later had a career on the music halls and in film. His theatrical career spanned four decades and included musical comedy and the legitimate theatre.
Oliver Bayldon FRSA, FCSD was a London-based, award-winning British production designer who worked with the Northampton Repertory Theatre, the BBC, and the Royal Academy of Music.
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