Melvyn Douglas was an American actor. Douglas came to prominence in the 1930s as a suave leading man, perhaps best typified by his performance in the romantic comedy Ninotchka (1939) with Greta Garbo. Douglas later played mature and fatherly characters, as in his Academy Award–winning performances in Hud (1963) and Being There (1979) and his Academy Award–nominated performance in I Never Sang for My Father (1970). Douglas was one of 24 performers to win the Triple Crown of Acting. In the last few years of his life Douglas appeared in films with supernatural stories involving ghosts. Douglas appeared as "Senator Joseph Carmichael" in The Changeling in 1980 and Ghost Story in 1981 in his final completed film role.
Melvyn Bragg, Baron Bragg,, is an English broadcaster, author and parliamentarian. He is best known for his work with ITV as editor and presenter of The South Bank Show (1978–2010), and for the BBC Radio 4 documentary series In Our Time.
The South Bank Show is a British television arts magazine show. It was originally produced by London Weekend Television and broadcast on ITV between 1978 and 2010. A new version of the series began on Sky Arts from 27 May 2012. Conceived, written and presented by former BBC arts broadcaster Melvyn Bragg, the show aims to bring both high art and popular culture to a mass audience.
The Music Lovers is a 1971 British drama film directed by Ken Russell and starring Richard Chamberlain and Glenda Jackson. The screenplay by Melvyn Bragg, based on Beloved Friend, a collection of personal correspondence edited by Catherine Drinker Bowen and Barbara von Meck, focuses on the life and career of 19th-century Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. It was one of the director's biographical films about classical composers, which include Elgar (1962), Delius: Song of Summer (1968), Mahler (1974) and Lisztomania (1975), made from an often idiosyncratic standpoint.
Charles Hart is an English lyricist, librettist and songwriter best known for his work on The Phantom of the Opera as well as a number of other musicals and operas for both stage and television.
The Really Useful Group Ltd. (RUG) is an international company set up in 1977 by Andrew Lloyd Webber. It is involved in theatre, film, television, video and concert productions, merchandising, magazine publishing, records and music publishing. The name is inspired by a phrase from the children's book series The Railway Series in which Thomas the Tank Engine and other locomotives are referred to as "Really Useful Engines".
Howard Lindsay Goodall is an English composer of musicals, choral music and music for television. He also presents music-based programmes for television and radio, for which he has won many awards. In May 2008, he was named as a presenter and Composer-in-Residence with the UK radio channel Classic FM. In May 2009, he was named "Composer of the Year" at the Classic BRIT Awards.
A Place in England is a novel by Melvyn Bragg, first published in 1970. It is the second part of Bragg's Cumbrian Trilogy.
Kingdom Come is a novel by Melvyn Bragg, first published in 1980. It is the third part of Bragg's Cumbrian Trilogy.
The Cumbrian Trilogy comprises three novels by Melvyn Bragg, published between 1969 and 1980.
Julia Hills is an English actress, known for portraying the role of Rona in eight series of the BBC sitcom 2point4 Children. She also portrayed various roles in Channel 4's first late night satirical sketch show Who Dares Wins, Beryl in two series of the sitcom Dad and Caroline Joyner in Casualty.
Two Gentlemen of Verona is a rock musical, with a book by John Guare and Mel Shapiro, lyrics by Guare and music by Galt MacDermot, based on the Shakespeare comedy of the same name.
The Waltz of the Toreadors is a 1951 play by Jean Anouilh.
Two Cities is a 2006 stage musical by Howard Goodall based on the 1859 novel A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. The music and lyrics were written by Goodall, and the book was co-written by Goodall and Joanna Read.
Norbert Smith: A Life, also released as Sir Norbert Smith: A Life, is a 1989 mockumentary television film, charting the life and career of the fictitious British actor Sir Norbert Smith. It stars Harry Enfield in the title role. It was written by Harry Enfield and Geoffrey Perkins and directed by Geoff Posner.
Gina Beck is a British stage actress and singer, mainly known for playing major roles in various West End musicals. She played the characters of Miss Honey in the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of Matilda the Musical, Magnolia Hawks in Daniel Evans' acclaimed production of the 1927 musical Show Boat, Glinda the Good Witch in Wicked, both in the London production and the 1st national tour, Christine Daaé in the West End production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's 1986 musical The Phantom of the Opera, and Cosette in Les Miserables.
The Mercury Theatre is a theatre in Colchester, producing highly regarded original work under the title "Mercury Productions"and also receiving touring shows. The theatre has two auditoria, and is led by Tracey Childs, Steve Mannix and Ryan McBryde. The theatre also contains The Digby Gallery, which showcases local art.
Paul Clarkson is an English actor, theatre director and teacher. He was born and educated in Worcester and trained at LAMDA from 1979–81.
Joanna Read is a British theatre director and librettist. In 2010, she became the first ever female Principal of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA).
The National Youth Music Theatre (NYMT) is an arts organisation in the United Kingdom providing pre-professional education and musical theatre stage experience for young people. Based in London, it is constituted as a private limited company and as a registered charity. NYMT was founded in 1976 by director and playwright Jeremy James Taylor. Since its inception, it has produced over fifty productions at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, premièred thirty new musical theatre works, toured several times outside the United Kingdom, and had runs in the West End and on Broadway. Amongst the many alumni of the National Youth Music Theatre who have gone on to careers in the performing arts are Jude Law, Jonny Lee Miller, Sheridan Smith, Connie Fisher, Idris Elba and Matt Lucas. Alumni have also included directors such as Jo Davies, and songwriters such as Tara Mcdonald.
