134-612: Charles Laughton ( / ˈ l ɔː t ə n / ; 1 July 1899 – 15 December 1962) was a British and American actor. He was trained in London at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and first appeared professionally on the stage in 1926. In 1927, he was cast in a play with his future wife Elsa Lanchester , with whom he lived and worked until his death. Laughton played a wide range of classical and modern roles, making an impact in Shakespeare at
268-429: A Grammy in 1962 for Best Spoken Word Recording . Although the album has yet to be released on compact disc, it can now be heard in its entirety online. Laughton was the fill-in host on 9 September 1956, when Elvis Presley made his first of three appearances on CBS 's The Ed Sullivan Show , which garnered 60.7 million viewers ( Ed Sullivan was recuperating from a car accident). That same year, Laughton hosted
402-703: A Bible-reading pastor in the multi-story A Miracle Can Happen (1947), but his piece wound up being cut and replaced with another featuring Dorothy Lamour , and in this form the film was retitled as On Our Merry Way . However, an original print of A Miracle Can Happen was sent abroad for dubbing before the Laughton sequence was deleted, and in this form it was shown in Spain as Una Encuesta Llamada Milagro . Laughton made his first colour film in Paris as Inspector Maigret in The Man on
536-477: A Day , wrote: "Is there no-one at RKO to tell Charles Laughton when he is being plain bad?" On the other hand, Bosley Crowther of The New York Times declared that Forever and a Day boasted "superb performances". C. A. Lejeune , wrote Callow, was "shocked" by the poor quality of Laughton's work of that period: "One of the most painful screen phenomena of latter years", she wrote in The Observer , "has been
670-407: A Pelican LP. A two-LP Capitol Records album was released in 1962, the year of Laughton's death, entitled The Story Teller: A Session with Charles Laughton . Taken from Laughton's one-man stage shows, it compiles dramatic readings from several sources. Three of the excerpts are broadcast annually on a Minnesota Public Radio Thanksgiving program entitled Giving Thanks . The Story Teller won
804-564: A South Seas patriarch in The Tuttles of Tahiti (1942); and a US admiral during World War II in Stand By for Action (1942). He played a Victorian butler in Forever and a Day (1943) and an Australian bar-owner in The Man from Down Under (1943). Simon Callow 's 1987 biography quotes a number of contemporary reviews of Laughton's performances in these films. James Agate , reviewing Forever and
938-802: A bloodthirsty pirate in Captain Kidd (1945) and a malevolent judge in Alfred Hitchcock's The Paradine Case (1947). Laughton played a megalomaniac press tycoon in The Big Clock (1948). He had supporting roles as a Nazi in pre-war Paris in Arch of Triumph (1948), as a bishop in The Girl from Manhattan (1948), as a seedy go-between in The Bribe (1949), and as a kindly widower in The Blue Veil (1951). He played
1072-606: A body of work published as a book, Off Stage: 100 Portraits Celebrating the RADA Centenary , in 2005 to celebrate RADA's centenary. The photographs include John Hurt , Alan Rickman , Sheila Hancock , Sir Anthony Hopkins , Ralph Fiennes , Edward Woodward , Sir Ian Holm , Richard Attenborough , Joan Collins , Tom Courtenay , Warren Mitchell , Imelda Staunton , June Whitfield , Richard Briers , Glenda Jackson , Juliet Stevenson , Jonathan Pryce , Kenneth Branagh , Ioan Gruffud , Susannah York and Timothy Spall . In 2011,
1206-511: A box office. RADA accepts up to 28 new students each year into its three-year BA (Hons) in Acting course, with a 50–50 split of male and female students. Admission into the three-year BA (Hons) in Acting course is based on suitability and successful audition, via the four-stage audition process, spanning several months. Auditions are held in London as well as in New York, Los Angeles, Dublin, and across
1340-406: A brief appearance as a disgruntled diner in another silent film Piccadilly with Anna May Wong in 1929. He appeared with Lanchester again in a "film revue," featuring assorted British variety acts, called Comets (1930) in which they sang a duet, "The Ballad of Frankie and Johnnie." He made two other early British talkies: Wolves with Dorothy Gish (1930) from a play set in a whaling camp in
1474-621: A brief impression of Laughton's Captain Bligh. Royal Academy of Dramatic Art The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art , also known by its abbreviation RADA ( / ˈ r ɑː d ə / ), is a drama school in London , England, which provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre , film , television , and radio . It is based in Bloomsbury , Central London , close to the Senate House complex of
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#17330863222061608-603: A capacity of up to 50. In January 2012, RADA acquired the lease to the adjacent Drill Hall venue in Chenies Street and renamed it RADA Studios . The Drill Hall is a Grade II listed building with a long performing arts history, and was where Nijinsky rehearsed with Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes in 1911. This venue has a 200-seat space, the Studio Theatre, and a 50-seat space, the Club Theatre. In April 2016, planning permission
1742-540: A cinema. The school's principal industry partner is Warner Bros. Entertainment . RADA offers a number of foundation, undergraduate and postgraduate courses. Its higher education awards are validated by King's College London (KCL). The royal patron of the school is King Charles III , following the death of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022. The president is David Harewood , who succeeded Kenneth Branagh in February 2024, with Cynthia Erivo appointed vice president. The chairman
1876-399: A friend and co-star of Laughton, disputed the contention that his sexuality was the reason Laughton and Lanchester did not have children, saying Laughton told her he had wanted children but that it had not been possible because of a botched abortion that Lanchester had early in her career of performing burlesque . In her autobiography, Lanchester acknowledged two abortions in her youth – one of
2010-496: A full-length stage dramatisation by Herman Wouk of the court-martial scene in Wouk's novel The Caine Mutiny . The play, starring Henry Fonda as defence attorney Barney Greenwald, opened the same year as the film starring Humphrey Bogart as Captain Queeg and José Ferrer as Greenwald based on the original novel, but did not affect that film's box-office performance. Laughton also directed
2144-498: A general licence under which Foote tried to establish the Haymarket as a regular theatre. With the aid of the Duke of York he procured a royal licence to exhibit plays during four months in each year from May to September during his lifetime. He also bought the lease of the theatre from Potter's executors and, having added to the site by purchasing adjoining property, he enlarged and improved
2278-407: A great comedy house, and the theatre hosted most of the great actors of the period. The illusionist Ching Lau Lauro performed here on 25 July 1827. In 1862, the theatre was host to a 400-night run of Our American Cousin , with Edward Sothern as Lord Dundreary . The play's success brought the word "dreary" into common use. Robertson's David Garrick was a hit in 1864, also with Sothern in
2412-771: A guest appearance on the Colgate Comedy Hour (featuring Abbott and Costello ), in which he delivered the Gettysburg Address . In 1953 he played Herod Antipas in Salome , and he reprised his role as Henry VIII in Young Bess , a 1953 drama about Henry's children. He returned to Britain to star in Hobson's Choice (1954), directed by David Lean . Laughton received Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for his role in Witness for
2546-709: A local boys' school, Scarborough College , before sending him to Stonyhurst College , the pre-eminent English Jesuit school. Laughton served in World War I , during which he was gassed , serving first with the 2/1st Battalion of the Huntingdonshire Cyclist Battalion , and then with the 7th Battalion of the Northamptonshire Regiment . He started work in the family hotel, though also participating in amateur theatrical productions in Scarborough. He
2680-691: A musical in 1945 by Rodgers and Hammerstein as Carousel , where Ficsur became Jigger Craigin, but Laughton never appeared in the musical version). While Laughton is most remembered for his film career, he continued to work in the theatre, as when, after the success of The Private Life of Henry VIII he appeared at the Old Vic Theatre in 1933 as Macbeth , Lopakin in The Cherry Orchard , Prospero in The Tempest and Angelo in Measure for Measure . In
2814-467: A new musical starring Ruthie Henshall and Alexander Hanson ; and Keith Allen in an adaptation of Treasure Island . The following year, Ian McKellen , Patrick Stewart , Simon Callow and Ronald Pickup starred in Waiting for Godot , followed by Breakfast at Tiffany's , starring Anna Friel , Joseph Cross , James Dreyfus and Suzanne Bertish . Godot and Tiffany's were featured, along with
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#17330863222062948-659: A one-man show about Edmund Kean ; A Patriot for Me ( John Osborne ); The Cherry Orchard (Chekhov); and The Sleeping Prince ( Terence Rattigan ). Productions in 1984 were The Aspern Papers by Henry James, starring Christopher Reeve , Vanessa Redgrave and Wendy Hiller; Aren't We All? (Frederick Lonsdale) starring Rex Harrison and Claudette Colbert ; and The Way of the World ( Congreve ). In 1985, Lauren Bacall starred in Sweet Bird of Youth (Tennessee Williams), followed by Harold Pinter 's Old Times . In 1986
3082-421: A parody of her father, Colley Cibber , one of the owners and managers of Drury Lane. The Theatrical Licensing Act, however, put an end to the anti-ministry satires, and it all but entirely shut down the theatre. From 1741 to 1747, Charles Macklin , Cibber, Samuel Foote , and others sometimes produced plays there either by use of a temporary licence or by subterfuge; one advertisement runs, " At Cibber's Academy in
3216-468: A penetrating, theatre-filling shout and a soft, velvety tone, first appeared on 78-rpm records with the release of five British Regal Zonophone 10-inch discs entitled Voice of the Stars issued annually from 1934 to 1938. These featured short soundtrack snippets from the year's top films. He is heard on all five records in, respectively, The Private Life of Henry VIII , The Barretts of Wimpole Street , Mutiny on
3350-535: A reading of the Nativity story from St. Luke's Gospel , and this was released in 1995 on CD on a Nimbus Records collection entitled Prima Voce: The Spirit of Christmas Past . A Brunswick/American Decca LP entitled Readings from the Bible featured Laughton reading Garden of Eden, The Fiery Furnace, Noah's Ark, and David and Goliath. It was released in 1958. Laughton had previously included several Bible readings when he played
3484-624: A relationship with Elsa Lanchester , at the time a castmate in a stage play. The two were married in 1929, became US citizens in 1950, and remained together until Laughton's death. Over the years, they appeared together in several films, including Rembrandt (1936), Tales of Manhattan (1942), The Vessel of Wrath (1938), and The Big Clock (1948). Lanchester portrayed Anne of Cleves , Henry VIII's fourth wife, opposite Laughton in The Private Life of Henry VIII . They both received Academy Award nominations for their performances in Witness for
3618-708: A relevant scene for the film. Laughton played a henpecked husband who eventually murders his wife in The Suspect (1944), directed by Robert Siodmak , who would become a good friend. He played sympathetically an impoverished composer-pianist in Tales of Manhattan (1942) and starred in The Canterville Ghost , based on the Oscar Wilde story in 1944. Laughton appeared in two comedies with Deanna Durbin , It Started with Eve (1941) and Because of Him (1946). He portrayed
3752-692: A revival of Flare Path , as part of the playwright Terence Rattigan 's centenary year celebrations, starring Sienna Miller , James Purefoy and Sheridan Smith ; the Chichester Festival Theatre 's revival of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard ; Ralph Fiennes as Prospero in The Tempest ; and, over the Christmas/New Year season, Robert Lindsay and Joanna Lumley in The Lion in Winter . For two years from March 2012,
3886-414: A revival of Frozen , a play by Bryony Lavery , followed by Heathers: The Musical starring Carrie Hope Fletcher . In 2019 Louis I. Michaels Ltd. sold the theatre to Access Entertainment for a reported £45 million. In February 2019, Only Fools and Horses The Musical premiered at the theatre. It closed at the end of April 2023 after over 1,000 performances, making it the longest-running show in
4020-411: A run of 399 performances. Another long-running production was Yellow Sands , in which Ralph Richardson gave 610 performances in 1926–27. In 1926 Harrison died, and Horace Watson became the theatre's General Manager. His presentations included 632 performances of The First Mrs Fraser , by St. John Ervine , starring Marie Tempest in 1929. In 1939, under Watson's management, work began on excavating
4154-704: A staged reading in 1953 of Stephen Vincent Benét 's John Brown's Body , a full-length poem about the American Civil War and its aftermath. The production starred Tyrone Power , Raymond Massey (re-creating his film characterisations of Abraham Lincoln and John Brown ), and Judith Anderson . Laughton did not appear himself in either production, but John Brown's Body was recorded complete by Columbia Masterworks. He directed and starred in George Bernard Shaw 's, Major Barbara which ran on Broadway from approximately 1 November 1956, to 18 May 1957. Others in
Charles Laughton - Misplaced Pages Continue
4288-967: A stalls bar, but it was not completed until 1941 owing to the outbreak of World War II . Wartime presentations included the London premiere of Noël Coward 's Design for Living (1939) and John Gielgud 's 1944–1945 repertory season of The Circle ( Somerset Maugham ), Love for Love ( Congreve ), Hamlet , A Midsummer Night's Dream and The Duchess of Malfi . In 1940, Gielgud directed The Beggar's Opera , with Michael Redgrave as Macheath. In 1943, two Coward plays, Present Laughter and This Happy Breed , alternated. They were followed in 1945 by Wilde's Lady Windermere's Fan and in 1948 by Tennessee Williams 's The Glass Menagerie directed by Gielgud, starring Helen Hayes ; and The Heiress , an adaptation of Henry James 's Washington Square , directed by Gielgud and starring Ralph Richardson and Peggy Ashcroft , who were succeeded by Godfrey Tearle and Wendy Hiller (1949–50). In 1951–52 Waters of
4422-521: A twenty-minute version of the Christmas chapter from Dickens's The Pickwick Papers . It was first released by American Decca in 1944 as a four-record 78-rpm set, but was afterward transferred to LP. It frequently appeared on LP with a companion piece, Decca's 1941 adaptation of Dickens's A Christmas Carol , starring Ronald Colman as Scrooge. Both stories were released together on a Deutsche Grammophon CD for Christmas 2005. In 1943, Laughton recorded
4556-457: A while Colman managed the theatre from the King's Bench Prison, where he was confined for debt. All the buildings on the east of the Haymarket from the theatre southward were rebuilt circa 1820 in connection with John Nash 's schemes for the improvement of the neighbourhood. Nash persuaded the proprietors of the theatre to rebuild on a site a little south of the old one so that the portico should close
4690-687: A year with a 50–50 gender balance, with the option to interview in Manchester and Plymouth. RADA’s postgraduate training currently comprises a MA Theatre Lab programme and a Postgraduate Diploma in Theatre Costume (both validated by King's College London). RADA also jointly teaches an MA in Text and Performance with Birkbeck, University of London, where students on this course are enrolled at RADA as well as registered at Birkbeck. Both MA courses frequently collaborated according to their specialisms (i.e. directors on
4824-586: A £22.7 million grant from the Arts Council National Lottery Board in 1996, which was used to renovate its premises and rebuild the Jerwood Vanbrugh Theatre. In 2000, the academy founded RADA Enterprises Ltd, now known as RADA Business, providing training programmes and coaching for organisations and individuals in communications and team building which use drama training techniques in a business context. The profits are fed back into
4958-567: Is Marcus Ryder, who succeeded Sir Stephen Waley-Cohen in 2021. Its vice-chairman was Alan Rickman until his death in 2016. The current principal of the academy is Niamh Dowling, who succeeded Edward Kemp in 2022. The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art was founded on 25 April 1904 by actor-manager Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree (the grandfather of actor Oliver Reed ) at the West End 's Her Majesty's Theatre (now His Majesty's) situated in Haymarket in
5092-731: Is a Grade I listed building , with a seating capacity of 888. The freehold of the theatre is owned by the Crown Estate . The Haymarket has been the site of a significant innovation in theatre. In 1873, it was the venue for the first scheduled matinée performance, establishing a custom soon followed in theatres everywhere. Its managers have included Benjamin Nottingham Webster , John Baldwin Buckstone , Squire Bancroft , Cyril Maude , Herbert Beerbohm Tree , and John Sleeper Clarke , brother-in-law of John Wilkes Booth , who quit America after
5226-569: Is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London. The main RADA building where classes and rehearsals take place is on Gower Street (with a second entrance on Malet Street ), with a second premise nearby in Chenies Street where RADA Studios is located. The Goodge Street and Euston Square underground stations are both within walking distance. The Gower and Malet Street building was redeveloped in
5360-418: Is very brief on the page, as it relied extensively on absurd theatrics, dances, and other non-textual entertainments. The Musical Entertainer from 1739 contains engravings showing how the staging was performed. Carey continued with Pasquin and others. Additionally, refugees from Drury Lane's and Covent Garden's internal struggles would show up at the Haymarket, and thus Charlotte Charke would act there in
5494-554: The City of Westminster , London. In 1905, RADA moved to 62 Gower Street, and a managing council was set up to oversee the school. Its members included George Bernard Shaw , who later donated his royalties from his play Pygmalion to RADA and gave lectures to students at the school. In 1920, RADA was granted a royal charter and, in 1921, a new theatre was built on Malet Street behind the Gower Street buildings. Edward, Prince of Wales, opened
Charles Laughton - Misplaced Pages Continue
5628-724: The Comédie-Française as Sganarelle in the second act of Molière 's Le Médecin malgré lui , the first English actor to appear at that theatre, where he performed the role in French and received an ovation. Laughton commenced his film career in Great Britain while still acting on the London stage. He also accepted small roles in three short silent comedies starring his wife Elsa Lanchester , Daydreams, Blue Bottles, and The Tonic (all 1928), which had been specially written for her by H. G. Wells and were directed by Ivor Montagu . He made
5762-713: The National Theatre . In 1999, Fascinating Aïda 's comic revue was followed by Neil Simon's The Prisoner of Second Avenue , with Richard Dreyfuss and Marsha Mason ; Love Letters , by A. R. Gurney , with Charlton Heston and a transfer of the Chichester Festival Theatre 's The Importance of Being Earnest , starring Patricia Routledge . Productions at the Haymarket in this century have included The Royal Family by Edna Ferber , starring Judi Dench (2001), Lady Windermere's Fan , directed by Peter Hall, starring Vanessa Redgrave and Joely Richardson (2002), and Dench appeared on stage together with Maggie Smith for
5896-598: The New York Film Critics' Circle Awards for Mutiny on the Bounty and Ruggles of Red Gap in 1935. Academy Awards For his contributions to the motion picture industry, Laughton has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7021 Hollywood Boulevard. Laughton guest starred in a few television shows. Warner Brothers made three cartoons parodying Laughton's acting: In Buccaneer Bunny (1948), Bugs Bunny does
6030-631: The Old Vic . His film career took him to Broadway and then Hollywood, but he also collaborated with Alexander Korda on notable British films of the era, including The Private Life of Henry VIII , for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of the title character . He received two further nominations for his roles in Mutiny on the Bounty and Witness for the Prosecution , and reprised
6164-660: The Senate House complex of the University of London . It is a founder member of the Federation of Drama Schools. RADA has expanded its course offering over the years. The school offers a three-year BA (Hons) in acting degree. The first stage management course was introduced in 1962 under the directorship of Dorothy Tenham , and today students on the technical theatre and stage management degree learn theatre production skills including lighting, sound, props, costume and make-up, stage management, production management and video design. In
6298-623: The University of London , and is a founding member of the Federation of Drama Schools . RADA is one of the oldest drama schools in the United Kingdom, founded in 1904 by Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree . It moved to buildings on Gower Street in 1905. It was granted a royal charter in 1920 and a new theatre was built on Malet Street, behind the Gower Street buildings, which was opened in 1921 by Edward, Prince of Wales . It received its first government subsidy in 1924. RADA currently has five theatres and
6432-415: The 1960s, notable presentations included The Tulip Bee by N. C. Hunter starring Celia Johnson and John Clements and Thornton Wilder 's Ides of March directed by Gielgud (both 1963). In 1971, Louis I. Michaels became the lessee of the theatre. Productions of the decade included a revival of Enid Bagnold 's The Chalk Garden , with Gladys Cooper (1971, which had played at the Haymarket in 1956–57);
6566-534: The 1990s it launched a programme of short courses for actors and theatre technicians from around the world, including a special course for students at the NYU Tisch School of the Arts . Other courses include a one-year acting foundation course introduced in 2007; an MA in Text & Performance, affiliated with Birkbeck, University of London , introduced in 2010; and an MA Theatre Lab course introduced in 2011. RADA
6700-570: The Bounty (1935) as Captain William Bligh , co-starring with Clark Gable as Fletcher Christian ; and Ruggles of Red Gap (1935) as the very English butler transported to early 1900s America. He signed to play Micawber in David Copperfield (1934), but after a few days' shooting asked to be released from the role and was replaced by W. C. Fields . Back in the UK, and again with Korda, he played
6834-406: The Bounty , I, Claudius (curiously, since this film was unfinished and thus never released), and Vessel of Wrath . In 1937 he recorded Lincoln's Gettysburg Address on a 10-inch Columbia 78, having made a strong impression with it in Ruggles of Red Gap . He made several other spoken-word recordings, one of his most famous being his one-man album of Charles Dickens 's Mr. Pickwick's Christmas ,
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#17330863222066968-422: The Deep with Tallulah Bankhead , Gary Cooper and Cary Grant , and followed this with his best-remembered film role of that year as Nero in Cecil B. DeMille 's The Sign of the Cross . Laughton gave other memorable performances during that first Hollywood trip, repeating his stage role as a murderer in Payment Deferred , playing H. G. Wells ' mad vivisectionist Dr. Moreau in Island of Lost Souls , and
7102-402: The Eiffel Tower (1949) and, wrote the Monthly Film Bulletin , "appeared to overact" alongside Boris Karloff as a mad French nobleman in a version of Robert Louis Stevenson 's The Strange Door in 1951. He played a tramp in O. Henry's Full House (1952). He became the pirate Captain Kidd again, this time for comic effect, in Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd (1952). Laughton made
7236-551: The Haymarket as Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany's . In December the Royal Shakespeare Company took up residence at the Haymarket with a double bill of Love's Labour's Lost and Much Ado About Nothing . In 2017, Damian Lewis and Sophie Okonedo starred in Edward Albee 's The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia? from March to June. The RSC then returned to the theatre with Queen Anne . Natalie Dormer and David Oakes later starred in Venus in Fur . In 2018, Suranne Jones , Jason Watkins and Nina Sosanya starred in
7370-522: The Haymarket hosted the National Theatre production One Man, Two Guvnors , which transferred from the Adelphi Theatre . The theatre was one of the 40 theatres featured in the 2012 DVD documentary series Great West End Theatres , presented by Donald Sinden . In 2014, a stage adaptation of the film Fatal Attraction , directed by Nunn, premiered at the theatre, and Maureen Lipman and Harry Shearer starred in Daytona . The following year Penelope Wilton starred in Taken at Midnight . This
7504-511: The Haymarket with Veterans' Day ( Donald Freed ) and A Life in the Theatre ( David Mamet ). In 1990, the Haymarket revived London Assurance ( Dion Boucicault ) and presented An Evening with Peter Ustinov . The next year's plays included Jean Anouilh 's Becket , starring Derek Jacobi and Robert Lindsay . Lindsay also starred in a revival of Cyrano de Bergerac in 1992. This was succeeded by new productions of Heartbreak House with Vanessa Redgrave and A Woman of No Importance . In 1994
7638-498: The Haymarket's history, and was followed by a limited run of Accidental Death of an Anarchist starring Daniel Rigby . Noises Off starring Felicity Kendal began a limited run in September 2023. The Picture of Dorian Gray starring Sarah Snook followed in February 2024. A View from the Bridge starring Dominic West began playing in May 2024. It is expected to be followed by Waiting for Godot starring Lucian Msamati and Ben Whishaw from September 2024. In 1998
7772-399: The Haymarket, built a portico, increased the number of avenues and added a second gallery to the existing auditorium. A lease dated 10 June 1821, was granted to David Edward Morris. The theatre was opened on 4 July 1821, with The Rivals . Benjamin Nottingham Webster became the theatre's manager from 1837 to 1853. He and his successor, John Baldwin Buckstone , established the theatre as
7906-424: The Haymarket, will be a Concert, after which, will be exhibited (gratis) a Rehearsal, in the form of a Play, called Romeo and Juliet ." In 1749 a hoaxer billed as The Bottle Conjuror was advertised to appear at the theatre. The conjuror's publicity claimed that, while on stage, he would place his body inside an empty wine bottle, in full view of the audience. When the advertised act failed to appear on stage,
8040-478: The Haymarket; the new production featured Martin Shaw as Lord Goring. There is a memorial plaque to Wilde at the theatre. Another production of 1996 was Neil Simon 's The Odd Couple , starring Tony Randall and Jack Klugman . Hall was in charge again for the 1997 production of A Streetcar Named Desire (Tennessee Williams), starring Jessica Lange ; Lady Windermere's Fan ; and An Ideal Husband (returning after touring). The last production of that year
8174-473: The Hunter , starring Robert Mitchum , Shelley Winters and Lillian Gish , and produced by his friend Paul Gregory . The film has been cited among critics as one of the best of the 1950s, and has been selected by the United States National Film Registry for preservation in the Library of Congress. At the time of its original release it was a critical and box-office failure, and Laughton never directed again. The documentary Charles Laughton Directs The Night of
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#17330863222068308-403: The Hunter by Robert Gitt (2002) features preserved rushes and outtakes with Laughton's audible off-camera direction. Laughton had intended to follow up The Night of the Hunter with an adaptation of Norman Mailer 's The Naked and the Dead . Terry and Dennis Sanders were hired as writers, and press releases announced that Robert Mitchum was to star and that Walter Schumann would compose
8442-400: The Lir Academy was established in association with RADA at Trinity College Dublin , with the partnership of the Cathal Ryan Trust. Following RADA’s conservatoire-style, practical theatre training, the Lir Academy modelled its courses after the London-based school. RADA has been registered with the Office for Students as a higher education institution since July 2018. The current principal of
8576-473: The Moon again, starring Hiller and Ingrid Bergman in her last stage role (both 1978); and Keith Michell and Susan Hampshire in The Crucifer of Blood (1979). The theatre then presented Make and Break ( Michael Frayn ), with Leonard Rossiter and Prunella Scales (1980). The following year, Louis Michaels died, and the theatre passed to a company, Louis I Michaels Ltd, with President, Enid Chanelle and Chairman, Arnold M Crook, which continued to own
8710-441: The Moon by N. C. Hunter starred Sybil Thorndike , Edith Evans and Wendy Hiller. For the Coronation season in 1953, Coward gave a rare performance in a play not written by him, The Apple Cart by George Bernard Shaw , with Margaret Leighton as his co-star. To Coward, the Haymarket was "the most perfect theatre in the world". In 1956, Stuart Watson, who had taken over management of the theatre from his father Horace, died and
8844-411: The Prosecution (1957). He played a British admiral in Under Ten Flags (1960) and worked with Laurence Olivier in Spartacus (1960). His final film was Advise & Consent (1962), for which he received favourable comments for his performance as a Southern US Senator (for which accent he studied recordings of Mississippi Senator John C. Stennis ). In 1955, Laughton directed The Night of
8978-448: The Prosecution (1957)—Laughton for Best Actor, and Lanchester for Best Supporting Actress—but neither won. Laughton's bisexuality was corroborated by several of his contemporaries and is generally accepted by Hollywood historians. Hollywood procurer and prostitute Scotty Bowers alleged in his memoir Full Service that Laughton was in love with Tyrone Power and that his sex life was exclusively homosexual. Actress Maureen O'Hara ,
9112-460: The RADA Shakespeare Awards. Undergraduate students are eligible for government student loans. RADA also has a scholarships and bursaries scheme, which offers financial assistance to students. The Royal Patron of the Academy is King Charles III , following the death of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022. The President is David Harewood , since February 2024. The chairman is Marcus Ryder, who succeeded Sir Stephen Waley-Cohen in 2021. Its vice-chairman
9246-505: The Strings (1911), a Scottish comedy by Graham Moffat , which ran for 617 performances with Jimmy Finlayson in the lead; Ibsen 's Ghosts (1914); Elegant Edward , with Henry Daniell as P. C. Hodson (1915); The Widow's Might (1916), a comedy by Leonard Huskinson and Christopher Sandeman, with Henry Daniell . and General Post , a comedy by J. E. Harold Terry , which opened on 14 March 1917 and ran for 532 performances, again with Daniell. In 1920, J. M. Barrie 's Mary Rose had
9380-639: The Text & Performance programme using actors from the Theatre Lab course). Rehearsals and performances for the programmes are done mostly in the Chenies Street and Malet Street buildings. In addition, RADA offers a series of short courses, masterclasses and summer courses for a range of standards and ages. Previous attendees have included Allison Janney , Liev Schreiber , Maggie Gyllenhaal and Emma Watson . The Academy’s education, widening participation and outreach work includes two Youth Companies, schools' workshops, Access to Acting workshops for young disabled people, Shakespeare tours to secondary schools and
9514-519: The UK – in recent years this has included Birmingham, Bristol, Glasgow, Chester, Leicester, Sheffield, Manchester, Newcastle and Plymouth. Free auditions are offered to any applicants with a household income of under £25,000. RADA also teaches Technical Theatre & Stage Management (TTSM) – a two-year foundation degree and with a further 'completion' year to BA level which has to be separately applied for and which allows for specialisation in all theatre craft areas. The TTSM course admits up to 30 students
9648-481: The UK, which produced three films starring Laughton: Vessel of Wrath (US title The Beachcomber ) (1938), based on a story by W. Somerset Maugham , in which his wife, Elsa Lanchester, co-starred; St. Martin's Lane (US title Sidewalks of London ), about London street entertainers, which featured Vivien Leigh and Rex Harrison ; and Jamaica Inn , with Maureen O'Hara and Robert Newton , about Cornish shipwreckers, based on Daphne du Maurier 's novel, and
9782-643: The US, Laughton worked with Bertolt Brecht on a new English version of Brecht's play Galileo . Laughton played the title role at the play's premiere in Los Angeles on 30 July 1947 and later that year in New York. This staging was directed by Joseph Losey . The processes by which Laughton painstakingly, over many weeks, created his Galileo—and incidentally, edited and translated the play along with Brecht—are detailed in an essay by Brecht, "Building Up A Part: Laughton's Galileo." Laughton had one of his most notable successes in
9916-594: The academy to help cover its costs. In 2001, RADA joined with the London Contemporary Dance School to create the UK's first Conservatoire for Dance and Drama (CDD). RADA left the CDD in August 2019 to become an independent higher education provider. RADA is also a founder member of the Federation of Drama Schools , established in 2017. In 2004, celebrity photographer Cambridge Jones was commissioned to create
10050-488: The academy, Niamh Dowling, succeeded Edward Kemp in 2022. The current president, David Harewood , succeeded Kenneth Branagh in February 2024, with Cynthia Erivo appointed vice president. RADA's higher education awards are validated by King's College London (KCL) and its students graduate alongside members of the KCL Faculty of Arts & Humanities . It is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London , close to
10184-513: The assassination of Abraham Lincoln . Famous actors who débuted at the theatre included Robert William Elliston (1774–1831) and John Liston (1776–1846). The first Hay Market theatre was built in 1720 by John Potter, carpenter, on the site of The King's Head Inn in the Haymarket and a shop in Suffolk Street kept by Isaac Bliburgh, a gunsmith, and known by the sign of the Cannon and Musket. It
10318-478: The audience rioted and gutted the theatre. Although the identity of the hoax's perpetrator is unknown, several authors consider John Montagu, 2nd Duke of Montagu , to have been responsible. In 1754, John Potter, who had been rated (i.e. paid property tax ) for the theatre since its opening, was succeeded by John Whitehead. In 1758 Theophilus Cibber obtained from William Howard , then the Lord Chamberlain,
10452-512: The building which he opened on 14 May 1767, as the Theatre Royal, the third patent theatre in London. Several successful seasons followed, with Foote producing numerous plays at the theatre, but Foote finally got himself into difficulties by his custom of caricaturing well-known persons on the stage and this, combined with increasing ill-health, resulted in his selling both the theatre and patent to George Colman Sr. on 16 January 1777. During
10586-486: The caricature, Quidam. In particular, it was an alternative to the pantomime and special-effects dominated stages, and it presented opposition ( Tory party ) satire. Henry Fielding staged his plays at the Haymarket, and so did Henry Carey . Hurlothrumbo was just one of his plays in that series of anti- Walpolean satires , followed by Tom Thumb . Another, in 1734, was his mock-opera , The Dragon of Wantley , with music by John Frederick Lampe . This work punctured
10720-799: The cast were Glynis Johns , Burgess Meredith , Cornelia Otis Skinner , and Eli Wallach . Laughton returned to the London stage in May 1958 to direct and star in Jane Arden 's The Party at the New Theatre which also had Elsa Lanchester and Albert Finney in the cast. He made his final appearances on stage as Nick Bottom in A Midsummer Night's Dream , and as King Lear at the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre in 1959, although failing health resulted in both performances being disappointing, according to some British critics. His performance as King Lear
10854-510: The dead were John Charles Brooke , Somerset Herald and Benjamin Pingo York Herald . Colman died in 1794, and the theatre descended to his son. George Colman Jr. , though successful both as playwright and manager, dissipated his gains by his extravagance. For a time he lived in a room at the back of the theatre and he was finally forced to sell shares in the latter to his brother-in-law, David Morris. Monetary difficulties increased and for
10988-552: The decline and fall of Charles Laughton." On the other hand, David Shipman , in his book The Great Movie Stars: The Golden Years , said "Laughton was a total actor. His range was wide". Laughton played a cowardly schoolmaster in occupied France in This Land is Mine (1943), by Jean Renoir , in which he engaged himself most actively; in fact, while Renoir was still working on an early script, Laughton would talk about Alphonse Daudet 's story "The Last Lesson", which suggested to Renoir
11122-456: The first of two programmes devoted to classical music entitled "Festival of Music", and telecast on the NBC television anthology series Producers' Showcase . One of his last performances was on Checkmate , in which he played a missionary recently returned from China. He threw himself into the role, travelling to China for several months to better understand his character. In 1927, Laughton began
11256-472: The first of which was The Palace of Truth (1870), produced by Buckstone. These starred William Hunter Kendal and his wife Madge Robertson Kendal and also included Pygmalion and Galatea (1871), and The Wicked World (1873). Gilbert also produced here his dramas, Charity (1874), Dan'l Druce, Blacksmith (1876), and his most famous play outside of his Savoy operas , Engaged , an 1877 farce. Buckstone's ghost has reportedly often been seen at
11390-503: The first time in over 40 years in The Breath of Life by David Hare (2002). Productions in 2003 included Ibsen's Brand , directed by Adrian Noble , starring Ralph Fiennes and A Woman of No Importance , with Rupert Graves , Samantha Bond and Prunella Scales , also directed by Noble. In 2004, the theatre presented a stage adaptation of the film, When Harry Met Sally... , starring Luke Perry and Alyson Hannigan , during which
11524-612: The following few years and his earliest successes on the stage were as Hercule Poirot in Alibi (1928); he was the first actor to portray the Belgian detective in this stage adaptation of The Murder of Roger Ackroyd , and as William Marble in Payment Deferred , making his Lyceum Theatre (New York) debut in 1931. In 1926, he played the role of the criminal Ficsur in the original London production of Ferenc Molnár 's Liliom (The play became
11658-487: The frozen north, and Down River (1931), in which he played a drug-smuggling ship's captain. His New York stage debut in 1931 immediately led to film offers, and Laughton's first Hollywood film, The Old Dark House (1932) with Boris Karloff , in which he played a bluff Yorkshire businessman marooned during a storm with other travelers in a creepy remote Welsh manor. He then played a demented submarine commander in Devil and
11792-664: The house closed for two nights after bits of the ceiling fell during a performance injuring fifteen people. 2005 productions included Victoria Wood 's Acorn Antiques: The Musical , starring Julie Walters , Celia Imrie and Duncan Preston , directed by Trevor Nunn and A Few Good Men , starring Rob Lowe , Suranne Jones and Jack Ellis . 2006 featured three revivals: A Man for All Seasons , starring Martin Shaw; Coward's Hay Fever , with Judi Dench and Peter Bowles ; and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers , starring Dave Willetts and Shona Lindsay. The last production of that year
11926-514: The last film Alfred Hitchcock directed in Britain before moving to Hollywood in the late 1930s. The films produced were not commercially successful enough, and the company was rescued from bankruptcy only when RKO Pictures offered Laughton the title role ( Quasimodo ) in The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939), with Jamaica Inn co-star O'Hara. Laughton and Pommer had plans to make further films, but
12060-848: The last role across the Atlantic and made his United States debut on 24 September 1931, at the Lyceum Theatre . He returned to London for the 1933–34 Old Vic season and was engaged in four Shakespeare roles (as Macbeth, Henry VIII, Angelo in Measure for Measure and Prospero in The Tempest ) and also as Lopakhin in The Cherry Orchard , Canon Chasuble in The Importance of Being Earnest , and Tattle in Love for Love . In 1936, he went to Paris and on 9 May appeared at
12194-672: The late 1990s to designs by Bryan Avery , and incorporated the new theatres and linking the entrances on both streets. RADA has five theatres and a cinema. In the Malet Street building, the Jerwood Vanburgh Theatre is the largest performance space with a capacity of 194; the George Bernard Shaw Theatre is a black box theatre with a capacity of up to 70; and the Gielgud Theatre is an intimate studio theatre with
12328-668: The lead role as Harry Hegan in the world premiere of Seán O'Casey 's The Silver Tassie in 1928 in London. He played the title roles in Arnold Bennett's Mr Prohack ( Elsa Lanchester was also in the cast) and as Samuel Pickwick in Mr. Pickwick at the Theatre Royal (1928–29) in London. He played Tony Perelli in Edgar Wallace 's On the Spot and William Marble in Payment Deferred . He took
12462-554: The long-running A Voyage Round My Father ( John Mortimer ) starring Alec Guinness, succeeded by Michael Redgrave (1971–72); and, in 1972, Crown Matrimonial by Royce Ryton , starring Wendy Hiller as Queen Mary . Later productions included a revival of On Approval ( Frederick Lonsdale ) with Geraldine McEwan and Edward Woodward (1975); The Circle , with Googie Withers and John McCallum (1976); Rosmersholm ( Ibsen ) with Claire Bloom and Daniel Massey (1977); The Millionairess (Shaw), with Penelope Keith ; Waters of
12596-479: The meek raspberry-blowing clerk in the brief segment of If I Had A Million , directed by Ernst Lubitsch . He appeared in six Hollywood films in 1932. His association with director Alexander Korda began in 1933 with the hugely successful The Private Life of Henry VIII (loosely based on the life of King Henry VIII ), for which Laughton won the Academy Award for Best Actor . After his smashing success in The Private Life of Henry VIII , Laughton soon abandoned
12730-776: The outbreak of World War II , which implied the loss of many foreign markets, meant the end of the company. Laughton's early success in The Private Life of Henry VIII established him as one of the leading interpreters of the costume and historical drama roles for which he is best remembered (Nero, Henry VIII, Mr. Barrett, Inspector Javert, Captain Bligh, Rembrandt, Quasimodo, and others); he was also type-cast as arrogant, unscrupulous characters. He largely moved away from historical roles when he played an Italian vineyard owner in California in They Knew What They Wanted (1940);
12864-436: The piece as a staged reading and cast Charles Boyer , Cedric Hardwicke and Agnes Moorehead (billed as "The First Drama Quartette") in the other roles. Boyer won a special Tony Award for his performance. He directed several plays on Broadway, mostly under the production of his friend and Broadway producer Paul Gregory . His most notable box-office success as a director came in 1954, with The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial ,
12998-432: The pit by the introduction of stalls seating divided by plain iron arms caused the opening night play, Money , on 31 January 1880, to be delayed for half an hour while the audience in the galleries expressed their anger. Mr. Bancroft, in the character of Sir Frederick Blount, vainly endeavoured to pacify them, until he bluntly asked whether the play should proceed and thus obtained silence. The Bancrofts gave up management of
13132-532: The pregnancies purportedly by Laughton – but did not mention infertility. According to her biographer, Charles Higham, the reason she did not have children was that she did not want any. Laughton owned an estate on the bluffs above Pacific Coast Highway at 14954 Corona Del Mar in Pacific Palisades. The property suffered a landslide in 1944, referenced by Bertolt Brecht in his poem "Garden in Progress". Laughton
13266-898: The role of Henry VIII in Young Bess . He portrayed everything from monsters and misfits to kings. Among Laughton's biggest film hits were The Barretts of Wimpole Street , Ruggles of Red Gap , Jamaica Inn , The Hunchback of Notre Dame , The Big Clock , and Spartacus . Daniel Day-Lewis cited Laughton as one of his inspirations, saying: "He was probably the greatest film actor who came from that period of time. He had something quite remarkable. His generosity as an actor; he fed himself into that work. As an actor, you cannot take your eyes off him." In his later career, Laughton took up stage directing, notably in The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial , and George Bernard Shaw 's Don Juan in Hell , in which he also starred. He directed one film,
13400-567: The score. Following the box-office failure of The Night of the Hunter , Laughton was replaced by Raoul Walsh as director on the film and recruited an uncredited writer to rewrite the Sanders brothers' screenplay. Laughton also developed a remake of the 1927 silent film White Gold . Laughton made his London stage debut in Gogol's The Government Inspector (1926). He appeared in many West End plays in
13534-523: The season of 1793–94 when Drury Lane Theatre was being rebuilt, the Haymarket was opened under the Drury Lane Patent. The season was notable for a 'Dreadful Accident' which occurred on 3 February 1794, 'when Twenty Persons unfortunately lost their lives, and a great Number were dreadfully bruised owing to a great Crowd pressing to see his Majesty, who was that Evening present at the Performance.' Amongst
13668-558: The staff and history of the Haymarket Theatre itself, in a 2009 eight-part Sky Arts documentary, Theatreland . In 2010 Waiting for Godot was repeated with McKellen, Roger Rees , Matthew Kelly and Pickup, followed by a transfer of Sweet Charity from the Menier Chocolate Factory . The next show was The Rivals starring Penelope Keith and Peter Bowles . Trevor Nunn became Artistic Director 2011, producing
13802-509: The stage for films and returned to Hollywood, where his next film was White Woman (1933) in which he co-starred with Carole Lombard as a Cockney river trader in the Malayan jungle. Then came The Barretts of Wimpole Street (1934) as the malevolent father of Norma Shearer 's character (although Laughton was only three years older than Shearer); Les Misérables (1935) as Inspector Javert ; one of his most famous screen roles in Mutiny on
13936-501: The theatre by directing and playing the Devil in Don Juan in Hell beginning in 1950. The piece is actually the third act sequence from George Bernard Shaw 's play Man and Superman , frequently cut from productions to reduce its playing time, consisting of a philosophical debate between Don Juan and the Devil with contributions from Doña Ana and the statue of Ana's father. Laughton conceived
14070-461: The theatre closed for a £1.3 million refurbishment, re-opening later that year with a revival of An Evening with Peter Ustinov , followed by Arcadia ( Tom Stoppard ). Burning Blue (1995), a new play by the first time playwright David Greer, was followed by the veteran director Peter Hall 's revival of Ibsen's The Master Builder , starring Alan Bates . Hall also directed the 1996 An Ideal Husband (Oscar Wilde) 100 years after its première at
14204-652: The theatre for decades. They presented Overheard , by Peter Ustinov ; and Virginia , with Maggie Smith (1981). In 1982, the Haymarket staged a repertory season including Hobson's Choice , starring Penelope Keith; Captain Brassbound's Conversion (Shaw); Uncle Vanya ( Chekhov ); Rules of the Game ( Luigi Pirandello ); and Man and Superman (Shaw), starring Peter O'Toole . In 1983, productions included The School for Scandal , starring Donald Sinden ; Heartbreak House (Shaw), starring Rex Harrison ; Ben Kingsley in
14338-443: The theatre founded Masterclass, a charity that offers creative opportunities and performing experiences to young people pursuing careers in the performing arts. Its activities include, in addition to masterclasses, apprenticeships in directing and theatre design, workshop productions, and theatre career fairs. The masterclasses cover a range of disciplines, from acting and directing to writing, producing and design, and give young people
14472-554: The theatre in 1885. The next season opened in September 1885. Herbert Beerbohm Tree became manager of the theatre and, in 1887, transferred The Red Lamp there from the Comedy Theatre ; by then he had installed electric light in the theatre. Under Tree's management, Oscar Wilde premiered his comedy A Woman of No Importance in April 1893. In January 1895 Wilde's An Ideal Husband
14606-590: The theatre presented Antony and Cleopatra , starring Timothy Dalton and Vanessa Redgrave ; Breaking the Code ( Hugh Whitemore ), starring Derek Jacobi as Alan Turing ; Long Day's Journey into Night , starring Jack Lemmon ; and The Apple Cart , starring Peter O'Toole. In 1988, another Tennessee Williams play, Orpheus Descending, starred Vanessa Redgrave. Later productions that year were You Never Can Tell (Shaw); The Deep Blue Sea (Rattigan); and The Admirable Crichton ( J. M. Barrie ). The 1980s ended at
14740-568: The theatre was closed under the Licensing Act 1737 were Aaron Hill , Theophilus Cibber , and Henry Fielding . In the eight to ten years before the Act was passed, the Haymarket was an alternative to John Rich's Theatre Royal, Covent Garden and the opera-dominated Drury Lane Theatre . Fielding himself was responsible for the instigation of the Act, having produced a play called The Historical Register that parodied prime minister Robert Walpole , as
14874-405: The theatre with a revival of Edward Bulwer-Lytton 's Money , followed by Victorien Sardou 's Odette (for which they engaged Madame Helena Modjeska ) and Fedora , and Arthur Wing Pinero 's Lords and Commons , with other revivals of previous successes. The auditorium had been reconstructed, and the stage enclosed in a complete picture frame proscenium , the first in London. The abolition of
15008-462: The theatre, particularly during comedies and "when he appreciates things" playing there. In 2009, The Daily Telegraph reported that the actor Patrick Stewart saw the ghost standing in the wings during a performance of Waiting for Godot at the Haymarket. In May 1875, Arthur Sullivan 's The Zoo transferred to the Haymarket. In 1879 the house was taken over by the Bancrofts , who re-opened
15142-478: The theatre. In 1923, Sir John Gielgud studied at RADA for a year. He later became president of the academy and its first honorary fellow. In 1924, RADA received its first government subsidy, a grant of £500. The Gower Street buildings were torn down in 1927 and replaced with a new building, financed by Bernard Shaw, who also left one-third of his royalties to the academy on his death in 1950. The academy has received other government funding at various times, including
15276-409: The third-oldest London playhouse still in use. Samuel Foote acquired the lease in 1747, and in 1766 he gained a royal patent to play legitimate drama (meaning spoken drama, as opposed to opera, concerts or plays with music) in the summer months. The original building was a little further north in the same street. It has been at its current location since 1821, when it was redesigned by John Nash . It
15410-492: The thriller The Night of the Hunter , which after an initially disappointing reception is acclaimed today as a film classic. Laughton was born on 1 July 1899 in Scarborough , North Riding of Yorkshire, the son of Robert Laughton (1869–1924) and Eliza (née Conlon; 1869–1953), Yorkshire hotel keepers. A blue plaque marks his birthplace. His mother was a devout Roman Catholic of Irish descent, and she sent him to briefly attend
15544-466: The time such as Sir Squire Bancroft , William Archer , Sir Arthur Wing Pinero and George Bernard Shaw. Other facilities at RADA include acting studios, a scenic art workshop with paint frame, costume workrooms and costume store, dance and fight studios, design studios, wood and metal workshops, sound studios, rehearsal studios, and the RADA Foyer Bar, which includes a fully licensed bar, a café and
15678-453: The title role in Rembrandt (1936). In 1937, also for Korda, he starred in an ill-fated film version of the classic novel, I, Claudius , by Robert Graves , which was abandoned during filming owing to the injuries suffered by co-star Merle Oberon in a car crash. After I, Claudius , he and the expatriate German film producer Erich Pommer founded the production company Mayflower Pictures in
15812-421: The title role in the film Rembrandt . Laughton also narrated the story on the soundtrack album of the film that he directed, Night of the Hunter , accompanied by the film's score. This album has also been released on CD. Also, and derived from the film they made together, a complete radio show (18 June 1945) of The Canterville Ghost was broadcast which featured Laughton and Margaret O'Brien. It has been issued on
15946-464: The title role. Sothern also starred in H. J. Byron 's An English Gentleman at the theatre in 1871. W. S. Gilbert premiered seven of his plays at the Haymarket. The first was his early burlesque, Robinson Crusoe; or, The Injun Bride and the Injured Wife (1867, written with Byron, Tom Hood , H. S. Leigh and Arthur Sketchley). Gilbert followed this with a number of his blank verse "fairy comedies",
16080-424: The vacuous operatic conventions and pointed a satirical barb at Walpole and his taxation policies. The piece was a huge success, with a record-setting run of 69 performances in its first season. The work debuted at the Haymarket Theatre, where its coded attack on Walpole would have been clear, but its long run occurred after it moved to Covent Garden, which had a much greater capacity for staging. The burlesque itself
16214-497: The vista from Charles Street. The main front feature of Nash's elevation in the Haymarket was (and is) a pedimented portico of six Corinthian columns which extends in depth to the edge of the pavement and includes the whole frontage. It is sometimes stated that Nash rebuilt the theatre entirely, but there is evidence that he incorporated a house in Little Suffolk Street with the theatre, removed two shops which were in front, in
16348-403: Was A Delicate Balance (Edward Albee), starring Eileen Atkins , Maggie Smith , John Standing and Annette Crosbie . In 1998, Shakespeare's Villains a one-man play, created and performed by Steven Berkoff at the theatre was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award for Best Entertainment . Later that year, Tom Stoppard's The Invention of Love , starring John Wood , transferred from
16482-663: Was Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks , starring Claire Bloom and Billy Zane . The first production of 2007 was Pinter's People , a compilation of Harold Pinter sketches of the past 40 years; later productions of that year were The Lady from Dubuque (Albee), starring Maggie Smith; David Suchet in The Last Confession ; and The Country Wife , starring Toby Stephens , Patricia Hodge and David Haig . In 2008, productions were The Sea (Bond), starring David Haig , Eileen Atkins and Russell Tovey ; Marguerite ,
16616-464: Was Alan Rickman until his death in 2016. The current principal of the academy is Niamh Dowling, who succeeded Edward Kemp in 2022. Listed alphabetically by date of appointment Haymarket Theatre The Theatre Royal Haymarket (also known as Haymarket Theatre or the Little Theatre ) is a West End theatre on Haymarket in the City of Westminster which dates back to 1720, making it
16750-605: Was a Democrat and supported the campaign of Adlai Stevenson during the 1952 presidential election . Laughton checked in to Cedars of Lebanon Hospital in July 1962 with what was described as a ruptured disc . He had surgery for the collapse of a vertebra and it was revealed he had cancer of the spine. He left the hospital at the end of November. He was in a coma for some time and died at home on 15 December 1962 from renal cancer and bladder cancer . His ashes were interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills) . Laughton won
16884-477: Was changed to Little Theatre in the Hay . The theatre's first major success was a 1729 production of a play by Samuel Johnson of Cheshire , Hurlothrumbo, or The Supernatural , which ran for 30 nights – not as long as John Gay 's The Beggar's Opera (62 performances), but still a long run for the time. In 1730, the theatre was taken over by an English company. Among the actors who appeared there before 1737 when
17018-554: Was first performed at the theatre. Tree's next notable hit was George du Maurier 's Trilby , later in 1895. This ran for over 260 performances and made such profits that Tree was able to build Her Majesty's Theatre and establish RADA . In 1896 Cyril Maude and Frederick Harrison became lessees, opening with Under the Red Robe , an adaptation of Stanley Wyman's novel. In 1897 The Little Minister by J. M. Barrie ran for 320 performances. The Haymarket's managers Frederick Harrison (who
17152-686: Was followed by Harvey , starring James Dreyfus and Maureen Lipman , and The Elephant Man , starring Bradley Cooper . McQueen , starring Stephen Wight , then transferred from the St. James Theatre , and was followed by Mr Foote's Other Leg , starring Simon Russell Beale as Samuel Foote. Productions in 2016 included a revival of Alan Ayckbourn 's How the Other Half Loves , starring Nicholas Le Prevost , Jenny Seagrove , Tamzin Outhwaite and Jason Merrells , and Pixie Lott made her debut at
17286-526: Was granted for the redevelopment of the Chenies Street premises as part of the Richard Attenborough Campaign. The RADA library contains around 30,000 items. Works include around 10,000 plays; works of or about biography, costume, criticism, film, fine art, poetry, social history, stage design, technical theatre and theatre history; screenplays; and theatre periodicals. The collection was started in 1904 with donations from actors and writers of
17420-538: Was lambasted by critics, and Kenneth Tynan wrote that Laughton's Nick Bottom "... behaves in a manner that has nothing to do with acting, although it perfectly hits off the demeanor of a rapscallion uncle dressed up to entertain the children at a Christmas party". Although he did not appear in any later plays, Laughton toured the US with staged readings, including a successful appearance on the Stanford University campus in 1960. Laughton's voice, equally capable of
17554-529: Was permitted by his family to become a drama student at RADA in 1925, where actor Claude Rains was one of his teachers. Laughton made his first professional appearance on 28 April 1926 at the Barnes Theatre , as Osip in the comedy The Government Inspector , in which he also appeared at London's Gaiety Theatre in May. He impressed audiences with his talent and had classical roles in two Chekov plays, The Cherry Orchard and The Three Sisters . Laughton played
17688-548: Was sole lessee) and Cyril Maude remained through the first year of the 20th century. In 1904, the auditorium was redesigned in Louis XVI style by C. Stanley Peach. The following year, Maude acquired the Playhouse Theatre by Charing Cross Station, leaving Harrison in sole control. In 1909, Herbert Trench produced Maurice Maeterlinck 's The Blue Bird . Productions from then to the end of World War I included Bunty Pulls
17822-432: Was succeeded by his son Anthony, and then his daughter-in-law Sylva Stuart Watson , who took over in 1963. Productions under the new management included Flowering Cherry by Robert Bolt (1957) starring Ralph Richardson and Celia Johnson ; Ross by Terence Rattigan (1960) starring Alec Guinness ; and John Gielgud's production of The School for Scandal (1962), with Ralph Richardson and Margaret Rutherford . In
17956-463: Was the third public theatre opened in the West End . The theatre cost £1000 to build, with a further £500 expended on decorations, scenery and costumes. It opened on 29 December 1720, with a French play La Fille a la Morte, ou le Badeaut de Paris performed by a company later known as The French Comedians of His Grace the Duke of Montague. Potter's speculation was known as The New French Theatre . Its name
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