Stage and screen actor known for playing battle-axe aunts, village gossips and servants
When Mel Brooks visited the film set of Up at the Villa (2000), in which his wife, Anne Bancroft, was starring, he proclaimed Barbara Hicks, who has died aged 89, the funniest woman he had ever met. This stalwart character actor, always lodged some way down any cast list as if to prove the truth of Stanislavski's dictum that there are no small parts, only small actors, was a fund of stories, many of them unprintable. And Hicks, though slight of build, with a long face and asymmetrical features, was certainly not a small actor.
As another admirer, Alan Bennett, once told her wistfully: "When you go, Barbara, there'll be a terrible hole in Spotlight." And so there is, for since first appearing on television in 1962 playing Miss Print, a comedy sidekick to Richard Hearne's popular Mr Pastry,...
When Mel Brooks visited the film set of Up at the Villa (2000), in which his wife, Anne Bancroft, was starring, he proclaimed Barbara Hicks, who has died aged 89, the funniest woman he had ever met. This stalwart character actor, always lodged some way down any cast list as if to prove the truth of Stanislavski's dictum that there are no small parts, only small actors, was a fund of stories, many of them unprintable. And Hicks, though slight of build, with a long face and asymmetrical features, was certainly not a small actor.
As another admirer, Alan Bennett, once told her wistfully: "When you go, Barbara, there'll be a terrible hole in Spotlight." And so there is, for since first appearing on television in 1962 playing Miss Print, a comedy sidekick to Richard Hearne's popular Mr Pastry,...
- 11/7/2013
- by Michael Coveney
- The Guardian - Film News
Actor of poise and beauty who enjoyed a rich and productive career on both sides of the Atlantic
Faith Brook, who has died aged 90, was an actor of remarkable elegance, poise and beauty. She was the daughter of Clive Brook, a pillar of the so-called Hollywood Raj, the British acting community that settled in Los Angeles in the 1930s. He appeared opposite Marlene Dietrich in Shanghai Express. Even if she was never a star on the scale of her father, Faith enjoyed a rich and productive career in theatre, film and television on both sides of the Atlantic.
She was born in York and moved with Clive and her mother, Mildred, to California, where her father had already put down roots. Her brother, Lyndon, was born four years after Faith and also became a successful actor.
She was educated in Los Angeles, London and Gstaad, Switzerland. She made her stage...
Faith Brook, who has died aged 90, was an actor of remarkable elegance, poise and beauty. She was the daughter of Clive Brook, a pillar of the so-called Hollywood Raj, the British acting community that settled in Los Angeles in the 1930s. He appeared opposite Marlene Dietrich in Shanghai Express. Even if she was never a star on the scale of her father, Faith enjoyed a rich and productive career in theatre, film and television on both sides of the Atlantic.
She was born in York and moved with Clive and her mother, Mildred, to California, where her father had already put down roots. Her brother, Lyndon, was born four years after Faith and also became a successful actor.
She was educated in Los Angeles, London and Gstaad, Switzerland. She made her stage...
- 3/15/2012
- by Michael Billington
- The Guardian - Film News
Playful Productions and Michael Alden have announced that the of UK tour of The King's Speech will transfer to Wyndhams Theatre on 22 March, with an opening night on 27 March. This announcement confirms rumours reported on Broadway World over the past two weeks.The production will also be opening on Broadway in Fall 2012.The world premier production of the original play by David Seidler took place on Friday 10 February at Guildfords Yvonne Arnaud Theatre and continues on tour around the UK until 17 March.
- 2/17/2012
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
At Guildford's Yvonne Arnaud theatre, playwright David Seidler has much more room to explore the story's historical background than the cinema version allowed
Watching David Seidler's play induces a strong sense of deja vu. That's not simply because it was the source of a hugely successful, Oscar-winning film. It is also because Seidler's perfectly enjoyable play taps into our recollections of other, more resonant works.
Until I saw it on stage, I had not realised how much Seidler's piece owed to Alan Bennett's The Madness of George III. In both we see an embattled royal subjected to all kinds of curative humiliations by a rogue outsider: in Bennett's play it was a bluff Lincolnshire parson whereas in Seidler's it is a tough Aussie speech specialist in the shape of Lionel Logue. I was also reminded of Tom Murphy's outstanding 1983 play, The Gigli Concert, in which a charlatan...
Watching David Seidler's play induces a strong sense of deja vu. That's not simply because it was the source of a hugely successful, Oscar-winning film. It is also because Seidler's perfectly enjoyable play taps into our recollections of other, more resonant works.
Until I saw it on stage, I had not realised how much Seidler's piece owed to Alan Bennett's The Madness of George III. In both we see an embattled royal subjected to all kinds of curative humiliations by a rogue outsider: in Bennett's play it was a bluff Lincolnshire parson whereas in Seidler's it is a tough Aussie speech specialist in the shape of Lionel Logue. I was also reminded of Tom Murphy's outstanding 1983 play, The Gigli Concert, in which a charlatan...
- 2/11/2012
- by Michael Billington
- The Guardian - Film News
Oscar-winning screenwriter David Seidler has told of his pride after his play The King's Speech made its onstage premiere in the U.K. on Thursday.
Seidler told reporters it was "the fulfilment of a very long dream" to see the period play he originally wrote for the stage brought to life in a packed theatre in Surrey, England.
Seidler won a Best Screenplay Academy Award last year for the hit movie adaptation starring Colin Firth as King George VI, but he admits it was a bigger thrill to see his work debuted at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre.
He tells the BBC, "This is what I've always wanted. I had always envisaged the film as being something that would give me a little bit of money so I could help get this on the boards.
"I don't want to sound ungrateful, and I'm not; I'm so very pleased and happy the film did as well as it did. Winning an Oscar is just a wonderful thing to happen - certainly at my age - but this is what I wanted. This to me is more fulfilling than all the movies in the world."
The production will run at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre until 11 February before touring various U.K. cities, including Nottingham, Bath, Brighton and Newcastle.
Director Tom Hooper's version of The King's Speech won four trophies, including Best Picture, at the 2011 Academy Awards, and took $414 million (£259 million) at the global box office.
Seidler told reporters it was "the fulfilment of a very long dream" to see the period play he originally wrote for the stage brought to life in a packed theatre in Surrey, England.
Seidler won a Best Screenplay Academy Award last year for the hit movie adaptation starring Colin Firth as King George VI, but he admits it was a bigger thrill to see his work debuted at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre.
He tells the BBC, "This is what I've always wanted. I had always envisaged the film as being something that would give me a little bit of money so I could help get this on the boards.
"I don't want to sound ungrateful, and I'm not; I'm so very pleased and happy the film did as well as it did. Winning an Oscar is just a wonderful thing to happen - certainly at my age - but this is what I wanted. This to me is more fulfilling than all the movies in the world."
The production will run at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre until 11 February before touring various U.K. cities, including Nottingham, Bath, Brighton and Newcastle.
Director Tom Hooper's version of The King's Speech won four trophies, including Best Picture, at the 2011 Academy Awards, and took $414 million (£259 million) at the global box office.
- 2/3/2012
- WENN
By Sean O’Connell
Hollywoodnews.com: From Best Picture winner to Broadway sensation?
That could end up being the case now that Tom Hooper’s “Thee King’s Speech” is heading to the Great White Way. Producer Michael Alden announced on his site that “Speech,” which Oscar-winning screenwriter David Seidler originally conceived as a stage play, is coming to Broadway. THR adds that the production is slated to hit Manhattan in the fall of 2012.
“It will first open in the UK at the beginning of next year at the Guilford Yvonne Arnaud Theater before moving to London’s West End in March,” the trade reports.
Even though Broadway routinely is littered with Hollywood’s products, from “Legally Blonde” to “Mary Poppins,” that is one of the earliest shifts I can think of from screen to stage. Tough call for actors to slip into the roles now associated with Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush.
Hollywoodnews.com: From Best Picture winner to Broadway sensation?
That could end up being the case now that Tom Hooper’s “Thee King’s Speech” is heading to the Great White Way. Producer Michael Alden announced on his site that “Speech,” which Oscar-winning screenwriter David Seidler originally conceived as a stage play, is coming to Broadway. THR adds that the production is slated to hit Manhattan in the fall of 2012.
“It will first open in the UK at the beginning of next year at the Guilford Yvonne Arnaud Theater before moving to London’s West End in March,” the trade reports.
Even though Broadway routinely is littered with Hollywood’s products, from “Legally Blonde” to “Mary Poppins,” that is one of the earliest shifts I can think of from screen to stage. Tough call for actors to slip into the roles now associated with Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush.
- 8/9/2011
- by Sean O'Connell
- Hollywoodnews.com
Prepare yourself to be infected with excitement for Steven Soderbergh's upcoming "Contagion."
Six new character posters for the thriller have hit the web courtesy of Yahoo! Movies, each one touting the warning, "Don't talk to anyone. Don't touch anyone." The cautionary words are paired with each of the flick's stars -- Matt Damon, Marion Cotillard, Laurence Fishburne, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow and Kate Winslet -- in various degrees of distress. A seventh poster teases, "The world goes viral September 9," with a biohazard warning for many of the world's biggest cities. "Contagion" certainly isn't beating around the bush when it comes to its end-of-the-world premise here.
Click on after the jump to read the rest of today's film news!
Jason Momoa Is Writing "Conan 2"
"Conan the Barbarian" might not be out in theaters yet, but that hasn't stopped leading man Jason Momoa from being hard at work on the sequel's script.
Six new character posters for the thriller have hit the web courtesy of Yahoo! Movies, each one touting the warning, "Don't talk to anyone. Don't touch anyone." The cautionary words are paired with each of the flick's stars -- Matt Damon, Marion Cotillard, Laurence Fishburne, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow and Kate Winslet -- in various degrees of distress. A seventh poster teases, "The world goes viral September 9," with a biohazard warning for many of the world's biggest cities. "Contagion" certainly isn't beating around the bush when it comes to its end-of-the-world premise here.
Click on after the jump to read the rest of today's film news!
Jason Momoa Is Writing "Conan 2"
"Conan the Barbarian" might not be out in theaters yet, but that hasn't stopped leading man Jason Momoa from being hard at work on the sequel's script.
- 8/9/2011
- by Terri Schwartz
- MTV Movies Blog
Tom Hooper's Oscar-winning film, originally inspired by an unproduced play, is set for a West End adaptation and Broadway transfer
Oscar-winning film The King's Speech is set to arrive on the stage in 2012, with plans for productions in the West End and on Broadway, reports Showbiz 411.
A theatre run for Tom Hooper's tale of George VI's struggle to overcome a debilitating stutter with the help of an eccentric therapist has long been on the cards. Screenwriter David Seidler wrote a stage treatment "as a way to work out the relationships among the characters for himself", according to his manager Jeff Aghassi in an interview last year with The New York Times, though the screenplay is believed to have come first.
The Sydney Morning Herald reports that the film first came to the attention of actor Geoffrey Rush when a proposal for a theatre production landed on his doorstep.
Oscar-winning film The King's Speech is set to arrive on the stage in 2012, with plans for productions in the West End and on Broadway, reports Showbiz 411.
A theatre run for Tom Hooper's tale of George VI's struggle to overcome a debilitating stutter with the help of an eccentric therapist has long been on the cards. Screenwriter David Seidler wrote a stage treatment "as a way to work out the relationships among the characters for himself", according to his manager Jeff Aghassi in an interview last year with The New York Times, though the screenplay is believed to have come first.
The Sydney Morning Herald reports that the film first came to the attention of actor Geoffrey Rush when a proposal for a theatre production landed on his doorstep.
- 8/9/2011
- by Ben Child
- The Guardian - Film News
A theatrical adaptation of The King's Speech is reportedly set to debut on Broadway next year. The play is slated to open in the UK at the outset of 2012 at Guildford's Yvonne Arnaud Theater, which will host the production for three to five weeks, Showbiz 411 reports. It will then head to London's West End in March, followed by Broadway in fall 2012. Casting for the play based on the Oscar-winning film is said to be underway, with casting director Gabrielle Dawes looking for actors to fill the roles of King George VI and his speech therapist Lionel Logue. The two characters were played by Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush respectively in last year's film. (more)...
- 8/9/2011
- by By Tara Fowler
- Digital Spy
Oscar-winning movie The King's Speech is set to hit the Broadway stage in 2012, according to new reports.
Screenwriter David Seidler originally wrote the period piece as a play and now it's destined for the theatre, according to Showbiz411.com.
Reports suggest the project will open at Guildford's Yvonne Arnaud Theater - just miles away from Grayshott in Surrey, where The King's Speech star and Best Actor Oscar winner Colin Firth was born.
The play will then move to London's West End in March before heading for Broadway at the end of the year.
Screenwriter David Seidler originally wrote the period piece as a play and now it's destined for the theatre, according to Showbiz411.com.
Reports suggest the project will open at Guildford's Yvonne Arnaud Theater - just miles away from Grayshott in Surrey, where The King's Speech star and Best Actor Oscar winner Colin Firth was born.
The play will then move to London's West End in March before heading for Broadway at the end of the year.
- 8/8/2011
- WENN
HollywoodNews.com: I told you first, and quite a while ago, that “The King’s Speech” would head to Broadway after its run as a film. Then it won the Oscar. Now I’m told that David Seidler’s Oscar winning movie–he wrote the screenplay after he wrote it as a play–will come to Broadway in the fall of 2012. The producers had wanted it sooner, and I always thought that was too soon.
Now the word is that casting has begun and that the play will have an out of town opening in the UK in the beginning of 2012. Guilford’s Yvonne Arnaud Theater will host a three to five week engagement in January. All things being equal, “The King’s Speech” will move to London’s West End in March. The Broadway move comes in the fall. Casting director Gabrielle Dawes has been hired to find actors...
Now the word is that casting has begun and that the play will have an out of town opening in the UK in the beginning of 2012. Guilford’s Yvonne Arnaud Theater will host a three to five week engagement in January. All things being equal, “The King’s Speech” will move to London’s West End in March. The Broadway move comes in the fall. Casting director Gabrielle Dawes has been hired to find actors...
- 8/7/2011
- by Roger Friedman
- Hollywoodnews.com
Like Dorothy, Bronte is a small-town girl determined to make her own way in life.
Bronte lives with her mum and sister, and pet dog William, in Cheshire. Her Aunt has always been a big support for Bronte because she was trained in classical singing and always encouraged her to follow her dreams. She used to sing songs from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and idolised Truly Scrumptious.
Bronte has been volunteering as an Assistant Drama Teacher at her old drama school for a few years, and in Summer 2009 she had a lead role in Youth Music Theatre’s UK production of A Winter’s Tale which was performed at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre in Guildford. Through this she gained her Grade 8 Group Musical Theatre with Distinction.
She describes herself as “small, over-excited, wacky, a perfectionist, determined, hardworking, loyal, honest and friendly” – and she learnt to speak fluent Welsh in eight weeks when she was seven!
Bronte lives with her mum and sister, and pet dog William, in Cheshire. Her Aunt has always been a big support for Bronte because she was trained in classical singing and always encouraged her to follow her dreams. She used to sing songs from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and idolised Truly Scrumptious.
Bronte has been volunteering as an Assistant Drama Teacher at her old drama school for a few years, and in Summer 2009 she had a lead role in Youth Music Theatre’s UK production of A Winter’s Tale which was performed at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre in Guildford. Through this she gained her Grade 8 Group Musical Theatre with Distinction.
She describes herself as “small, over-excited, wacky, a perfectionist, determined, hardworking, loyal, honest and friendly” – and she learnt to speak fluent Welsh in eight weeks when she was seven!
- 3/29/2010
- by Lisa McGarry
- Unreality
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