DOCSLIB.ORG

St. John's Collegian Abrahamson' S Recent Lecture on the Iliad

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
St. John's Collegian Abrahamson' S Recent Lecture on the Iliad Pagt 8 ST. JOHN'S COLLEGE created. And I must cite, as another good ex­ them against championship contenders. Only ample of good story reading with which every­ by defeating the Sophomores and both Junior­ one in the college should be familiar, Mr. Senior combinations can they be assured of the St. John's Collegian Abrahamson' s recent lecture on the Iliad. title. Junior-Senior I, with the same number Mr. Abrahamson obviously loves to read the of losses, but two less wins, can still sneak past Vo l. LX - No. 9 ANNAPOLIS, APRIL 24, 1947 Price: lOc Iliad, and he loves the treasures he finds in it. Junior 3 by taking their three games, against the Freshmen, Sophomores and Junior 3. Still in This gives him a big advantage over someone But a little reflection made clear the possibilities the running for a tie and of key importance is Reviewing A Comic Drama who reads it because he feels he must find some­ for taking these amiss; so we went back to the the dark horse, Junior-Senior 2. By defeating thing in it to talk about before the eight o'clock Presented By beginning. There are some who say that a perfect Junior 3, they can set up a possible three-way bell rings. The Iliad, like a girl, does not give THE FORD K. BROWN PLAYERS: comedy leaves everything or nothing to be said about tie, while by losing, they will give the Juniors itself to rape, but it may yield to courtship, and "READING SHAKESPEARE AND it. We thought we had spotted an out here, given a strong chance for the title. you will court it if you find it lovable. CERVANTES" our readiness to accept the happier course, when we Mr. Abrahamson talked about the char­ In recent games, Junior-Senior 2 continued to * * * * * suddenly stopped transfixed like Socrates in the mid, acters of the Iliad and what they did. He show its new-found power by handing the On our way to Greg's last Friday night, in dle of the snow. A horrible thought had hold of apologized for doing this, as indeed he should Sophomores two consecutive defeats, the first by search of that with which to cheer onward the us: do you remember when Mr. Brown, in mention, have, for Homer has said everything about them a 38-34 margin, and the second by a more im­ latest effort of our freer spirit sparked this time ing the Duke's disguising himself as a friar, alluded that need be said. But he went ahead and posing 5 7 -3 3 count. Krol was the spark plug by the art of Mr. Brown, we were trying without so casually to the fact that this was an old gag used talked about them anyway, since his close and of both contests, rolling up 13 points in the much success to imagine how to review his lecture in just about every play to date? Suppose, just sup, artistic reading might help us see the things we first game and 2 2 in the second. Weinstein tal­ with the least of the injustice we felt certain to do pose for one awful instant, that for the last tw2nty­ missed in our cursory and liberal artistic reading. lied 9 points in each game to lead the Sopho­ him . To us his performance much more than a two years St. John's has l.mv:ittingly sheltered in her His method is interesting. He looks at little ap­ mores. lecture had been a perfect comedy, and we were very bosom a Friar disguised as Ford K. Brown! parently insignificant actions and words which Junior 3 showed its heels to the challeng­ reluctant to hack up ours or offend others im, we overlook in our mad dash for ideas, and ing Junior-Senior 1 team in a rough see -saw pressions in a poor effort of sharing with those who Like mad we ran to the front of Greg's, pulled tries to see what they say about the personality contest that saw the Juniors threatened until the had missed it. For a moment in this light we out our notes once so joyously scribbled, and there:n and motives of people in the story. He follows last five minutes, when a surge of power gave thought it might be well to let the review consist beyond doubt now saw the notorious Thon-: ist re­ vealed. sly, crafty Brown! Look :-first, and one character from the beginning to the end of them a 47-43 victory. Twenty-nine personal entirely of two citations, the first the lines over 0 0 so devoutly, the obeisance to the TRINITY: tonight the poem, to see how all his actions and words fouls were committed in the game. Matteson Shakespeare's tomb, the second the last lines from he would cover only about a THIRD of wh;:it he add us to one coherant whole, which is his char­ tallied 16 points and Terry 1 5 for the winners, Don Quixote. wanted to talk about ; he had in mind a SERIES OF acter. Then he tries to see how the characters while Cave scored 10 for the Junior-Seniors. ("Good friend for Jesus sake forbeare THREE which would yet be only ONE SUBJECT; interact to make the story. He does not despise Matteson sparked Junior 3 to a second vic­ To Digg the dust enclosed heare. he touched on that mode of reading which co\:ers ideas. (This should comfort us.) He admits tory over the Freshmen 44-3 9, scoring 19 Blessed be ye man yt spares thes stones the outside THIRDS of a page to get at the ONE that Aphrodite is Love, but he does not then And Curst be ye yt moves my bones." points. Bounds tallied 18 points for the Jun­ AND EVANESCENT meaning of the wcrk. enter into a discussion of What Love Is. He iors, while the Freshmen were paced by Thomas * Next, and so fittingly, he emphasized the ne-:<::ssity tries to find out what Aphrodite is like, and what * * * * and Feinberg with 10 each. "And thou, Reader, if ever thou can 'st find him of getting on a good footing and establishing a firm she makes Helen and Paris do. For if Homer The Sophomores, after four consecutive de­ out in his obscurity, I beseech thee advise him like, basis with respect to ARISTOTLE, in the words of is trying to tell us What Love Is, or What War feats, showed a tight defense and a capable ?f­ wise to let the wearied, mouldring bones of Don St. Thomas himself, "That most glorious of Pagan Is, he is doing it by telling a story, and we must fense by downing th Fr shm n 49-18, yielding Quixote, rest quiet in the earth that covers 'em. philosophers." Then, and in the style of the very return from the realm of ideas to the story, only one basket and four fouls in the second Let him not expose 'em in Old Castile, against the Summa itself, the appeal to authority; direct q:Jota­ again and again, if we are to find what he means. half. Weinstein paced the Sophomore attack sanctions of death, impiously raking him out of the tions from ARISTOTLE; Socrates; St. Augustine; We will probably end up at the story, rather with 15 points and Phil Smith tallied 9 for the vault where he really lies stretched out beyond a ARISTOTLE; Prof. Smythe; Swift; ARISTOTLE; than Up Yonder, and will be unable to give an losers. possibility of takng a third ramble through the Anonymous; Ben Johnson; ARISTOTLE; Pro.c:p::r adequate definition of love or war, but we may world. The two Eallies he has made already (which Junior-Senior 1 strengthened its bid for best le Tour; Congreve; ARISTOTLE; Charlie Chan. know more about them. are the subject of these two volumes and have met offense and defense by romping over the Sopho- And the subje~t matter! How diabolically, profess, -Gene Thornton. t With such universal applause in these and other ing to be concerned only with facts, he undermined mores by a 75-29 count. Ray Cave, in a.n a 7 ki ngdoms) are stifli-:ient to ridicule the pretended tempt to break tbe college record, dropped in 1 us with his derr.onstration of Shakespeare's indif, adventures of Knights, Errants. Thus advising him Sports baskets and added a couple of free throws for a ference to such things in "Measure for Measure", for the best, thou shalt discharge the duty of a a morality play not only centering around the whole After relinquishing first place for a brief 3 6-point total. The Sophomores were led by Christian, and do good to him that wishes thee evil. problem of CHASTITY, but also, according to the period, the Junior 3 basketballers hit the come­ Weinstein with 9 poi~ts. l- As for me, I mu~t esteem myself happy to have authoritative E. Haldeman, Julius "Little Blue Book" back trail with victories over their two closest Dick Matteson mamtarned better than a ~ been the first that rendered those fabulous, non­ Library, "raising the whole problem of EQUITY." rivals, which leaves them comfortably settled in point average to continue in first place for in- se nsical stories of Knight, Errantry, the object of the In conclusion, and so evangelically, a few exhorta, the driver's seat as we go to press. However, the div1dual.. pornts,.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Programmes, Visiting Artists and Companies Ephemera PR8492/1950-1959 to View Items in the Ephemera Collection, Contact the State Library of Western Australia
    Programmes, visiting artists and companies Ephemera PR8492/1950-1959 To view items in the Ephemera collection, contact the State Library of Western Australia Date Venue Title Author Director Producer Agent Principals D 1950 January Marquee Puss in Boots Bruce Carroll Bruce Carroll Eric Maxon 0 Theatre Edgar Rogers Noreen Rogers ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ April 10 His Majesty's "Annie Get Leo Packer Carl Randall J.C.Williamson Victor Carell 1 Theatre Your Gun" Theatres Ltd Wendy Selover Irving Berlin Wilfred Stevens ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ May 25 His Majesty's The Mikado Leo Packer Anna Bethell J.C.Williamson Jon Dean 1 Theatre Gilbert & Theatres Ltd Richard Walker Sullivan Leslie Rands Ivan Menzies Bernard Manning Muriel Howard Marjorie Eyre Nancy Rasmussen Evelyn Gardiner Richard Bengar ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ June 3 His Majesty's Pirates of Leo Packer Anna Bethell J.C.Williamson John Dean 2 Theatre Penzance & Theatres Ltd Helen Roberts Trial by Jury Evelyn Gardiner PR8492/1950-1959 Page 1 of 40 Copyright SLWA ©2011 Programmes, visiting artists and companies Ephemera PR8492/1950-1959 To view items in the Ephemera collection, contact the State Library of Western Australia Date Venue Title Author Director Producer Agent Principals D Gilbert & Sullivan Leslie Rands Richard
    [Show full text]
  • Shakespeare on Film, Video & Stage
    William Shakespeare on Film, Video and Stage Titles in bold red font with an asterisk (*) represent the crème de la crème – first choice titles in each category. These are the titles you’ll probably want to explore first. Titles in bold black font are the second- tier – outstanding films that are the next level of artistry and craftsmanship. Once you have experienced the top tier, these are where you should go next. They may not represent the highest achievement in each genre, but they are definitely a cut above the rest. Finally, the titles which are in a regular black font constitute the rest of the films within the genre. I would be the first to admit that some of these may actually be worthy of being “ranked” more highly, but it is a ridiculously subjective matter. Bibliography Shakespeare on Silent Film Robert Hamilton Ball, Theatre Arts Books, 1968. (Reissued by Routledge, 2016.) Shakespeare and the Film Roger Manvell, Praeger, 1971. Shakespeare on Film Jack J. Jorgens, Indiana University Press, 1977. Shakespeare on Television: An Anthology of Essays and Reviews J.C. Bulman, H.R. Coursen, eds., UPNE, 1988. The BBC Shakespeare Plays: Making the Televised Canon Susan Willis, The University of North Carolina Press, 1991. Shakespeare on Screen: An International Filmography and Videography Kenneth S. Rothwell, Neil Schuman Pub., 1991. Still in Movement: Shakespeare on Screen Lorne M. Buchman, Oxford University Press, 1991. Shakespeare Observed: Studies in Performance on Stage and Screen Samuel Crowl, Ohio University Press, 1992. Shakespeare and the Moving Image: The Plays on Film and Television Anthony Davies & Stanley Wells, eds., Cambridge University Press, 1994.
    [Show full text]
  • INTRODUCTION Xl Othello a 'Black Devil' and Desdemona's 'Most Filthy
    INTRODUCTION xl Othello a 'black devil' and Desdemona's 'most filthy bargain' ^ we cannot doubt that she speaks the mind of many an Englishwoman in the seventeenth-century audience. If anyone imagines that England at that date was unconscious of the 'colour-bar' they cannot have read Othello with any care? And only those who have not read the play at all could suppose that Shake­ speare shared the prejudice, inasmuch as Othello is his noblest soldier and he obviously exerted himself to represent him as a spirit of the rarest quality. How significant too is the entry he gives him! After listening for 180 lines of the opening scene to the obscene suggestions of Roderigo and lago and the cries of the outraged Brabantio we find ourselves in the presence of one, not only rich in honours won in the service of Venice, and fetching his 'life and being from men of royal siege',3 but personally a prince among men. Before such dignity, self-possession and serene sense of power, racial prejudice dwindles to a petty stupidity; and when Othello has told the lovely story of his courtshipj and Desdemona has in the Duke's Council- chamber, simply and without a moment's hesitation, preferred her black husband to her white father, we have to admit that the union of these two grand persons, * 5. 2.134, 160. The Devil, now for some reason become red, was black in the medieval and post-medievcil world. Thus 'Moors' had 'the complexion of a devil' {Merchant of Venice, i. 2.
    [Show full text]
  • Guide to the Brooklyn Playbills and Programs Collection, BCMS.0041 Finding Aid Prepared by Lisa Deboer, Lisa Castrogiovanni
    Guide to the Brooklyn Playbills and Programs Collection, BCMS.0041 Finding aid prepared by Lisa DeBoer, Lisa Castrogiovanni and Lisa Studier and revised by Diana Bowers-Smith. This finding aid was produced using the Archivists' Toolkit September 04, 2019 Brooklyn Public Library - Brooklyn Collection , 2006; revised 2008 and 2018. 10 Grand Army Plaza Brooklyn, NY, 11238 718.230.2762 [email protected] Guide to the Brooklyn Playbills and Programs Collection, BCMS.0041 Table of Contents Summary Information ................................................................................................................................. 7 Historical Note...............................................................................................................................................8 Scope and Contents....................................................................................................................................... 8 Arrangement...................................................................................................................................................9 Collection Highlights.....................................................................................................................................9 Administrative Information .......................................................................................................................10 Related Materials .....................................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Survey on the Way of Representing the Ambiguous Three Weird Sisters in Macbeth Through the Style of Japanese Adaptation
    CORE Metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk Provided by DSpace at Waseda University Survey on the Way of Representing the Ambiguous Three Weird Sisters in Macbeth through the Style of Japanese Adaptation UMEMIYA Yu (Assistant Professor at Waseda University) In 1623, seven years after the death of William Shakespeare, the book called First Folio was published. The incomparable value of this collective book is not only due to the fact that it contains 36 of Shakespeare’s works, but also because it holds several plays that have never been published in other format. Without the Folio, 18 plays could not have reached the present time, including some of the well-known ones such as Twelfth Night, Macbeth, or Antony and Cleopatra to name but a few. An Indian scholar Ranjee Shanani once wrote in his book Shakespeare Through Eastern Eyes as follows. His creations are not ideas but characters – real men and women, fellow humans with ourselves. We can follow their feelings and thoughts like those of our most intimate acquaintances. (177) Shanani’s recognition tells us that Shakespeare is no longer restricted even within the diverse space where Ben Jonson describes in the preface of the Folio, ‘He was not of an age, but for all time’ (Norton 10), but more so Shakespeare is now for all the world. On the contrary, some may still claim that Elizabethan senses are required to fully embrace the significance of Shakespeare’s art (Smith 一五三 17). The bard is widely understood to be a playwright who created his works for his contemporary audiences, and therefore we cannot totally deny the harsh remarks by rather conservative critics.
    [Show full text]
  • Every Saturday Seattle
    •eriodical Department Seattle ruuiic Ulan rier Every Seattle, Saturday U.S. A. Roy Byford as Falstaff Dorothy Massingham as Mistress Pago Mary Holder as Mistress Ford t In the Stratford-upon-Avon Festival Company's production of Shakespeare's comedy, "The Merry Wives of Windsor." The com­ pany is to be the attraction at the Metropolitan next week. VOL. XXIII., NO. 48 DECEMBER 1, 1928 PRICE TEN CENTS aiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiw JUST AS FRESH AS WHEN YOU WENT AWAY! . that's the story when you open the doora of your Copeland ELECTRIC REFRIGERATOR . after three, four, five or six days' absence— butter, milk, vegetables and fruits just as sweet and fresh . just as wholesomely appetizing ... as when you first entrusted them to The Copeland's care! It really is a joy to have at one's beck and call a servant as faithful as The Copeland— it is no longer necessary to buy perishables in expensively small quantities . for Copeland keeps the larger quantities cold and sweet until you use them to the last bit. % Ice cubes . for table service . the & Copeland delivers them in ample quantities. Trays for cooling salads and for freezing delicious desserts . are an essential part of Copeland equipment. Pictured is Copeland Electric Refrigerator, Model N-5 ... as good to look at as it is invaluable in service. Price, installed in your home . $220.00. Convenient terms . you can pay for it with your ice money . and you'll never need the ice man any more! HARPER-MEGGEE, Inc. Copeland Display Room Fourth Avenue and Blanchard fr.. featt\e THE TOWN CRIER VOL.
    [Show full text]
  • Stratford-Upon-Avoh Festival
    A H A N D BOO K TO THE STRATFO RD - U PON - AVON FESTIVAL A Handb o o k to the St rat fo rd- u p o n- A V O H Fe st iv al WITH ART I C LE S BY N R . B N O F . E S ARTHUR HUTCHINSO N N R EG I A L D R . B UC K L EY CECI L SH RP J. A A ND [ LL USTRA TI ONS P UBLI SHED UNDER TH E A USPICES A ND WITH THE SPECIAL SANCTION OF TH E SHAKESPEARE M EMORIAL COUNCI L LONDON NY L GEO RGE ALLEN COM PA , T D. 44 45 RATH B ONE P LA CE I 9 1 3 [All rig hts reserved] P rinted b y A L L A NT Y NE A NSON ér' B , H Co . A t the Ballant ne P ress y , Edinb urg h P R E F A IC E “ T H E Shakespeare Revival , published two years ago , has familiarised many with the ideas inseparable from any national dramatic Festival . But in that book one necessarily Opened up vistas of future development beyond the requirements of those who desire a Hand a book rather than Herald of the Future . For them an abridgment and revision are effected here . Also there are considerable additions , and Mr . Cecil J . Sharp contributes a chapter explaining the Vacation School of Folk Song o f and Dance , which he became Director since the previous volume was issued . The present volume is intended at once to supplement and no t condense , to supersede , the library edition .
    [Show full text]
  • Xerox University Microfilms 300 North Zm (> Road Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106 75-3059
    INFORMATION TO USERS This material was produoad from a microfilm copy of the original document. While the molt advanced technological meant to photograph and reproduce this document have been used, the quality it heavily dependent upon the quality of the original lubmitted. The following explanation of techniques it provided to help you understand markings or patterns which may appear on this reproduction. 1. The sign or "target" for pages apparently lacking from the document photographed is "Missing Pags(s)". If it was possible to obtain the missing page(s) or section, they are spliced into the film along with adjacent pages. This may have necessitated cutting thru an image and duplicating adjacent pages to insure you complete continuity. 2. When an image on the film is obliterated with a large round black mark, it is an indication that the photographer suspected that the copy may have moved during exposure and thus cause a blurred image. You will find a good image of the page in the adjacent frame. 3. When a map, drawing or chart, etc., was part of the material being photographed the photographer followed a definite method in "sectioning" the material. It is customary to begin photoing at the upper left hand comer of a large sheet and to continue photoing from left to right in equal sections with a small overlap. If necessary, sectioning is continued again - beginning below the first row and continuing on until complete. 4. The majority of users indicate that the textual content is of greatest value, however, a somewhat higher quality reproduction could be made from "photographs" if essential to the understanding of the dissertation.
    [Show full text]
  • Shakespeare Promptbooks LIBRARY of the UNIVERSITY of ILLINOIS at URBANA-CHAMPAIGN
    JL llv Shakespeare Promptbooks LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN x792.9 cop. 3 REFERENCE The Shakespeare Promptbooks University of Illinois Press, Urbana and London, 1965 The Shakespeare Promptbooks A Descriptive Catalogue CHARLES H. SHATTUCK .U!UC © 1965 by the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. Manu- factured in the United States of America. Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 65-11737. C*V3 Preface and Acknowledgments The terminal date of this catalogue of Shakespeare promptbooks is the year 1961. But this is not the real end of it. The Festival Thea- tres of the three Stratfords, whose books I have accounted for, have already added four seasons, and presumably they will march on to the millennium, accumulating more (and ever more illuminating) rec- ords of their productions. A fourth Stratford in New Zealand has been rumored. The newly established National Theatre in England, New York's Shakespeare in the Park, and many another festival theatre yet to be created or to be professionalized, besides independent produc- tions in usual frequency, will swell the records of the future. Nor is the catalogue final for the theatre of the more remote past. Although I have combed the well-known depositories of theatrical ana and canvassed by mail several hundred libraries, museums, and histor- ical societies where older promptbooks might be stored, undoubtedly I have missed a good many. Some now in private hands will eventually drift into public collections. Some now buried unrecognized in the general shelves of library stacks, or even taken for junk and scheduled for the dustbin, may become known for what they are and be moved to prouder places.
    [Show full text]
  • Ephemera Collection Finding Aid
    EPHEMERA COLLECTION FINDING AID J.C. Williamson theatre programs Performing Arts Programs and Ephemera (PROMPT) Australian Collection Development James Cassius Williamson was an American actor who immigrated to Australia in the 1870s. Along with business partners, such as William Musgrove, his theatre company became one of the most dominant in colonial Australia. After his death in 1913 the company, now named J. C. Williamson Ltd. continued under the direction of George Tallis and the Tait brothers (who remained involved in the company until the 1970s). J. C. Williamson continued to be one of the biggest theatre companies in Australia throughout the first three quarters of the 20th century. J. C. Williamson held the license for theatres in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and New Zealand (at times more than one theatre in each city). In 1976 the company closed, but the name was licensed until the mid 1980s. This list includes pantomimes held in J. C. Williamson theatres, as well as those produced by J. C. Williamson and performed in other theatres under venue hire arrangements. The list also includes libretti for overseas pantomime productions collected by J. C. Williamson for their corporate archive. Content Printed materials in the PROMPT collection include programs and printed ephemera such as brochures, leaflets, tickets, etc. Theatre programs are taken as the prime documentary evidence of a performance staged by the J.C. Williamson company. In a few cases however, the only evidence of a performance is a piece of printed ephemera. In these cases the type of piece is identified, eg, brochure. Please note that the list also includes programs for some films, as well as programs for overseas productions of plays collected by J.
    [Show full text]
  • SHAKESPEARE's DIALOGIC STAGE : TOWARDS a POETICS of PERFORMANCE By
    SHAKESPEARE'S DIALOGIC STAGE : TOWARDS A POETICS OF PERFORMANCE by WINIFRED MARIA JONES A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Arts of The University of Birmingham for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY The Shakespeare Institute The University of Birmingham March 1999 University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties. The intellectual property rights of the author or third parties in respect of this work are as defined by The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or as modified by any successor legislation. Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in accordance with that legislation and must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the permission of the copyright holder. ABSTRACT Shakespearian performance scholarship is arguably looking for a methodology that can integrate the study of performative work with critical analysis and theory. As an intervention in this discussion, I propose a poetics of performance, a term intended as a playful appropriation of Stephen Greenblatt's poetics of culture but one that restores the central omission of actual performance to his study of Renaissance subjectivity in dramatic texts. This is a systematic study of four plays, The Taming of the Shrew, The Merchant of Venice, Hamlet and Richard II in productions on stage and screen between 1927-1995, arranged diachronically and in dialogic pairings (drawing on 'Bakhtinian thought'). Utilising Greenblatt's discussion of cultural exchange and symbolic acquisition, and restoring Greenblatt's omission of diachronic 'appropriation', I consider the reception of the performative work, drawing attention to interpretative patterns, and enquire into the structuring historical contingency of the Renaissance locus.
    [Show full text]
  • L DTNT Records Relating to the Hull New Theatre 1939- 2008
    Hull History Centre: Records relating to the Hull New Theatre L DTNT Records relating to the Hull New Theatre 1939- 2008 Historical Background: The New Theatre which stands on Kingston Square, Hull, opened on the 16th of October 1939 with the Hull Repertory Company production of 'Me and My Girl'. Peppino Santangelo came to the city in 1924 to join the Hull Repertory Company based at the Little Theatre in Kingston Square. After turning the struggling company around, Peppino, organised the reconstruction of the former Assembly Rooms which had first been built by R. H. Sharp over 100 years earlier in 1834 into the New Theatre. Not even the outbreak of the Second World War could halt Peppino’s dream and as the theatre’s first manager, he told crowds of 1939: ‘I have made plans for your future entertainment, always bearing in mind that we are at war and that laughter and not tears should be the dominant feature.’ Performances continued throughout the war when West End productions arrived to escape the bombing in London. The theatre bar was reinforced as a bomb shelter and the building received only one direct hit, in May 1941, which destroyed the front row of stalls and all the props and costumes of the visiting Sadler’s Wells Opera Company. In the late 1960s the Theatre's stage was deepened and the orchestra pit enlarged, whilst at the same time the auditorium was improved with new seating. The theatre closed in January 2016 to undergo a huge £15.9m revamp of the venue, which would see improvements to backstage areas including a new fly tower, used for scenery, lighting and stage effects, a larger stage, and more seating.
    [Show full text]