The Stage
Encyclopedia
The Stage is a weekly British
newspaper
founded in 1880, available nationally and published on Thursdays. Covering all areas of the entertainment industry but focused primarily on theatre
, it contains news, reviews, opinion, features and other items of interest, mainly to those who work within the industry.
It is an important publication for actors throughout the country, as it contains regular advertisements for available jobs and provides an opportunity for various acts to promote themselves to agents and directors.
The publication was a joint venture between founding editor Charles Lionel Carson (then aged 33) and business manager Maurice Comerford (26), and operated from offices opposite the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
.
The Stage entered a crowded market, with many other theatre titles (including The Era) in circulation. Undercutting their rivals, Carson and Comerford dropped the price of the paper to one penny
and was soon the only remaining title in its field.
The newspaper has remained in family ownership. Upon the death in 1937 of Charles Carson's son Lionel, who had assumed the joint role of managing director and editor, control passed to the Comerford family. The current managing director, Catherine Comerford, is founder Maurice's great-granddaughter.
The name and supplement remained until 1995, when broadcasting coverage was re-incorporated into the main paper. The name on the masthead
reverted to The Stage, although the words "Incorporating Television Today" remained under the logo on the front page and above the leader column
. In 2000, the reference to Television Today was dropped from the front page and replaced by the URL
of the paper's website. The reference above the leader was similarly replaced from January 2002.
in 2006, the paper introduced a blog
concentrating on television, named TV Today.
at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
In 2004, 96-year-old contributor Simon Blumenfeld
was recognised by the Guinness Book of Records as the world's oldest weekly newspaper columnist. The column continued until shortly before his death in 2005.
On 27 April 2006, the paper relaunched with smaller pages, staple binding and full colour on heavier paper stock, with a new masthead
and design by David Hillman of Pentagram
.
submitted his script for Look Back in Anger
in response to an advertisement by the soon-to-be-launched Royal Court Theatre
.
Dusty Springfield
responded to an advertisement for female singers in 1958.
Kenneth Branagh
landed the lead role in The Billy Trilogy, in the BBC
Play for Today
series, after it was advertised in this newspaper. Ricky Tomlinson
responded to an ad for United Kingdom, another Play for Today, in 1981.
Writer and broadcaster Sandi Toksvig
landed her first television job playing the part of Ethel in No. 73
after answering an ad in The Stage. She played the part for five years.
Television presenter Maggie Philbin
won her first major role, as a co-presenter of Multi-Coloured Swap Shop
, after answering an advertisement in The Stage.
Ned Sherrin
, producer of the satirical BBC
television programme That Was The Week That Was
, hired David Frost
as its presenter after reading a favourable review of Frost's London comedy cabaret show in The Stage.
A number of pop group
s have recruited all or some of their members through advertisements placed in the newspaper, most notably the Spice Girls
in 1994, Scooch
in 1998 and 5ive in 1997.
Lee Mead
(the actor who won BBC One
talent show Any Dream Will Do
to gain the lead role in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
) got his first professional job, working on a cruise ship, through a recruitment ad in the paper.
Television presenter Ben Shephard
auditioned for GMTV
children's show Diggit following an advert in The Stage. While he did not get the part, he met Andi Peters
, who subsequently hired him for the Channel 4
youth strand T4
.
Pixie Lott
responded to an advertisement for female singers when she was 16.
The Dolly Rockers
were formed after they responded to an advert in The Stage. They subsequently went on X Factor but failed to make it to the live shows. They signed a contract with Parlophone
, an imprint of EMI
, and have worked with hit maker Ray Hedges
.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
founded in 1880, available nationally and published on Thursdays. Covering all areas of the entertainment industry but focused primarily on theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
, it contains news, reviews, opinion, features and other items of interest, mainly to those who work within the industry.
It is an important publication for actors throughout the country, as it contains regular advertisements for available jobs and provides an opportunity for various acts to promote themselves to agents and directors.
Early history
The first edition of The Stage was published (under the title The Stage Directory – a London and Provincial Theatrical Advertiser) on 1 February 1880 at a cost of 3 old pence for twelve pages. Publication was monthly until 25 March 1881, when the first weekly edition was produced. At the same time, the name was shortened to The Stage and the publication numbering restarted at number 1.The publication was a joint venture between founding editor Charles Lionel Carson (then aged 33) and business manager Maurice Comerford (26), and operated from offices opposite the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
Drury Lane
Drury Lane is a street on the eastern boundary of the Covent Garden area of London, running between Aldwych and High Holborn. The northern part is in the borough of Camden and the southern part in the City of Westminster....
.
The Stage entered a crowded market, with many other theatre titles (including The Era) in circulation. Undercutting their rivals, Carson and Comerford dropped the price of the paper to one penny
Penny
A penny is a coin or a type of currency used in several English-speaking countries. It is often the smallest denomination within a currency system.-Etymology:...
and was soon the only remaining title in its field.
The newspaper has remained in family ownership. Upon the death in 1937 of Charles Carson's son Lionel, who had assumed the joint role of managing director and editor, control passed to the Comerford family. The current managing director, Catherine Comerford, is founder Maurice's great-granddaughter.
The Stage and Television Today
In 1959 The Stage was relaunched as The Stage and Television Today, incorporating a pull-out supplement dedicated to broadcasting news and features. Derek Hoddinott, the main paper's TV editor, became editor of the new supplement.The name and supplement remained until 1995, when broadcasting coverage was re-incorporated into the main paper. The name on the masthead
Masthead (publishing)
The masthead is a list, published in a newspaper or magazine, of its staff. In some publications it names only the most senior individuals; in others, it may name many or all...
reverted to The Stage, although the words "Incorporating Television Today" remained under the logo on the front page and above the leader column
Editorial
An opinion piece is an article, published in a newspaper or magazine, that mainly reflects the author's opinion about the subject. Opinion pieces are featured in many periodicals.-Editorials:...
. In 2000, the reference to Television Today was dropped from the front page and replaced by the URL
Uniform Resource Locator
In computing, a uniform resource locator or universal resource locator is a specific character string that constitutes a reference to an Internet resource....
of the paper's website. The reference above the leader was similarly replaced from January 2002.
in 2006, the paper introduced a blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
concentrating on television, named TV Today.
Recent history
From 1995, the newspaper has awarded The Stage Awards for Acting ExcellenceStage Awards for Acting Excellence
The Stage Awards for Acting Excellence are a set of Scottish theatre awards which were established in 1995 to recognise outstanding theatre performances by individuals and companies on the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Organised by theatrical newspaper The Stage, the initial award categories of Best...
at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
In 2004, 96-year-old contributor Simon Blumenfeld
Simon Blumenfeld
Simon Blumenfeld was a Jewish columnist, author, playwright, theatre critic, editor and communist.Although he described himself as Jewish, he was born to a family of Sicilian refugees, who eventually settled in Whitechapel, in the East End of London...
was recognised by the Guinness Book of Records as the world's oldest weekly newspaper columnist. The column continued until shortly before his death in 2005.
On 27 April 2006, the paper relaunched with smaller pages, staple binding and full colour on heavier paper stock, with a new masthead
Masthead (publishing)
The masthead is a list, published in a newspaper or magazine, of its staff. In some publications it names only the most senior individuals; in others, it may name many or all...
and design by David Hillman of Pentagram
Pentagram (design studio)
Pentagram is a design studio that was founded in 1972 by Alan Fletcher, Theo Crosby, Colin Forbes, Kenneth Grange and Mervyn Kurlansky in Needham Road, West London, UK...
.
Careers started via The Stage
In 1956, Writer John OsborneJohn Osborne
John James Osborne was an English playwright, screenwriter, actor and critic of the Establishment. The success of his 1956 play Look Back in Anger transformed English theatre....
submitted his script for Look Back in Anger
Look Back in Anger
Look Back in Anger is a John Osborne play—made into films in 1959, 1980, and 1989 -- about a love triangle involving an intelligent but disaffected young man , his upper-middle-class, impassive wife , and her haughty best friend . Cliff, an amiable Welsh lodger, attempts to keep the peace...
in response to an advertisement by the soon-to-be-launched Royal Court Theatre
Royal Court Theatre
The Royal Court Theatre is a non-commercial theatre on Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is noted for its contributions to modern theatre...
.
Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield
Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'BrienSources use both Isabel and Isobel as the spelling of her second name. OBE , known professionally as Dusty Springfield and dubbed The White Queen of Soul, was a British pop singer whose career extended from the late 1950s to the 1990s...
responded to an advertisement for female singers in 1958.
Kenneth Branagh
Kenneth Branagh
Kenneth Charles Branagh is an actor and film director from Northern Ireland. He is best known for directing and starring in several film adaptations of William Shakespeare's plays including Henry V , Much Ado About Nothing , Hamlet Kenneth Charles Branagh is an actor and film director from...
landed the lead role in The Billy Trilogy, in the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
Play for Today
Play for Today
Play for Today is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more than three hundred programmes, featuring original television plays, and adaptations of stage plays and novels, were transmitted...
series, after it was advertised in this newspaper. Ricky Tomlinson
Ricky Tomlinson
Eric Tomlinson , known by his stage name Ricky Tomlinson, is an English actor and comedian, best known for his roles as Bobby Grant in Brookside, DCI Charlie Wise in Cracker and James "Jim" Royle in The Royle Family....
responded to an ad for United Kingdom, another Play for Today, in 1981.
Writer and broadcaster Sandi Toksvig
Sandi Toksvig
Sandra Brigitte “Sandi” Toksvig is a Danish comedian, author and presenter on British radio and television.-Career:...
landed her first television job playing the part of Ethel in No. 73
No. 73
No 73, later re-titled 7T3, was a British 1980s children's TV show produced by Television South for the ITV network. It was broadcast live on Saturday mornings and ran from 1982 to 1988...
after answering an ad in The Stage. She played the part for five years.
Television presenter Maggie Philbin
Maggie Philbin
Maggie Philbin is an English radio and television presenter whose credits include Tomorrow's World and Multi-Coloured Swap Shop.As a child she became interested in science through wanting to become a vet....
won her first major role, as a co-presenter of Multi-Coloured Swap Shop
Multi-Coloured Swap Shop
Multi-Coloured Swap Shop, more commonly known simply as Swap Shop, is a UK children's television programme. It was broadcast on Saturday mornings on BBC1 for 146 episodes in six series between 1976 and 1982...
, after answering an advertisement in The Stage.
Ned Sherrin
Ned Sherrin
Edward George "Ned" Sherrin CBE was an English broadcaster, author and stage director. He qualified as a barrister and then worked in independent television before joining the BBC...
, producer of the satirical BBC
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
television programme That Was The Week That Was
That Was The Week That Was
That Was The Week That Was, also known as TW3, is a satirical television comedy programme that was shown on BBC Television in 1962 and 1963. It was devised, produced and directed by Ned Sherrin and presented by David Frost...
, hired David Frost
David Frost (broadcaster)
Sir David Paradine Frost, OBE is a British journalist, comedian, writer, media personality and daytime TV game show host best known for his two decades as host of Through the Keyhole and serious interviews with various political figures, the most notable being Richard Nixon...
as its presenter after reading a favourable review of Frost's London comedy cabaret show in The Stage.
A number of pop group
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
s have recruited all or some of their members through advertisements placed in the newspaper, most notably the Spice Girls
Spice Girls
The Spice Girls were a British pop girl group formed in 1994. The group consisted of Victoria Beckham , Melanie Brown, Emma Bunton, Melanie Chisholm and Geri Halliwell. They were signed to Virgin Records and released their debut single, "Wannabe" in 1996, which hit number-one in more than 30...
in 1994, Scooch
Scooch
Scooch are a British bubblegum dance group, comprising performers Natalie Powers, Caroline Barnes, David Ducasse and Russ Spencer.Scooch represented the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 in Helsinki with their song "Flying the Flag ", finishing 23rd out of 24 entries after...
in 1998 and 5ive in 1997.
Lee Mead
Lee Mead
Lee Stephen Mead is an English musical theatre actor, best known for winning the title role in the 2007 West End revival of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat through the BBC reality TV casting show Any Dream Will Do...
(the actor who won BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
talent show Any Dream Will Do
Any Dream Will Do (TV series)
Any Dream Will Do, often known as 'Joseph', was a 2007 talent show-themed television series produced by the BBC in the United Kingdom. It searched for a new, unknown lead to play Joseph in a West End revival of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.The show...
to gain the lead role in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical with lyrics by Tim Rice. The story is based on the "coat of many colors" story of Joseph from the Hebrew Bible's Book of Genesis. This was the first Lloyd Webber and Rice musical to be performed publicly...
) got his first professional job, working on a cruise ship, through a recruitment ad in the paper.
Television presenter Ben Shephard
Ben Shephard
Benjamin Peter "Ben" Shephard, also known as "Sheps" is an English television presenter who currently works for Sky Sports, as well as ITV.-Personal life:...
auditioned for GMTV
GMTV
GMTV was the national Channel 3 breakfast television contractor, broadcasting in the United Kingdom from 1 January 1993 to 3 September 2010. It became a wholly owned subsidiary of ITV plc. in November 2009. Shortly after, ITV plc announced the programme would end...
children's show Diggit following an advert in The Stage. While he did not get the part, he met Andi Peters
Andi Peters
Andi Eleazu Peters is an English television presenter and television producer.-Education:Peters was educated at Emanuel School, a co-educational independent school in Battersea, in south-west London.-Life and career:...
, who subsequently hired him for the Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
youth strand T4
T4 (Channel 4)
T4 is a scheduling slot on Channel 4 from about 09:00 until 14:00 on Saturdays and 17:00 on Sundays. It also airs on weekdays in the school holidays. The slot has a separate station identification on screen graphic from Channel 4 and E4. The logo of T4 is noticeably the top right segment of the...
.
Pixie Lott
Pixie Lott
Victoria Louise "Pixie" Lott is an English singer-songwriter, dancer and actress. Her debut single "Mama Do" was released in June 2009 and went straight to number one in the UK Singles Chart. Her second single "Boys and Girls", also topped the UK charts in September 2009. Her debut album Turn It...
responded to an advertisement for female singers when she was 16.
The Dolly Rockers
The Dolly Rockers
The Dolly Rockers are an English girl group from London, Leeds and Manchester. The group currently consists of Lucie Kay, Sophie King and Daniele Owen. They first became known when they competed in UK talent show The X Factor in 2006, making it through to the "judges' houses" stage, however they...
were formed after they responded to an advert in The Stage. They subsequently went on X Factor but failed to make it to the live shows. They signed a contract with Parlophone
Parlophone
Parlophone is a record label that was founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch was formed in 1923 as "Parlophone" which developed a reputation in the 1920s as a leading jazz label. It was acquired in 1927 by the Columbia Graphophone Company which...
, an imprint of EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
, and have worked with hit maker Ray Hedges
Ray Hedges
Ray Hedges from Surrey, England is a songwriter and record producer.Ray Hedges has had over 60 top 20 singles and albums including 6 UK No 1’sas producer and or writer with many on his own record labels....
.
Editors
- 1880–1901 Charles Carson
- 1901–1904 Maurice Comerford
- 1904–1937 Lionel Carson
- 1937–1943 Bernard Weller
- 1943–1952 S.R. Littlewood
- 1952–1972 Eric Johns
- 1972–1992 Peter Hepple
- 1992–1994 Jeremy Jehu
- 1994–present Brian Attwood
Quotations
- "The moment you have arrived in the profession is when you realise you don't have to read The Stage" - Noel CowardNoël CowardSir Noël Peirce Coward was an English playwright, composer, director, actor and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what Time magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise".Born in Teddington, a suburb of London, Coward attended a dance academy...
(attributed) - "The stage would not be the stage without The Stage" - Laurence OlivierLaurence OlivierLaurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century. He married three times, to fellow actors Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright...
(The Stage, 25 October 1976) - "There's no yellow brick road that's going to lead you straight to Oz, but there are a few things you can do and one of them is look in the back of The Stage." - Ben ShephardBen ShephardBenjamin Peter "Ben" Shephard, also known as "Sheps" is an English television presenter who currently works for Sky Sports, as well as ITV.-Personal life:...