151-690: The Leicester Square Theatre is a 400-seat theatre in Leicester Place, immediately north of Leicester Square , in the City of Westminster , London. It was previously known as Notre Dame Hall , Cavern in the Town and The Venue . The theatre hosts stand-up comedy, cabaret, music, plays and comedies. The building originated as the Notre Dame Hall in 1953, replacing an earlier building that had been destroyed by World War II bombing, and part of
302-410: A collective form of reception. The structure of dramatic texts , unlike other forms of literature , is directly influenced by this collaborative production and collective reception. The early modern tragedy Hamlet (1601) by Shakespeare and the classical Athenian tragedy Oedipus Rex ( c. 429 BCE ) by Sophocles are among the masterpieces of the art of drama. A modern example
453-508: A DJ in the late 1990s, Boy George adopted a macrobiotic diet , which he had been attempting to follow since 1988. In 2001, he published the Karma Cookbook , a macrobiotic cookbook co-written with Dragana Brown, whom Boy George met in 1986. Boy George appeared on an episode of BBC television genealogy series Who Do You Think You Are? in 2018, on which it was revealed that he was related to executed Irish revolutionary Thomas Bryan ,
604-595: A DJ in the mid 1990s. Outside of music, Boy George's other creative activities involve mixed media art, writing books, designing clothes and photography. He has also made several appearances in television, most recently appearing as a contestant on the 22nd UK series of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! in November 2022, eventually finishing in 8th place. As a solo artist, Boy George has released nine studio albums, five compilation albums and forty-eight singles . He has also released seven DJ albums, three EPs and
755-485: A Man , Boy George stated that he was in fact gay, not bisexual, and that he had secret relationships with punk rock singer Kirk Brandon and Culture Club drummer Jon Moss . He stated that many of the songs he wrote for Culture Club were about his relationship with Moss. In the 2008 documentary Living with Boy George , he talked about his first realisation he was gay, when he first told his parents, and why men fall in love with one another as well as with women. As two of
906-501: A Manhattan judge issued a warrant for the arrest of Boy George after he failed to appear in court for a hearing on why Boy George wanted to change his sentence for the false burglary report. Boy George's attorney informed the court that he had advised Boy George not to appear at that hearing. On 14 August 2006, Boy George reported to the New York City Department of Sanitation for his court-ordered community service. As
1057-416: A contestant on the 22nd UK series of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! . During his appearance on the show, Boy George expressed discomfort about appearing on the show with former UK health secretary Matt Hancock , mentioning that his mother had been in hospital while the country was under a COVID-19 lockdown . He said that he would have withdrawn from the show had his mother died in hospital. In
1208-488: A conversation with Seann Walsh , Boy George said that he found Hancock "slimy and slippery" and later told Hancock that he found it difficult to "separate" the politician from the person. He was eliminated from the show on 22 November on the seventeenth day, finishing in 8th place. During February–May 2024, Boy George portrayed Harold Zidler in the Moulin Rouge! musical. Concurrently with developing his career as
1359-406: A dancing floor (orchestra), dressing room and scene-building area (skene). Since the words were the most important part, good acoustics and clear delivery were paramount. The actors (always men) wore masks appropriate to the characters they represented, and each might play several parts. Athenian tragedy—the oldest surviving form of tragedy—is a type of dance -drama that formed an important part of
1510-735: A documentary on the life of Boy George. The American tour which was planned for July/August 2008 had to be cancelled because he had been denied a United States visa due to a pending London court case scheduled for November 2008. On 2 July six concert dates in South America were announced. Boy George participated in RETROFEST held in Scotland in August 2008, and a 30-date UK tour took place in October/November 2008. In 2009, he signed
1661-418: A member of the " Forgotten Ten ". As of 2012 , Boy George has credited his practice of Nichiren Buddhism and chanting Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō for his newfound spiritual strength to remain sober. Boy George has said: "I'm Catholic in my complications and Buddhist in my aspirations." Boy George has multiple tattoos, including a Christian cross on the side of his face and a Jewish Star of David tattooed on
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#17327794838631812-493: A mentor. His final act, Cody Frost, finished third place overall. Boy George left the series after just one season and later went on to join The Voice Australia as a coach for its sixth season to replace The Madden Brothers . His final contestant, Hoseah Partsch , was the runner-up. He returned for the show's seventh season , in 2018, its eighth season , in 2019 where his final contestant, Diana Rouvas won
1963-690: A new record deal subsequently releasing the album Ordinary Alien – The Kinky Roland Files in the autumn of 2010. The album consisted of previously recorded tracks mixed by long-time dance partner Kinky Roland. He took part in Night of the Proms , which is a series of concerts held yearly in Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and Spain which consist of a combination of pop music and popular classical music (often combined). Boy George's 2012 appearances included
2114-533: A particular type. Kālidāsa in the 1st century BCE, is arguably considered to be ancient India 's greatest Sanskrit dramatist. Three famous romantic plays written by Kālidāsa are the Mālavikāgnimitram ( Mālavikā and Agnimitra ), Vikramuurvashiiya ( Pertaining to Vikrama and Urvashi ), and Abhijñānaśākuntala ( The Recognition of Shakuntala ). The last was inspired by a story in the Mahabharata and
2265-454: A photography session with Boy George. Carlsen claimed that he had been handcuffed to a wall fixture and beaten with a metal chain during their next meeting, although Boy George has always maintained that only the handcuffing was true and that he never beat Carlsen. Defence counsel presented the effects of his long-term drug use as a mitigating factor. On 16 January 2009, Boy George was sentenced to 15 months' imprisonment for these offences. He
2416-500: A play that is neither a comedy nor a tragedy—for example, Zola's Thérèse Raquin (1873) or Chekhov's Ivanov (1887). In Ancient Greece however, the word drama encompassed all theatrical plays, tragic, comic, or anything in between. Drama is often combined with music and dance : the drama in opera is generally sung throughout; musicals generally include both spoken dialogue and songs ; and some forms of drama have incidental music or musical accompaniment underscoring
2567-487: A regular feature for some years over the festive season. The theatre is owned and managed by artistic director Martin Witts. Theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses , to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage . The performers may communicate this experience to
2718-483: A result of the intense media coverage, he was allowed to finish his community service inside the Sanitation Department grounds. In March 2023, a settlement was reached by the four original members of Culture Club, who agreed that George, Hay, and Craig would pay Moss £1.75 million, after he had filed a lawsuit against his former bandmates for lost income due to having allegedly been "expelled" from
2869-594: A result, two members of Culture Club replaced him with vocalist Sam Butcher. Boy George expressed his displeasure. After only one showcase and one live show, the project was shelved. On 27 January 2011, Boy George announced to the BBC that there would be a 30th anniversary Culture Club reunion tour sometime later in the year, and that they would be releasing a new album in 2012. Although the 2011 tour never took place, Culture Club did play two live concerts, in Dubai and Sydney ,
3020-523: A solo artist and as a member of Culture Club. In 2001, he was voted 46th in a BBC poll of the 100 Greatest Britons . In 2015, Boy George received an Ivor Novello Award from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors for Outstanding Services to British Music. Boy George was born George Alan O'Dowd at Barnehurst Hospital, Kent , England, on 14 June 1961 and raised in Eltham ,
3171-644: A song co-written with Ivor Novello Award –winning songwriter Amanda Ghost , who also co-wrote " You're Beautiful " with James Blunt . Later in 2007, two electronica/dance collaborations were released in limited editions. On 25 February 2007, Boy George was special guest DJ at LGBT nightspot the Court Hotel in Perth , Australia. On 4 March 2007, he performed as a DJ at the Hordern Pavilion in Sydney for
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#17327794838633322-518: A soundtrack album. His solo hit songs include " Everything I Own ", " Bow Down Mister ", " Generations of Love " and " Love Is Leaving " and " The Crying Game ", from the soundtrack for the film The Crying Game . He was featured as a vocalist on the 1984 charity song " Do They Know It's Christmas? " and was the last artist featured on the song to record his lines. Boy George's music features several genres, including pop, new wave , soul , soft rock , disco and reggae . He has received several awards as
3473-524: A tool for developing dramatic work or skills or as a form for situational comedy. Spolin also became interested in how the process of learning improvisation was applicable to the development of human potential. Spolin's son, Paul Sills popularized improvisational theatre as a theatrical art form when he founded, as its first director, The Second City in Chicago. Having been an important part of human culture for more than 2,500 years, theatre has evolved
3624-421: A vehicle to tell a story qualify as comedies. This may include a modern farce such as Boeing Boeing or a classical play such as As You Like It . Theatre expressing bleak, controversial or taboo subject matter in a deliberately humorous way is referred to as black comedy . Black Comedy can have several genres like slapstick humour, dark and sarcastic comedy. Tragedy, then, is an imitation of an action that
3775-458: A version of Yoko Ono 's " Death of Samantha ". It was mixed by Dave Bascombe and features a string of guest musicians including DJ Yoda , Kitty Durham , Ally McErlaine , MC Spee and Nizar Al Issa. In 2015, BBC Four showed Boy George and Culture Club: From Karma to Calamity a film about a 2014 reunion, a new album, and a planned UK—US tour. In January 2016, Boy George joined the fifth series of The Voice UK , replacing Tom Jones as
3926-435: A very colourful shadow. The thin rods which controlled their movements were attached to a leather collar at the neck of the puppet. The rods ran parallel to the bodies of the puppet and then turned at a ninety degree angle to connect to the neck. While these rods were visible when the shadow was cast, they laid outside the shadow of the puppet; thus they did not interfere with the appearance of the figure. The rods are attached at
4077-575: A vocalist on "Don't Go Changing Soho", a single by Jocasta's Tim Arnold for the Save Soho campaign. On 2 and 26 March 2020, through his YouTube channel, Boy George respectively released (as videos) 2 new solo songs entitled "Clouds" and "Isolation" taken from his forthcoming album Geminis Don't Read the Manual which was due to be released later in the year, but was postponed. On 6 April 2020 on his own record label BGP (Boy George Presents) he released
4228-697: A wide range of different theories and practices. Some are related to political or spiritual ideologies, while others are based purely on "artistic" concerns. Some processes focus on a story, some on theatre as event, and some on theatre as catalyst for social change. The classical Greek philosopher Aristotle , in his seminal treatise, Poetics ( c. 335 BCE ) is the earliest-surviving example and its arguments have influenced theories of theatre ever since. In it, he offers an account of what he calls "poetry" (a term which in Greek literally means "making" and in this context includes drama — comedy , tragedy , and
4379-436: Is Long Day's Journey into Night by Eugene O'Neill (1956). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been contrasted with the epic and the lyrical modes ever since Aristotle 's Poetics ( c. 335 BCE ); the earliest work of dramatic theory . The use of "drama" in the narrow sense to designate a specific type of play dates from the 19th century . Drama in this sense refers to
4530-527: Is Lost", but was only released on a promo 12" in 1999. Boy George remained a figure in the public eye, starring in the London musical Taboo , based on the New Romantic scene of early 1980s England (Boy George did not play himself, opting instead to take on the persona of Australian-born performance artist Leigh Bowery ). Boy George was nominated for a Tony Award for the "Best Musical Score" and Taboo
4681-682: Is an English musician who rose to fame as the lead singer of the pop band Culture Club . He began his solo career in 1987. Boy George grew up in Eltham and was part of the New Romantic movement which emerged in the late 1970s to early 1980s. His androgynous look and style of fashion was greatly inspired by glam rock pioneers David Bowie and Marc Bolan . He formed Culture Club with Roy Hay , Mikey Craig and Jon Moss in 1981. The band's second album, Colour by Numbers (1983), sold more than 10 million copies worldwide. Their hit singles include " Do You Really Want to Hurt Me ", " Time (Clock of
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4832-663: Is an ancient form of storytelling that renowned for its elaborate puppet/human and complex musical styles. The earliest evidence is from the late 1st millennium CE, in medieval-era texts and archeological sites. The oldest known record that concerns wayang is from the 9th century. Around 840 AD an Old Javanese (Kawi) inscriptions called Jaha Inscriptions issued by Maharaja Sri Lokapala from Mataram Kingdom in Central Java mentions three sorts of performers: atapukan, aringgit, and abanol. Aringgit means Wayang puppet show, Atapukan means Mask dance show, and abanwal means joke art. Ringgit
4983-644: Is described in an 11th-century Javanese poem as a leather shadow figure. Theatre in the medieval Islamic world included puppet theatre (which included hand puppets, shadow plays and marionette productions) and live passion plays known as ta'ziyeh , where actors re-enact episodes from Muslim history . In particular, Shia Islamic plays revolved around the istishhād (martyrdom) of Ali 's sons Hasan ibn Ali and Husayn ibn Ali . Secular plays were known as akhraja , recorded in medieval adab literature, though they were less common than puppetry and ta'ziya theatre. Theatre took on many alternative forms in
5134-539: Is known primarily from the substantial papyrus fragments of Menander . Aristotle defined comedy as a representation of laughable people that involves some kind of blunder or ugliness that does not cause pain or disaster. In addition to the categories of comedy and tragedy at the City Dionysia, the festival also included the Satyr Play . Finding its origins in rural, agricultural rituals dedicated to Dionysus,
5285-1119: Is regarded as one of the best New Comedian competitions and has given rise to the Not So New Comedian Competition and Sketch Off, both at the theatre's sister venue, the Museum of Comedy at St. George's, Bloomsbury . The theatre has subsequently been host to many comedians, including Al Murray , Michael McIntyre , Arabella Weir , Dave Chappelle , Ed Gamble , Janey Godley , Jerry Sadowitz , Jim Gaffigan , Tim Vine , Mark Thomas , Michelle Wolf , Micky Flanagan , Rachel Parris , Ricky Gervais , Ruby Wax , Sean Lock , Tom Stade , and Stewart Lee . Theatre shows have included Tiddler , Scarecrows Wedding , Private Peaceful , An Evening With Joan Collins , and Musik (the Pet Shop Boys Musical). Music has been performed by Blake, Mark Kingswood, Macy Gray , Buddy Greco , Joe Longthorne , Hazel O'Connor , and Boy George . Performers who have returned regularly to
5436-419: Is serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude: in language embellished with each kind of artistic ornament, the several kinds being found in separate parts of the play; in the form of action, not of narrative; through pity and fear effecting the proper purgation of these emotions. Aristotle's phrase "several kinds being found in separate parts of the play" is a reference to the structural origins of drama. In it
5587-472: Is the most famous. It was the first to be translated into English and German . Śakuntalā (in English translation) influenced Goethe 's Faust (1808–1832). The next great Indian dramatist was Bhavabhuti ( c. 7th century CE ). He is said to have written the following three plays: Malati-Madhava , Mahaviracharita and Uttar Ramacharita . Among these three, the last two cover between them
5738-849: Is universally acknowledged in the Western critical tradition", Marvin Carlson explains, "almost every detail about his seminal work has aroused divergent opinions." Important theatre practitioners of the 20th century include Konstantin Stanislavski , Vsevolod Meyerhold , Jacques Copeau , Edward Gordon Craig , Bertolt Brecht , Antonin Artaud , Joan Littlewood , Peter Brook , Jerzy Grotowski , Augusto Boal , Eugenio Barba , Dario Fo , Viola Spolin , Keith Johnstone and Robert Wilson (director) . Boy George George Alan O'Dowd (born 14 June 1961), known professionally as Boy George ,
5889-579: Is very organic and individual. Boy George's androgynous style of dressing caught the attention of music entrepreneur Malcolm McLaren (previously the manager of the Sex Pistols ), who arranged for Boy George to perform with the group Bow Wow Wow . Going by the stage name Lieutenant Lush, his tenure with Bow Wow Wow proved problematic with lead singer Annabella Lwin . Boy George left the group and started his own band with bassist Mikey Craig . They were joined by Jon Moss (who had drumming stints with
6040-518: Is why actors are commonly called "Children of the Pear Garden". During the dynasty of Empress Ling, shadow puppetry first emerged as a recognized form of theatre in China. There were two distinct forms of shadow puppetry, Pekingese (northern) and Cantonese (southern). The two styles were differentiated by the method of making the puppets and the positioning of the rods on the puppets , as opposed to
6191-523: The Gavin Report commented, "It's been said again and again that all any performer needs is the right material to have a hit. Boy George is just the right singer to resurrect this song". Boy George has also enjoyed a second career as a notable music DJ. His first gig as a DJ was at Phillip Sallon's new nightclub, Planets, located in London's Piccadilly . In the 1990s he came to the attention of rave/house promoters Fantazia who asked him to mix 1 of
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6342-546: The 20th century in the realism of Stanislavski and Lee Strasberg , the political theatre of Erwin Piscator and Bertolt Brecht , the so-called Theatre of the Absurd of Samuel Beckett and Eugène Ionesco , American and British musicals, the collective creations of companies of actors and directors such as Joan Littlewood 's Theatre Workshop , experimental and postmodern theatre of Robert Wilson and Robert Lepage ,
6493-516: The Ancient Greek θέατρον (théatron, "a place for viewing"), itself from θεάομαι (theáomai, "to see", "to watch", "to observe"). Modern Western theatre comes, in large measure, from the theatre of ancient Greece , from which it borrows technical terminology, classification into genres , and many of its themes , stock characters , and plot elements. Theatre artist Patrice Pavis defines theatricality, theatrical language , stage writing and
6644-508: The City Dionysia as an audience member (or even as a participant in the theatrical productions) in particular—was an important part of citizenship . Civic participation also involved the evaluation of the rhetoric of orators evidenced in performances in the law-court or political assembly , both of which were understood as analogous to the theatre and increasingly came to absorb its dramatic vocabulary. The Greeks also developed
6795-493: The Irish War of Independence . According to Boy George's mother, who published a memoir in 2007, Jerry O'Dowd was physically and mentally abusive and beat her even when she was pregnant with Boy George. Boy George said of his father, "He was a terrible father and a terrible husband." In 1995, Boy George's youngest brother Gerald, who has schizophrenia , was convicted of killing his wife in an episode of paranoia. Boy George
6946-657: The Mardi Gras Festival. On 11 May 2007, he performed as a DJ at the launch party for the Palazzo Versace in Dubai , UAE . Boy George cancelled his planned 2007 October tour via an announcement on his official website. In 2007, he toured as a DJ, visiting many venues around the world. Boy George played a special residency at the Shaw Theatre in London from 23 January 2008, followed by a full UK tour. In April 2008, The Biography Channel featured
7097-771: The Melbourne International Arts Festival in October, both as featured guest DJ and also performing with Antony Hegarty in the festival's presentations of Swanlights , the Museum of Modern Art 's musical artwork commission, which had only been performed one night previously, at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. In June 2013, a new song was released called "Coming Home". Mikey Craig, former bandmate in Culture Club, co-wrote
7248-563: The Persian response to news of their military defeat at the Battle of Salamis in 480 BCE—is the notable exception in the surviving drama. When Aeschylus won first prize for it at the City Dionysia in 472 BCE, he had been writing tragedies for more than 25 years, yet its tragic treatment of recent history is the earliest example of drama to survive. More than 130 years later, the philosopher Aristotle analysed 5th-century Athenian tragedy in
7399-662: The Power Station satellite channel called Blue Radio. In 1992, Boy George had a hit with the Pet Shop Boys –produced song " The Crying Game ", from the soundtrack for the film The Crying Game . The song reached number 22 in the UK Singles Chart, and number 15 on the US Billboard Hot 100. Larry Flick from Billboard complimented Boy George's "genius reading" of the song. Dave Sholin from
7550-474: The Royal Albert Hall in London, Andy Bell of Erasure kissed Boy George on stage to cheers from the crowd, with Bell stating it was an act in protest against Section 28. In 1989, Boy George formed his own record label, More Protein , and began recording under the name Jesus Loves You , writing under the pseudonym Angela Dust, a word play on angel dust . He released several underground hits in
7701-569: The Sundanese and wayang kulit (leather shadow-puppet play) of the Javanese and Balinese —draw much of their repertoire from indigenized versions of the Ramayana and Mahabharata . These tales also provide source material for the wayang wong (human theatre) of Java and Bali , which uses actors. Some wayang golek performances, however, also present Muslim stories, called menak . Wayang
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#17327794838637852-559: The high-style , verbally elaborate tragedies of Seneca . Although Rome had a native tradition of performance, the Hellenization of Roman culture in the 3rd century BCE had a profound and energizing effect on Roman theatre and encouraged the development of Latin literature of the highest quality for the stage. The only surviving plays from the Roman Empire are ten dramas attributed to Lucius Annaeus Seneca (4 BCE–65 CE),
8003-516: The postcolonial theatre of August Wilson or Tomson Highway , and Augusto Boal 's Theatre of the Oppressed . Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance . The term comes from a Greek word meaning " action ", which is derived from the verb δράω, dráō , "to do" or "to act". The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience , presupposes collaborative modes of production and
8154-514: The satyr play —as well as lyric poetry , epic poetry , and the dithyramb ). He examines its "first principles" and identifies its genres and basic elements; his analysis of tragedy constitutes the core of the discussion. Aristotle argues that tragedy consists of six qualitative parts, which are (in order of importance) mythos or "plot", ethos or "character", dianoia or "thought", lexis or "diction", melos or "song", and opsis or "spectacle". "Although Aristotle's Poetics
8305-489: The seventh series of Celebrity Big Brother (to be broadcast on Channel 4). His request was denied. Richard Clayton QC, representing the Probation Service, stated that Boy George's participation would pose "a high level of risk" to the service's reputation. Clayton argued that public confidence in the criminal justice system could be undermined if George earned "a lucrative sum" of money and used his appearance on
8456-573: The specificity of theatre as synonymous expressions that differentiate theatre from the other performing arts , literature and the arts in general. A theatre company is an organisation that produces theatrical performances, as distinct from a theatre troupe (or acting company), which is a group of theatrical performers working together. Modern theatre includes performances of plays and musical theatre . The art forms of ballet and opera are also theatre and use many conventions such as acting , costumes and staging. They were influential in
8607-484: The well-made plays of Scribe and Sardou gave way to the problem plays of Naturalism and Realism ; the farces of Feydeau ; Wagner's operatic Gesamtkunstwerk ; musical theatre (including Gilbert and Sullivan 's operas); F. C. Burnand 's, W. S. Gilbert 's and Oscar Wilde 's drawing-room comedies; Symbolism ; proto- Expressionism in the late works of August Strindberg and Henrik Ibsen ; and Edwardian musical comedy . These trends continued through
8758-761: The "Isolation" limited edition 2-track CD single including the title track and a new "Spatial Awareness Meets the Boy Uptown Dub" mix of the track "Clouds". In 2021, he was a guest on the BBC's Paul Weller – Live at the Barbican , joining Paul Weller and conductor Jules Buckley for a version of The Style Council 's " You're the Best Thing ". In September 2021, he became a judge on the Irish talent show The Big Deal . In November 2022, Boy George appeared as
8909-465: The 1st century CE. It began after the development of Greek and Roman theatre and before the development of theatre in other parts of Asia. It emerged sometime between the 2nd century BCE and the 1st century CE and flourished between the 1st century CE and the 10th, which was a period of relative peace in the history of India during which hundreds of plays were written. The wealth of archeological evidence from earlier periods offers no indication of
9060-407: The 5th century BCE have survived. We have complete texts extant by Aeschylus , Sophocles , and Euripides . The origins of tragedy remain obscure, though by the 5th century BCE it was institutionalized in competitions ( agon ) held as part of festivities celebrating Dionysus (the god of wine and fertility ). As contestants in the City Dionysia's competition (the most prestigious of
9211-553: The Corduba-born Stoic philosopher and tutor of Nero. These tragedies are known for their philosophical themes, complex characters, and rhetorical style. While Seneca's plays provide valuable insights into Roman theater, they represent only a small fraction of the dramatic repertoire that existed in ancient Rome. The first form of Indian theatre was the Sanskrit theatre , earliest-surviving fragments of which date from
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#17327794838639362-422: The Culture Club album Don't Mind if I Do . From 2002 to 2004, under the pseudonym "The Twin", Boy George experimented in electronica , releasing limited-edition 7" singles and promo records. The limited releases included four 7" singles, one limited 12" single (for "Sanitised") and a promo CD, a 13-track album Yum Yum . Two years later, it was released via digital outlets such as iTunes . An album recorded in
9513-737: The Damned and Adam and the Ants ) and then guitarist Roy Hay . Originally they were named Sex Gang Children, but settled on the name Culture Club . Britain, home of the brave new world of pop, has kept lobbing them over. One need only look at the current charts, which are flecked with such dauntless new-music wunderkinds as Eurythmics and Madness, not to mention the unlikeliest pop scion of them all, by george: Boy George O'Dowd of Culture Club. —Anglomania: The Second British Invasion , by Parke Puterbaugh for Rolling Stone , November 1983. The band recorded demos that were paid for by EMI Records , but
9664-508: The Featherz . On 19 August 2013, it was announced Boy George would release his new studio album of original material, This Is What I Do , his first in 18 years. The album was written by Boy George and long-time writing partners John Themis , Kevan Frost and Richie Stevens. Stevens produced the record at London's Cowshed Studios and it was released by Kobalt Label Services . The album also features writing collaborations with Youth , and
9815-598: The French had a larger distinction between comedy and tragedy, whereas the English fudged the lines occasionally and put some comedic parts in their tragedies. Common forms of non-comedic plays were sentimental comedies as well as something that would later be called tragédie bourgeoise , or domestic tragedy —that is, the tragedy of common life—were more popular in England because they appealed more to English sensibilities. While theatre troupes were formerly often travelling,
9966-522: The Heart) ", " I'll Tumble 4 Ya ", " Church of the Poison Mind ", " Karma Chameleon ", " Victims ", " Miss Me Blind ", " It's a Miracle ", " The War Song ", " Move Away " and " I Just Wanna Be Loved ". Boy George was the lead singer of Jesus Loves You between 1989 and 1992 and still performs solo and with Culture Club, who have reformed twice since initially parting ways in 1986. He began his career as
10117-622: The Horne (2003). In 2008, the theatre was under new ownership and underwent refurbishment of the auditorium and bars and reopened in August with the new name of the Leicester Square Theatre . The opening season included American comedian Joan Rivers making her acting debut with her play Joan Rivers: A Work in Progress by a Life in Progress , which played a total of 75 performances to celebrate her birthday. A musical based on
10268-507: The Romans first experienced theatre in the 4th century BCE, with a performance by Etruscan actors . Beacham argues that they had been familiar with "pre-theatrical practices" for some time before that recorded contact. The theatre of ancient Rome was a thriving and diverse art form, ranging from festival performances of street theatre , nude dancing, and acrobatics , to the staging of Plautus 's broadly appealing situation comedies , to
10419-822: The Top 5 in the US. The band's third album, Waking Up with the House on Fire (UK No. 2, US No. 26), was not as big a hit as its predecessors internationally, but still achieved chart success. The first single, " The War Song ", was a No. 2 hit in the UK, but further singles performed below expectations. On 25 November 1984, Boy George provided a joint lead vocal role on the Band Aid charity single " Do They Know It's Christmas? " recorded at Sarm West Studios in Notting Hill , west London. He
10570-416: The UK was "No Clause 28 (Emilio Pasqez Space Face Full Remix)", a protest song against a legal provision (Section 28) introduced by Margaret Thatcher 's Conservative government that prohibited the "promotion" of homosexuality by local authorities such as schools. The song was an underground acid house hit. In accepting the award for Best British Group from Boy George at the 1989 Brit Awards held at
10721-448: The US. The following month, the band appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman and made an appearance in Britain, their first in 14 years. Later that year, the band hit the UK charts at No.4 with "I Just Wanna Be Loved" and later a top 25 hit with "Your Kisses are Charity". A new Culture Club album, Don't Mind If I Do , was released in 1999. In 2006, the band decided to again reunite and tour, but Boy George declined to join them. As
10872-516: The US. The single " Church of the Poison Mind " became a Top 10 hit, and " Karma Chameleon " was an international hit, peaking at No. 1 in 16 countries, and the top ten in additional countries. In the US it hit No. 1, where it stayed for three weeks. It was the best-selling single of 1983 in the United Kingdom , where it spent six weeks at No. 1 . "Victims" and "It's a Miracle" were further Top 5 UK hits, while "Miss Me Blind" reached
11023-820: The West between the 15th and 19th centuries, including commedia dell'arte from Italian theatre , and melodrama . The general trend was away from the poetic drama of the Greeks and the Renaissance and toward a more naturalistic prose style of dialogue, especially following the Industrial Revolution . Theatre took a big pause during 1642 and 1660 in England because of the Puritan Interregnum. The rising anti-theatrical sentiment among Puritans saw William Prynne write Histriomastix (1633),
11174-630: The Woods (1986), and The Phantom of the Opera (1986), as well as more contemporary hits including Rent (1994), The Lion King (1997), Wicked (2003), Hamilton (2015) and Frozen (2018). Musical theatre may be produced on an intimate scale Off-Broadway , in regional theatres , and elsewhere, but it often includes spectacle. For instance, Broadway and West End musicals often include lavish costumes and sets supported by multimillion-dollar budgets. Theatre productions that use humour as
11325-459: The album. In the mid-90s Notre Dame Hall hosted The Halloween Society's monthly events which featured short films, variety acts, live music and cabaret. In 2001, it was converted to a theatre and named The Venue . Productions at The Venue included the world premiere of the Boy George musical Taboo , which played a highly successful run in 2002 before transferring to Broadway ; and Round
11476-469: The audience through combinations of gesture , speech, song, music , and dance . It is the oldest form of drama , though live theatre has now been joined by modern recorded forms. Elements of art, such as painted scenery and stagecraft such as lighting are used to enhance the physicality, presence and immediacy of the experience. Places, normally buildings, where performances regularly take place are also called "theatres" (or "theaters"), as derived from
11627-587: The best known of which is Peking Opera which is still popular today. Xiangsheng is a certain traditional Chinese comedic performance in the forms of monologue or dialogue. In Indonesia , theatre performances have become an important part of local culture, theatre performances in Indonesia have been developed for thousands of years. Most of Indonesia's oldest theatre forms are linked directly to local literary traditions (oral and written). The prominent puppet theatres — wayang golek (wooden rod-puppet play) of
11778-735: The biggest androgynous stars in music, Boy George and Annie Lennox appeared on the cover of Smash Hits magazine in December 1983, followed by the cover of Newsweek magazine in January 1984. By the late 1980s, Boy George had been struggling with heroin addiction for several years. He attempted to perform concerts while under its influence. Addictions to other drugs soon followed. Determined to save Boy George's life, his younger brother David made an appearance on UK national television and discussed Boy George's drug habit, which Boy George had been publicly denying at that time. In 1986, Boy George
11929-462: The comic strip Alex , by Charles Peattie and Russell Taylor , starring Robert Bathurst , finished the year 2008. The theatre launched its New Comedian of the Year competition in 2009. This competition has seen many well-known acts come through to become finalists, including Rob Beckett , Rachel Parris , Dane Baptiste , Sofie Hagen , Tim Renkow , Joby Mageean, Bilal Zafar , and Tez Ilyas . It
12080-479: The competition, and its ninth season in 2020. Boy George did not return for the tenth season and was replaced by Jessica Mauboy . In October 2016, Boy George performed David Bowie's " Starman " – nine months after his idol's death from liver cancer – along with the National Health Service choir, as part of Channel 4 's Stand Up to Cancer UK programme. In 2017, Boy George participated in
12231-552: The concepts of dramatic criticism and theatre architecture. Actors were either amateur or at best semi-professional. The theatre of ancient Greece consisted of three types of drama : tragedy , comedy , and the satyr play . The origins of theatre in ancient Greece, according to Aristotle (384–322 BCE), the first theoretician of theatre, are to be found in the festivals that honoured Dionysus. The performances were given in semi-circular auditoria cut into hillsides, capable of seating 10,000–20,000 people. The stage consisted of
12382-471: The dealings of the pantheon of Gods and their involvement in human affairs, backed by the chorus of Satyrs . However, according to Webster , satyr actors did not always perform typical satyr actions and would break from the acting traditions assigned to the character type of a mythical forest creature. Western theatre developed and expanded considerably under the Romans . The Roman historian Livy wrote that
12533-433: The development of musical theatre . The city-state of Athens is where Western theatre originated. It was part of a broader culture of theatricality and performance in classical Greece that included festivals , religious rituals , politics , law , athletics and gymnastics, music , poetry , weddings, funerals, and symposia . Participation in the city-state's many festivals—and mandatory attendance at
12684-454: The dialogue ( melodrama and Japanese Nō , for example). In certain periods of history (the ancient Roman and modern Romantic ) some dramas have been written to be read rather than performed. In improvisation , the drama does not pre-exist the moment of performance; performers devise a dramatic script spontaneously before an audience. Music and theatre have had a close relationship since ancient times— Athenian tragedy , for example,
12835-470: The discs on the 2 volume in their new compilation series Fantazia The House Collection 2 . This compilation was a success in the UK, going gold. The album was also sold to Sony for European-wide release. London nightclub Ministry of Sound hired him to compile one of their first CDs, which sold 100,000 copies. He then completed some compilations for them, four of them being the Annual I to IV. George released
12986-519: The early 1990s: "After the Love", " Generations of Love " and " Bow Down Mister ", the last giving him a UK Top 30 hit in 1991. Inspired by his involvement in the Hare Krishna movement ( ISKCON ), Boy George had written the song during a trip to India. Another single, "One on One", featured a remix by Massive Attack . From March 1990 to April 1991, Boy George presented a weekly chat and music show on
13137-484: The elements of theatre, the Treatise gives most attention to acting ( abhinaya ), which consists of two styles: realistic ( lokadharmi ) and conventional ( natyadharmi ), though the major focus is on the latter. Its drama is regarded as the highest achievement of Sanskrit literature . It utilised stock characters , such as the hero ( nayaka ), heroine ( nayika ), or clown ( vidusaka ). Actors may have specialized in
13288-477: The entire epic of Ramayana . The powerful Indian emperor Harsha (606–648) is credited with having written three plays: the comedy Ratnavali , Priyadarsika , and the Buddhist drama Nagananda . The Tang dynasty is sometimes known as "The Age of 1000 Entertainments". During this era, Ming Huang formed an acting school known as The Pear Garden to produce a form of drama that was primarily musical. That
13439-481: The existence of a tradition of theatre. The ancient Vedas ( hymns from between 1500 and 1000 BCE that are among the earliest examples of literature in the world) contain no hint of it (although a small number are composed in a form of dialogue ) and the rituals of the Vedic period do not appear to have developed into theatre. The Mahābhāṣya by Patañjali contains the earliest reference to what may have been
13590-517: The festivals to stage drama) playwrights were required to present a tetralogy of plays (though the individual works were not necessarily connected by story or theme), which usually consisted of three tragedies and one satyr play. The performance of tragedies at the City Dionysia may have begun as early as 534 BCE; official records ( didaskaliai ) begin from 501 BCE, when the satyr play was introduced. Most Athenian tragedies dramatize events from Greek mythology , though The Persians —which stages
13741-517: The film Hiding Out . Tense Nervous Headache (1988) and Boyfriend (1989) would be his next two internationally released albums; however, these two albums would not be distributed in the US. Instead, Virgin Records selected several songs from each of these albums for a North American-only release called High Hat (1989). High Hat scored a US Top 5 R&B hit in "Don't Take My Mind on a Trip", produced by Teddy Riley . Boy George's next single in
13892-628: The first improvisation form. Popularized by 1997 Nobel Prize in Literature winner Dario Fo and troupes such as the Upright Citizens Brigade improvisational theatre continues to evolve with many different streams and philosophies. Keith Johnstone and Viola Spolin are recognized as the first teachers of improvisation in modern times, with Johnstone exploring improvisation as an alternative to scripted theatre and Spolin and her successors exploring improvisation principally as
14043-614: The group in 2018. The settlement required that Moss relinquish any and all rights to the Culture Club name and its use. Moss later filed bankruptcy proceedings against George and Craig, which were dismissed in June 2023. On 5 December 2008, Boy George was convicted in Snaresbrook Crown Court , London, of the April 2007 assault and false imprisonment of Audun Carlsen, a Norwegian model and male escort, who initially stood for
14194-541: The hit single " Move Away ". With Boy George's subsequent drug addiction, the underwhelming performance of their last two albums, a soured romance between band members shrouded in secrecy, and a wrongful death lawsuit looming, the group ultimately disbanded. In July 1998, a reunited Culture Club performed three dates in Monte Carlo and then joined the Human League and Howard Jones in a "Big Rewind" tour of
14345-675: The idea of the national theatre gained support in the 18th century, inspired by Ludvig Holberg . The major promoter of the idea of the national theatre in Germany, and also of the Sturm und Drang poets, was Abel Seyler , the owner of the Hamburgische Entreprise and the Seyler Theatre Company . Through the 19th century , the popular theatrical forms of Romanticism , melodrama , Victorian burlesque and
14496-409: The impact of Bolan and Bowie on him, Boy George said: They represented a kind of bohemian existence that I – at that point – could only imagine living. I loved the music. The first time I ever saw Marc Bolan really, properly was singing "Metal Guru" and just loved him. I don't think you can separate an artist from what they wear or what they sing – it's kind of the complete package. It's something which
14647-424: The label declined to sign them. Virgin Records expressed interest in signing the group in the UK for European releases, while Epic Records handled the US and North American distribution. They recorded their debut album, Kissing to Be Clever (UK No. 5, US No. 14), and it was released in 1982. The single " Do You Really Want to Hurt Me " became an international hit, reaching No. 1 in multiple countries around
14798-505: The last season of The New Celebrity Apprentice on NBC, in which he supported the charity Safe Kids Worldwide and came in second place. Also in 2017 he collaborated on Pitbull 's album Climate Change . In August 2017, Boy George signed a recording deal with BMG , reuniting him with his songwriting catalogue, as BMG had acquired the Virgin Records songwriters in 2012. In 2019, he joined Marc Almond and Chrissie Hynde as
14949-672: The late 19th and early 20th century . After the Edwardian musical comedy that began in the 1890s, the Princess Theatre musicals of the early 20th century, and comedies in the 1920s and 1930s (such as the works of Rodgers and Hammerstein ), with Oklahoma! (1943), musicals moved in a more dramatic direction. Famous musicals over the subsequent decades included My Fair Lady (1956), West Side Story (1957), The Fantasticks (1960), Hair (1967), A Chorus Line (1975), Les Misérables (1980), Cats (1981), Into
15100-466: The latter being a New Year's Eve concert. On 20 May 2014, it was announced on Culture Club's official Facebook page the band were back together. A new picture of the four members was also posted, along with a list of 11 concert dates through the UK. Alison Moyet would be a special guest at the concerts. The band were scheduled to perform dates in America in 2014 before the UK tour in December. The band
15251-464: The most complete work of dramaturgy in the ancient world. It addresses acting , dance , music , dramatic construction , architecture , costuming , make-up , props , the organisation of companies, the audience, competitions, and offers a mythological account of the origin of theatre. In doing so, it provides indications about the nature of actual theatrical practices. Sanskrit theatre was performed on sacred ground by priests who had been trained in
15402-471: The most notorious attack on theatre prior to the ban. Viewing theatre as sinful, the Puritans ordered the closure of London theatres in 1642 . On 24 January 1643, the actors protested against the ban by writing a pamphlet titled The Actors remonstrance or complaint for the silencing of their profession, and banishment from their severall play-houses . This stagnant period ended once Charles II came back to
15553-411: The necessary skills (dance, music, and recitation) in a [hereditary process]. Its aim was both to educate and to entertain. Under the patronage of royal courts, performers belonged to professional companies that were directed by a stage manager ( sutradhara ), who may also have acted. This task was thought of as being analogous to that of a puppeteer —the literal meaning of " sutradhara " is "holder of
15704-410: The necks to facilitate the use of multiple heads with one body. When the heads were not being used, they were stored in a muslin book or fabric-lined box. The heads were always removed at night. This was in keeping with the old superstition that if left intact, the puppets would come to life at night. Some puppeteers went so far as to store the heads in one book and the bodies in another, to further reduce
15855-437: The oldest surviving work of dramatic theory —his Poetics ( c. 335 BCE ). Athenian comedy is conventionally divided into three periods, "Old Comedy", "Middle Comedy", and "New Comedy". Old Comedy survives today largely in the form of the eleven surviving plays of Aristophanes , while Middle Comedy is largely lost (preserved only in relatively short fragments in authors such as Athenaeus of Naucratis ). New Comedy
16006-582: The possibility of reanimating puppets. Shadow puppetry is said to have reached its highest point of artistic development in the eleventh century before becoming a tool of the government. In the Song dynasty , there were many popular plays involving acrobatics and music. These developed in the Yuan dynasty into a more sophisticated form known as zaju , with a four- or five-act structure. Yuan drama spread across China and diversified into numerous regional forms, one of
16157-524: The rebuild of the adjacent Notre Dame de France church, and the hall was used as a French cultural centre for a time. It became a popular music venue in the 1960s under the name Cavern in the Town , regularly hosting beat music group The Small Faces . It was renamed Notre Dame Hall in the 1970s and presented The Rolling Stones and The Who , but specialised in punk music , hosting such acts as The Sex Pistols . In 1979, The Clash previewed material from London Calling here shortly before recording
16308-443: The remainder of the Puritans and very religious of the time. The main question was if seeing something immoral on stage affects behaviour in the lives of those who watch it, a controversy that is still playing out today. The seventeenth century had also introduced women to the stage, which was considered inappropriate earlier. These women were regarded as celebrities (also a newer concept, thanks to ideas on individualism that arose in
16459-552: The rock-driven album Cheapness and Beauty in 1995. The single "Same Thing in Reverse" became a minor US hit. The Unrecoupable One Man Bandit – Volume One was the next album release, first being sold on the internet only, then distributed by independent labels. On some other labels, several dance-oriented songs were released in various countries. For example, " Love Is Leaving " went Top 3 in Italy and "When Will You Learn" reached
16610-458: The same themes. Take It Like a Man was a best-seller in the UK. In 2005, Century published Straight , his second autobiography, this time co-written with author Paul Gorman . It was on The Sunday Times best-seller list for six weeks. Straight begins where Take It Like a Man had ended, though the two works are different in style, due to their different co-authors. All chapters in the 2005 book are titled, while chapters are only numbered in
16761-422: The satyr play eventually found its way to Athens in its most well-known form. Satyr's themselves were tied to the god Dionysus as his loyal woodland companions, often engaging in drunken revelry and mischief at his side. The satyr play itself was classified as tragicomedy, erring on the side of the more modern burlesque traditions of the early twentieth century. The plotlines of the plays were typically concerned with
16912-460: The scale of poetry in general (where the tragic divides against epic and lyric ) or at the scale of the drama (where tragedy is opposed to comedy ). In the modern era, tragedy has also been defined against drama, melodrama , the tragicomic , and epic theatre . Improvisation has been a consistent feature of theatre, with the Commedia dell'arte in the sixteenth century being recognized as
17063-498: The second of five children born to builder Jerry O'Dowd (born Jeremiah; 1932–2004) and Dinah O'Dowd (born Christina Glynn; 1939–2023 ). He was raised in a working-class Irish Catholic family; his father was born in England of Irish descent and his mother was from Dublin . He has one older brother, two younger brothers and a younger sister. He also has an older half-brother, who was born out of wedlock in Dublin in 1957 when his mother
17214-561: The second volume of his autobiography. On his "More Protein" website, he also announced another album, also named Straight , for mid-2005. The album was never released but a four-track sampler was released along with a book titled Straight . A reggaeton-oriented EP was also planned for August 2006 but was never released. Some recent tracks were shared by Boy George himself in late 2006 and early 2007 on his YouTube account, his three Myspace pages and sometimes on his official site. In January 2007, Boy George released "Time Machine" on Plan A Records,
17365-452: The seeds of Sanskrit drama. This treatise on grammar from 140 BCE provides a feasible date for the beginnings of theatre in India . The major source of evidence for Sanskrit theatre is A Treatise on Theatre ( Nātyaśāstra ), a compendium whose date of composition is uncertain (estimates range from 200 BCE to 200 CE) and whose authorship is attributed to Bharata Muni . The Treatise is
17516-475: The show to promote his status as a celebrity. In 2014, Boy George suffered from a haemorrhaged polyp on his vocal cords, resulting in the cancellation of a Culture Club reunion tour. Several dates in Canada, the UK and the US were cancelled. Following months of resting his voice, spending some days in total silence, giving up coffee, and practicing vocal exercises, George recovered without needing surgery and
17667-627: The song were donated to feed famine victims in Africa during the 1984–1985 famine in Ethiopia . Unlike many of the bands featured on the single, Culture Club did not perform at Live Aid in July 1985. In 1986, Boy George performed a guest-starring cameo role in an episode of the television series The A-Team titled "CowBoy George". Also in 1986, Culture Club released their fourth album, From Luxury to Heartache (UK No. 10, US No. 32), which featured
17818-557: The song with Boy George. It was written during the song writing sessions for his album This Is What I Do released in October 2013. It has been remixed by the likes of Marc Vedo and Kinky Roland. The artist listed for the song is Dharma Protocol featuring Boy George. A video was released on YouTube shot and directed by Boy George, though he did not appear in the video. It was set on the Epping Ongar Railway and starred Danie Cox, lead singer and guitarist of London-based band
17969-596: The spoken parts were written in the Attic dialect whereas the choral (recited or sung) ones in the Doric dialect , these discrepancies reflecting the differing religious origins and poetic metres of the parts that were fused into a new entity, the theatrical drama . Tragedy refers to a specific tradition of drama that has played a unique and important role historically in the self-definition of Western civilisation . That tradition has been multiple and discontinuous, yet
18120-551: The spring of 2003 was also shelved. During 2003, Boy George presented a weekly show on London radio station LBC 97.3 for six months. He wrote the foreword for a feng shui book called Practical Feng Shui by Simon G. Brown (published in 1998). He also appeared as a guest on the British comedy-talk show The Kumars at No. 42 . In March 2005 he was the guest host for an episode of The Friday Night Project , for Channel 4 television. In 2005, Boy George released Straight ,
18271-461: The strings or threads". The performers were trained rigorously in vocal and physical technique. There were no prohibitions against female performers; companies were all-male, all-female, and of mixed gender. Certain sentiments were considered inappropriate for men to enact, however, and were thought better suited to women. Some performers played characters their own age, while others played ages different from their own (whether younger or older). Of all
18422-568: The term has often been used to invoke a powerful effect of cultural identity and historical continuity—"the Greeks and the Elizabethans , in one cultural form; Hellenes and Christians , in a common activity", as Raymond Williams puts it. From its obscure origins in the theatres of Athens 2,500 years ago, from which there survives only a fraction of the work of Aeschylus , Sophocles and Euripides , through its singular articulations in
18573-459: The theatrical culture of the city-state. Having emerged sometime during the 6th century BCE, it flowered during the 5th century BCE (from the end of which it began to spread throughout the Greek world), and continued to be popular until the beginning of the Hellenistic period . No tragedies from the 6th century BCE and only 32 of the more than a thousand that were performed in during
18724-721: The throne in 1660 in the Restoration . Theatre (among other arts) exploded, with influence from French culture, since Charles had been exiled in France in the years previous to his reign. In 1660, two companies were licensed to perform, the Duke's Company and the King's Company . Performances were held in converted buildings, such as Lisle's Tennis Court . The first West End theatre , known as Theatre Royal in Covent Garden , London,
18875-532: The time because of his use of floor space and scenery. Because of the turmoil before this time, there was still some controversy about what should and should not be put on the stage. Jeremy Collier , a preacher, was one of the heads in this movement through his piece A Short View of the Immorality and Profaneness of the English Stage . The beliefs in this paper were mainly held by non-theatre goers and
19026-399: The top of his head. He has a tattoo of David Bowie on his right arm and one of Marc Bolan on his left. Boy George said in 2013 he was "quite drunk" when his head was shaved and tattooed. He said when he stopped drinking alcohol he lost the desire to have further tattoos on his head, finding it "too painful". In the 1980s, much was made of Boy George's androgynous appearance, and there
19177-612: The top position in the Swiss charts. "When Will You Learn" was also nominated for the Best Dance Recording, at the Grammy Awards . In 1999, Boy George collaborated on songs with dance-oriented acts. For example, "Why Go?", a slow-paced track with Faithless , from their Sunday 8pm LP, was later released in a remixed form in some European countries and Australia. A track was done with Groove Armada , named "Innocence
19328-429: The type of play performed by the puppets. Both styles generally performed plays depicting great adventure and fantasy, rarely was this very stylized form of theatre used for political propaganda. Japanese forms of Kabuki , Nō , and Kyōgen developed in the 17th century CE. Cantonese shadow puppets were the larger of the two. They were built using thick leather which created more substantial shadows. Symbolic colour
19479-410: The venue include Bill Bailey , Frank Skinner , Frankie Boyle , Henning Wehn , Richard Herring , Stacey Kent , and Stewart Lee . Richard Herring records his live podcast here, titled, Richard Herring's Leicester Square Theatre Podcast , featuring well-known comedians, actors and musicians. The theatre has a long-standing relationship with the children's theatre show Stick Man , which has been
19630-519: The wake of Renaissance Humanism ), but on the other hand, it was still very new and revolutionary that they were on the stage, and some said they were unladylike, and looked down on them. Charles II did not like young men playing the parts of young women, so he asked that women play their own parts. Because women were allowed on the stage, playwrights had more leeway with plot twists, like women dressing as men, and having narrow escapes from morally sticky situations as forms of comedy. Comedies were full of
19781-475: The works of Shakespeare , Lope de Vega , Racine , and Schiller , to the more recent naturalistic tragedy of Strindberg , Beckett's modernist meditations on death, loss and suffering, and Müller's postmodernist reworkings of the tragic canon, tragedy has remained an important site of cultural experimentation, negotiation, struggle, and change. In the wake of Aristotle's Poetics (335 BCE), tragedy has been used to make genre distinctions, whether at
19932-493: The world, plus top ten in several more countries (US No. 2). This was followed by the Top 5 hit " Time " in the US and UK, and "I'll Tumble 4 Ya" which reached US No. 9. This gave Culture Club the distinction of being the first group since the Beatles to have three Top 10 hits in the US from a debut album. Their next album, Colour By Numbers , was an enormous success, topping the UK charts and reaching No. 2 in
20083-540: The young and very much in vogue, with the storyline following their love lives: commonly a young roguish hero professing his love to the chaste and free minded heroine near the end of the play, much like Sheridan's The School for Scandal . Many of the comedies were fashioned after the French tradition, mainly Molière, again hailing back to the French influence brought back by the King and the Royals after their exile. Molière
20234-422: Was 18; she moved to London with him to start a new life and escape the stigma of being an unmarried mother. Boy George has compared his family history to a "sad Irish song." His maternal grandmother was permanently taken from her family at age six after being found outside the family home alone, and placed into an Industrial School . His great uncle Thomas Bryan was executed at Mountjoy Prison in 1921 during
20385-595: Was a follower of the New Romantic movement, which was popular in the UK in the early 1980s. He lived in various squats around Warren Street in Central London . He and his friend Marilyn were regulars at Blitz , a London nightclub run by Steve Strange and Rusty Egan . The pop artists that inspired him were Siouxsie and the Banshees , Roxy Music , Patti Smith , and the two major glam rock pioneers, David Bowie , and T. Rex frontman Marc Bolan . On
20536-457: Was a form of dance - drama that employed a chorus whose parts were sung (to the accompaniment of an aulos —an instrument comparable to the modern oboe ), as were some of the actors' responses and their 'solo songs' ( monodies ). Modern musical theatre is a form of theatre that also combines music, spoken dialogue, and dance. It emerged from comic opera (especially Gilbert and Sullivan ), variety , vaudeville , and music hall genres of
20687-630: Was also cancelled. After the dissolution of Culture Club in 1986, Boy George entered treatment and was prescribed narcotics to treat his addiction to heroin. In 1987, Boy George released his first solo album, Sold , which garnered success in Europe. It spawned the UK singles "Everything I Own" (UK No. 1), "Keep Me in Mind" (UK No. 29), "To Be Reborn" (UK No. 13), and the title song, "Sold" (UK No. 24). The singles were also hits in various other European countries. The album's success, however,
20838-440: Was also very prevalent; a black face represented honesty, a red one bravery. The rods used to control Cantonese puppets were attached perpendicular to the puppets' heads. Thus, they were not seen by the audience when the shadow was created. Pekingese puppets were more delicate and smaller. They were created out of thin, translucent leather (usually taken from the belly of a donkey). They were painted with vibrant paints, thus they cast
20989-527: Was arrested for heroin possession as part of "Operation Culture". In 1986, keyboardist Michael Rudetsky, who co-wrote the song "Sexuality" on Culture Club's From Luxury to Heartache album, was found dead of a heroin overdose in Boy George's London home. Boy George's friend Mark Vaultier died after an overdose of methadone and Valium at a party. In December 1986, another friend, Mark Golding, died of an overdose, with Scotland Yard police stating there
21140-472: Was arrested in Manhattan on suspicion of cocaine possession and falsely reporting a burglary. Boy George denied that the drugs were his. In court on 1 February 2006, the cocaine possession charge was dropped and Boy George pleaded guilty to falsely reporting a burglary. He was sentenced to five days of community service, fined US$ 1,000 and ordered to attend a drug rehabilitation programme. On 17 June 2006,
21291-574: Was designed by Thomas Killigrew and built on the site of the present Theatre Royal, Drury Lane . One of the big changes was the new theatre house. Instead of the type of the Elizabethan era, such as the Globe Theatre , round with no place for the actors to prepare for the next act and with no "theatre manners", the theatre house became transformed into a place of refinement, with a stage in front and stadium seating facing it. Since seating
21442-492: Was highly successful in London's West End , running for two years and receiving four Laurence Olivier Award nominations, though a heavily altered US production produced by Rosie O'Donnell in New York City was short-lived, running for 100 performances. In 2002, Boy George released U Can Never B2 Straight , an "unplugged" collection of rare and lesser-known acoustic works. It contained unreleased tracks from previous years as well as some ballads from Cheapness and Beauty and
21593-565: Was initially incarcerated at HM Prison Pentonville in London, but was then transferred to HM Prison Highpoint North in Suffolk. He was given early release after four months on 11 May 2009. He was required to wear an ankle monitor and submit to a curfew for the remainder of his sentence. In December 2009, while still on licensed release from prison, Boy George made a request to the Probation Service that he be allowed to appear on
21744-422: Was no longer all the way around the stage, it became prioritized—some seats were obviously better than others. The king would have the best seat in the house: the very middle of the theatre, which got the widest view of the stage as well as the best way to see the point of view and vanishing point that the stage was constructed around. Philippe Jacques de Loutherbourg was one of the most influential set designers of
21895-603: Was no suggestion of foul play. During this period Boy George decided to seek treatment for his addiction. In 1995, Kirk Brandon sued Boy George for libel, claiming that Boy George mentioned a love affair between them in Boy George's autobiography, Take It Like a Man . Boy George won the court case and Brandon was ordered to pay £ 200,000 to Virgin Records , EMI Virgin Music and the book publisher in costs. Brandon declared himself bankrupt, which resulted in Boy George paying over £20,000 in legal fees. On 7 October 2005, Boy George
22046-469: Was not duplicated in America. This may have been due in part to the fact that Boy George was prohibited by US authorities from travelling to the United States for several years because of his British drug charges. He was therefore unable to be in America to help promote the album. Boy George did score his first solo US Top 40 hit with the single "Live My Life" (US No. 40) from the soundtrack to
22197-516: Was one of the top comedic playwrights of the time, revolutionizing the way comedy was written and performed by combining Italian commedia dell'arte and neoclassical French comedy to create some of the longest lasting and most influential satiric comedies. Tragedies were similarly victorious in their sense of righting political power, especially poignant because of the recent Restoration of the Crown. They were also imitations of French tragedy, although
22348-551: Was scheduled to tour New Zealand in 2016. Tickets were sold for performances in Christchurch and Auckland . In November 2016, in a pre-tour interview on TVNZ , Boy George walked out after the interviewer asked him about his 2009 criminal conviction. The band then cancelled its Christchurch performance, saying it was due to changes in its international touring schedule. Later in November, the December performance in Auckland
22499-486: Was speculation about his sexuality. When asked by Joan Rivers in an interview on her show in 1983, "Do you prefer men or women?", Boy George replied, "Oh both." In 1985, when asked by Barbara Walters about his sexual orientation , Boy George said he was bisexual and had various girlfriends and boyfriends, in the past. He gave a famous, oft-quoted response to interviewer Russell Harty that he preferred "a nice cup of tea" to sex. In his 1995 autobiography Take It Like
22650-405: Was surprised that his vocal range had become an octave lower than before, which he described as a "kind of rich tenor " and suitable for singing "a little bit of rock." HarperCollins published Boy George's first autobiography, Take It Like a Man , in 1995, co-written with Spencer Bright. Both the book and his solo album, Cheapness and Beauty , were released simultaneously and dealt with
22801-417: Was the last solo artist to deliver his lines, at 6 pm, having just arrived in the studio from Heathrow Airport after a Concorde transatlantic flight. The song featured mostly British and Irish musical acts, with Boy George the second singer to feature after Paul Young sings the opening lines. It became Christmas number one and the best-selling single of 1984 in the United Kingdom . Proceeds from
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