Lines in Defence of the Stage
Good people of high and low degree,
I pray ye all be advised by me,
And don't believe what the clergy doth say,
That by going to the theatre you will be led astray.
No, in the theatre we see vice punished and virtue rewarded,
The villain either hanged or shot, and his career retarded;
Therefore the theatre is useful in every way,
And has no inducement to lead the people astray.
Because therein we see the end of the bad men,
Which must appall the audience - deny it who can
Which will help to retard them from going astray,
While witnessing in a theatre a moral play.
The theatre ought to be encouraged in every respect,
Because example is better than precept,
And is bound to have a greater effect
On the minds of theatre-goers in every respect.
Sometimes in theatres, guilty creatures there have been
Struck to the soul by the cunning of the scene;
By witnessing a play wherein murder is enacted,
They were proven to be murderers, they felt so distracted,
And left the theatre, they felt so much fear,
Such has been the case, so says Shakespeare.
And such is my opinion, I will venture to say,
That murderers will quake with fear on seeing murder in a play.
Hamlet discovered his father's murderer by a play
That he composed for the purpose, without dismay,
And the king, his uncle, couldn't endure to see that play,
And he withdrew from the scene without delay.
And by that play the murder was found out,
And clearly proven, without any doubt;
Therefore, stage representation has a greater effect
On the minds of the people than religious precept.
We see in Shakespeare's tragedy of Othello, which is sublime,
Cassio losing his lieutenancy through drinking wine;
And, in delirium and grief, he exclaims -
"Oh, that men should put an enemy in their mouths to steal away their brains!"
A young man in London went to the theatre one night
To see the play of George Barnwell, and he got a great fright;
He saw George Barnwell murder his uncle in the play,
And he had resolved to murder his uncle, but was stricken with dismay.
But when he saw George Barnwell was to be hung
The dread of murdering his uncle tenaciously to him clung,
That he couldn't murder and rob his uncle dear,
Because the play he saw enacted filled his heart with fear.
And, in conclusion, I will say without dismay,
Visit the theatre without delay,
Because the theatre is a school of morality,
And hasn't the least tendency to lead to prodigality.
poem by William Topaz McGonagall
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Related quotes
Theatre Of The Absurd
(ian hunter)
My tea turned seven shades darker
As I sit n write these words
And londons gettin paler
In my theatre of the absurd.
You figured for an evening
And you made it all worthwile.
Its seldom people have a job
And even rarer that I smile.
Play me some, play me some,
Play me brixton power.
Teach your children to be them
And never ever ours.
Play me some, play me some,
Play me brixton power.
Someone took the park away
But they left a lonely flower.
And if your songs be classics,
Throw them to the hurd.
Truth is where they came from
And not this theatre of the absurd.
Some say you wanted to play for me
But its only what youve heard
That made you want to capture me
In your theatre of the absurd.
It was not me, I said myself
And you must do so, too.
I hope you have the strength to stay
When Ill be watchin you.
So baby,
Play me some, play me some,
Play me brixton power.
Teach your children to be them
And never ever ours.
Play me some, play me some,
Play me brixton power.
Someone took the park away
But they left a lonely flower.
Oh when I got here back home tonight
Something within me stirred.
Oh it must have been a different kind of play
That touched my theatre of the absurd.
Now Ill be on my way alone
But an interesting thing occurred
See nobody ever shared too much
In my theatre of the absurd.
And there I was back in london,
Thought about history.
It was just like being in school again
But I felt something movin in me.
Hearin just a bit of the future,
Oh its comin and its still blurred
And thats the only thing worth living for
In my theatre of the absurd.
Come on,
Play me some, play me some,
Play me brixton power.
Teach your children to be them
And never ever ours.
Oh play me some, play me some,
Play me brixton power.
Someone took the park away
But they left a lonely flower.
(beautiful)
Play me some, play me some,
Play me brixton power.
Play me some, play me some,
Play me brixton power.
(john, come on)
Play me some, play me some,
Play me brixton power.
Oh, play me some, (come on, eric) play me some,
Play me brixton power.
Oh, play me some, play me some,
Play me brixton power.
...
song performed by by Ian Hunter
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Theatre is expensive to go to. I certainly felt when I was growing up that theatre wasn't for us. Theatre still has that stigma to it. A lot of people feel intimidated and underrepresented in theatre.
quote by Christopher Eccleston
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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I've done a lot of costume drama and theatre - the National Theatre and In fact, most of my work at the theatre, at the National Theatre anyway, was period.
quote by Brenda Blethyn
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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On the one hand, young theatre directors were coming to television theatre, because they wanted to get closer to the cinema, despite having studied and worked for the theatre.
quote by Andrzej Wajda
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Plays
ALAS, how soon the hours are over
Counted us out to play the lover!
And how much narrower is the stage
Allotted us to play the sage!
But when we play the fool, how wide
The theatre expands! beside,
How long the audience sits before us!
How many prompters! what a chorus!
poem by Walter Savage Landor
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Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre
It was a mystery right from the first
A murder had occurred you understand
It happened right in the Bissell mansion
A sight that is beautiful and grand
Everyone looked at one another
For who was the one to suspect?
Was he or she right beside us?
Nervousness was what we started to get
We ate our four-course dinner together
As though nothing had gone astray
The food was truly exceptional
And we didn’t have a single delay
But someone had killed our hero, Andy
And it couldn’t just be dismissed
Oh yes, we all loved this wonderful sheriff
He would definitely be forever missed
You want a little excitement, folks?
And blend right in with the plot
A murder mystery dinner theatre
Entertainment that we enjoyed a lot!
poem by Marilyn Lott
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There's something about doing theatre in London - it sinks a little bit deeper into your soul as an actor. It's something about the tradition of theatre, about performing on the West End stage.
quote by Christian Slater
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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First Encounter - Xavier Lopez Ancona (kidzania founder)
no children
the man who makes games
for children
two bachelors trying
to get the best
out of life
life a theatre
everybody has to
play a part
Xavier's favourite haunt
Kidzania's
children theatre
poem by John Tiong Chunghoo
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First Encounter - Faridah Merican
faridah merican
her home is where
the theatre is
never liking what some
politicians do to
nation and her brood (people of Malaysia)
premier love
the english language
then theatre that lets it sparkle
every cell comes alive
in the world of dance
and performances
does not want malaysians
to be shortchanged
by crafty politicians
first met at her new theatre in Sentul in mid 2000.
poem by John Tiong Chunghoo
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Theatre Of The Soul
On a cold night in a hotel in new orleans
Came the final blow
And somehow somewhere we lost sight
In our search for that pot of gold
And all that happened I dont understand
Could somebody here, somebody please explain to me
Cause Im feeling so damn deceived
And I cant run, cant hide, cant get nothing right lately
Theatre of my soul....play on child
Ashes to ashes...light the good lord lays us down
Dust to dust, oh, no
The time has come to lay to rest the years
All the years it took this heart to trust
Maybe too much too soon, I couldnt get my head on straight
All that worry, just wasted time
And now its much too late to save it
Long forgotten midnight dancer
Plays her final role
The curtain falls and Im still standing
Theatre of my soul you left in vain
Could someone please explain, and I said
Solo
I know that nothings the same
Riding blind on the winds of change
But in my head that scene just keeps on playing
Long forgotten midnight dancer
Plays her final role, oh, yes she does
Cant run, cant hide, cant get nothing right lately
The curtain falls and Im still standing
In the theatre of my soul
Cant run, cant hide, cant get nothing right lately
When time it just keeps on passing,
I got to let it go, let it roll, let it roll, let it roll
Cant run, cant hide, cant get nothing right lately
I keep searching for those long lost answers
In the theatre of my soul
Theatre of my soul
song performed by by Poison
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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I love the theatre and theatre people.
quote by Cyril Cusack
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Rather than disliking theatre, I've expressed a preference for television because it tends to deal in its small way much more with issues and is able to reach a broader church of people than theatre.
quote by Christopher Eccleston
Submitted by Veronica Serbanoiu
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I've gotten to go wonderful places, meet interesting and intelligent people, and I started of course in the theatre and continue to work in the theatre where there is some intelligence involved in it.
quote by Jeffrey Jones
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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I am musical and I enjoy theatre, but I never wanted to just do theatre. I always wanted to go into film. I love film. I loved growing up in the theatre, but I always wanted to do film all along. But, I still pursue music separately.
quote by Sabrina Lloyd
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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We talk about theatre museums filled with old costumes and things. What we also need is a theatre museum of the old routines on videotape. We are only the custodians of those techniques, and they should be preserved.
The difficulty of writing a good theatre play set in new reality was even greater given that the level of similitude to life that is allowed in a film would not work on the stage.
quote by Andrei Waida
Submitted by Veronica Serbanoiu
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Knife
Slit and
Slither knife
Penetrate in phallic push
To perforate the pulse of tissues in the flesh
Slice a vein to drain the unsuspecting victim
E’er they bleed and plea
Their scream
Of death
Copyright © Mark R Slaughter 2010
murder
murder murder
murder murder
murder murder murder murder murder murder
murder murder murder murder murder murder murder
murder murder murder murder murder murder
murder murder
murder murder
murder
poem by Mark R Slaughter
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I'n School
In school:
I was told to sit down and shut up.
I should just shut up and
be quiet
In school I could learn
And I learned
and I faced the master
I learned about the play,
the theatre,
but this was no school of drama
So I lied
I lied about my friends,
the theatre, the girl
and I ran away
I ran away from the master
And I was the master
but I cried when I left
I was told to sit down and shut up
and I left that school because I didn't fight.
I just got up
and left,
quietly.
poem by Alex Ranedo klein
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I like the theatre because you paint with broad strokes. To me the theatre is stretching its definition really far.
quote by Ajay Naidu
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Television theatre, as is implied in its name, should rely on adaptations of scripts written for the theatre.
quote by Andrzej Wajda
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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