... You could call Nell Gwyn the most famous actress of all time. Or the most notorious. She was certainly not the best, though in the mid-17th century she was one of the most popular. In these days we would probably call her a comedienne, for although she occasionally played a senous role, it was her humour and personality that drew the town. But then, of course, most people today think of her ...

... Introduction to great movers and shakers COMPILED BY PETER HEPPLE For many years I have had a poster print of Loie Fuller on my study wall, though I was never certain who she actually was, except for being a dancer. She was in fact a pioneer of interpretive dance even if she was not really a trained dancer, and was aisu one or me nrsx 10 realise me possibilities of stage lighting. Watching ...

... Instructive acting account COMPILED By PETER HEPPLE It is human nature, I suppose, to speculate more about the private lives of actors than about how they entered the profession and go about preparing for a role. In the Company of Actors, by Carole Zucker (A&C Black, £12.99 paperback), does, however, fulfil an excellent service for those who are serious about becoming actors. Sixteen of ...

... Stormy chronicle of high offstage drama Compiled By Peter Hepple As the English Stage Company settles down in its new auditorium, with restaurant attached, it is as well to be reminded of its bumpy ride over the last 44 years. It was in 1956, five years after the idea of a theatre dedicated to new writing was first mooted, that the Royal Court reopened with Angus Wilson's play The Mulberry ...

... TV insider's fascinating story COMPILED BY PETER HEPPLE you will nave to pay a high price to read Peter Graham Scott's British Television (McFarland, £33.75) but this is because, surprisingly, no British publisher has taken up this exceptionally interesting insider's history. There have been previous histories of television in this country before, of course, and many books about television ...

... Jumping on the big band wagon COMPILED BY PETER HEPPLE There was a time, at the end of the Second World War, when Harry James represented everything that was exciting about America. Here was a good-looking young man, clutching a shiny trumpet which he played with power, sweetness and phenomenal technique, fronting a huge orchestra in a series of Technicolor movies. On top of all this he was ...

... Never forget Novello Although they were friends, Ivor Novello has in recent years been overshadowed by Noel Coward, at one time thought to be his great rival. Yet apart from the fact that they were both homosexuals, they did not have much in common. Coward was an international figure, equally at home on Broadway as in the West End. Novello, although he had his early successes in the States, ...

... Gielgud salutes suit the legend COMPILED BY PETER HEPPLE Inevitably, we are in for a spate of books about John Gielgud, with Sheridan Morley's authorised biography due in the spring and others doubtless in the pipeline. First off the mark since Gielgud's death, however, is Gielgud: A Theatrical Life 1904 2000 (Methuen, £20), written by Jonathan Croall, formerly a pub lisher, now a full-time ...

... Culture vulture who triumphed COMPILED BY PETER HEPPLE Whatever you might think about John Drummond, and he has many detractors, no one should doubt his commitment to the arts. And reading his riveting autobiography, Tainted By Experience: A life In the Arts (Faber and Faber, £25), one does speculate to an extent about whether an interest in the arts can be taught or whether, as in his case ...

... Melly--one of the naughtiest COMPILED BY PETER HEPPLE At £5.99 the three autobiographical volumes which constitute Owning Up (Penguin Books, paperback) must be the publishing bargain of the year. They are, of course, by George Melly, now considered something of a national treasure and still performing several nights a week at the age of 74. But one has to say that in his youth, the period ...

... Academic look at gay theatre COMPLIED By PETER HEPPLE It is no secret that a measurable proportion of those working in theatre, whether as writers, actors, producers or directors, are gay. But it is only during the last 20 years that we have seen the rise of what is called gay theatre- plays and shows written and performed by gays primarily for gay audiences. For some, this may be regret ...

... Oscar's out on show Compiled By Peter Hepple Robert Tanitch, who compiled Oscar wade on Stags and Screen (Metftuen, £18.99), might well have thought that he had set himself a relatively straightforward task. In the upshot, however, he has filled 436 pages with details, not only of screen ana television proauciions of Wildes plays, but of all the other productions that have been based on his ...