British culture©

 Theatre of the United Kingdom

From its formation in 1707, the United Kingdom has had a vibrant tradition of theatre, much of it inherited from England and Scotland. The West End is the main theatre district in the UK, which is located in the West End of London.^[15][16] The West End's Theatre Royal in Covent Garden in the City of Westminster dates back to the mid 17th century, making it the oldest London theatre.^[17]

In the 18th century, the highbrow and provocative Restoration comedy lost favour, to be replaced by sentimental comedy, domestic tragedy such as George Lillo's The London Merchant (1731), and by an overwhelming interest in Italian opera. Popular entertainment became more important in this period than ever before, with fair-booth burlesque and mixed forms that are the ancestors of the English music hall. These forms flourished at the expense of legitimate English drama, which went into a long period of decline. By the early 19th century it was no longer represented by stage plays at all, but by the closet drama, plays written to be privately read in a "closet" (a small domestic room).

In 1847, a critic using the pseudonym Dramaticus published a pamphlet^[18] describing the parlous state of British theatre. Production of serious plays was restricted to the patent theatres, and new plays were subjected to censorship by the Lord Chamberlain's Office. At the same time, there was a burgeoning theatre sector featuring a diet of low melodrama and musical burlesque; but critics described British theatre as driven by commercialism and a 'star' system.^[19]

The musicals of Andrew Lloyd Webber have dominated London's West End since the latter half of the 20th century.^[20]

A change came in the late 19th century with the plays on the London stage by the Irishmen George Bernard Shaw and Oscar Wilde, who influenced domestic English drama and vitalised it again. The Shakespeare Memorial Theatre was opened in Shakespeare's birthplace Stratford upon Avon in 1879; and Herbert Beerbohm Tree founded an Academy of Dramatic Art at Her Majesty's Theatre in 1904.^[21] Producer Richard D'Oyly Carte brought together librettist W. S. Gilbert and composer Arthur Sullivan, and nurtured their collaboration.^[22] Among Gilbert and Sullivan's best known comic operas are H.M.S. Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance and The Mikado.^[23] Carte built the West End's Savoy Theatre in 1881 to present their joint works, and through the inventor of electric light Sir Joseph Swan, the Savoy was the first theatre, and the first public building in the world, to be lit entirely by electricity.^[24][25]

Sadler's Wells, under Lilian Baylis, nurtured talent that led to the development of an opera company, which became the English National Opera (ENO), a theatre company, which evolved into the National Theatre, and a ballet company, which eventually became the English Royal Ballet.^[26]

The statue of Freddie Mercury above the West End's Dominion Theatre where Queen and Ben Elton's musical We Will Rock You has been performed since 2002.^[27]

Making his professional West End debut at the Garrick Theatre in 1911, flamboyant playwright, composer and actor Noël Coward had a career spanning over 50 years, in which he wrote many comic plays, and over a dozen musical theatre works.^[28] In July 1962, a board was set up to supervise construction of a National Theatre in London and a separate board was constituted to run a National Theatre Company and lease the Old Vic theatre. The Company was to remain at the Old Vic until 1976, when the new South Bank building was opened. A National Theatre of Scotland was set up in 2006. Today the West End of London has a large number of theatres, particularly centred around Shaftesbury Avenue. A prolific composer of musical theatre in the 20th century, Andrew Lloyd Webber has been referred to as "the most commercially successful composer in history".^[20] His musicals which include; The Phantom of the Opera, Cats, Jesus Christ Superstar and Evita, have dominated the West End for a number of years and have travelled to Broadway in New York and around the world as well as being turned into films. Lloyd Webber has worked with producer Sir Cameron Mackintosh, lyricist Sir Tim Rice, actress and singer Sarah Brightman, while his musicals originally starred Elaine Paige, who with continued success has become known as the First Lady of British Musical Theatre.^[29]

The Royal Shakespeare Company operates out of Stratford-upon-Avon, producing mainly but not exclusively Shakespeare's plays.^[30] Important modern playwrights include Nobel laureate Harold Pinter, Tom Stoppard, Alan Ayckbourn, John Osborne, Michael Frayn and Arnold Wesker.^[31][32]

Traditional  English Food

Open any guide book to the UK and you will see the same traditional dishes listed. They are generally relatively simple, hearty fare which in the past were chiefly notable for the freshness of their ingredients and marvellous "unprocessed" character. The best examples still are, but unfortunately (and especially in tourist areas) you may encounter sadly degenerate versions scarcely worthy of the name. Hold out for the good stuff, it's worth it!

Fish and Chips: Usually cod or haddock, although skate and plaice are often available. The fish is battered and deep-fried, and served with chips (french fries) and "mushy peas". You usually season it with salt and vinegar or lemon. The trick is to get fresh fish and not frozen, and your best chance is at the seaside resorts, an example of which is Whitby. Don't be scared to get a takeaway and eat it straight from the paper (it used to be newspaper) the traditional way - with your fingers!

Crk.01.ma

Roast Beef and Yorkshire Pudding: The traditional British Sunday lunch. Crispy on the outside, rarer inside, the beef comes with a rich gravy enhanced with its juices. Yorkshire pudding is made from a batter and was originally cooked in a tin under the rotating spit on which roast beef was cooking - the juices from the meat dripped on to it, giving a delicious flavour. Nowadays it's often cooked separately in individual portions. Roast potatoes and seasonal vegetables complete the dish, and horesradish sauce and fresh English mustard provide added spice.

Shepherd's Pie: Not many people, even in England, know the difference between Shepherd's Pie and Cottage Pie. The answer is that the former is made with minced lamb and the latter with minced beef. A popular pub meal, the savoury meat, often with carrots added, is baked with a covering of mashed potato until crisp.

Ploughman's Lunch: My favourite, especially when accompanied by a pint of beer! Nowadays it can be quite fancy, but the basic ingredients are a hunk of cheese (often Cheddar), crusty fresh bread, a pickled onion, Branston pickle, and some salad garnish. Pubs often offer pork pie, ham or pate instead of cheese.

Cornish Pastie: Another traditional pub staple, basically a dryish mixture of meat and potato and other vegetables baked in a folded-over pastry crust.

Steak and Kidney Pie: Chunks of beef and kidney in a rich, thick gravy baked in a pastry crust. If it's baked in a suet crust (less usual these days) it's called a steak and kidney pudding.

Cumberland Sausage: There are lots of regional sausages in the UK, but the Cumberland variety is the best known. Made in a coil, each butcher keeps his recipe as closely guarded as the ingredients for Coca Cola. Basically, it's a spicy pork sausage and is best roasted whole. Any sausages served with mashed potato are known as "bangers and mash".

Dover Sole: My dad's favourite fish and regarded by many as Britain's most desirable flat fish, it's certainly not cheap. Usually served grilled on the bone, it is a large fish whose white flesh has a firm texture with a delicate flavour. It's equivalent in the Far East is the Macau Sole, but the latter lacks the delicacy of the cold water variety.

Cheese: France may hold the blue riband for soft cheeses, but the UK's choice of hard cheeses is unmatched anywhere (though Spain is underrated). Served after dessert in Britain, the best quality cheeses are not inexpensive (although you can buy plenty of cheap versions in the supermarkets) but well worth seeking out. Blue and White Stilton, Cheddar, Red Leicester, Wensleydale, Sage Derby, Cornish Yarg, Double Gloucester, the list goes on and on. Accompany them with a fine port or tokay.

Sherry Trifle: One of the rare cases where in my view, the newer versions are better than the rather simple original. Nowadays it usually consists of sherry-soaked sponge covered with mixed fruit and jelly (jello in the US), all topped with a layer of whipped cream and decorated with glace cherries, angelica plus anything the cook has on hand. Delicious!

Strawberries and Cream:The most expensive strawberries and cream in the world are served at Wimbledon but you can enjoy them anywhere in the UK in the early (and these days throughout) summer. Raspberries are also popular later in the season, and I prefer their tarter flavour myself although they are less frequently offered.

Steamed Treacle Pudding, Spotted Dick: These puddings are not for wimps. These two puddings are really winter dishes, proper, solid (believe it) puddings that provide you with the calories to survive the privations of the English winter. Spotted Dick is a steamed, log-shaped suet pudding studded with currants and ideally served with treacle poured over it. Steamed Treacle Pudding is basically a steamed sponge pudding made with treacle that also has treacle poured over it when served. Calorie counting? Fuggedaboudit.