User talk:John Thaxter

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Welcome!

Hello, John Thaxter, and welcome to Wikipedia! Thank you for your contributions. I hope you like the place and decide to stay. Here are a few good links for newcomers:

I hope you enjoy editing here and being a Wikipedian! Please sign your name on talk pages using four tildes (~~~~); this will automatically produce your name and the date. If you need help, check out Wikipedia:Questions, ask me on my talk page, or place {{helpme}} on your talk page and someone will show up shortly to answer your questions. Again, welcome!  Joelito 20:25, 11 April 2006 (UTC)

Contents

[edit] National Theatre

I put back the inline reference to Peter Eyre's book because the issue of "Royal" and "not Royal" had stirred up such a fuss in the past – it needs a bit of specific authority, I think. While I was there I wikified the bibliography in accord (more or less) with WP:CITE. I hope that's ok. Moonraker88 17:51, 2 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] ====

Dear Joelito

Thanks for your welcome. But if you look at my contributions you will see I have been a busy Wikipedian for many months - almost a year - and have previously had one or two acknowledgements for my contributions.

As a critic for The Stage and a member of the Critics' Circle drama section, I am naturally mainly interested in the theatre. As a result I have created Scottish Drama Awards and Theatre Record articles, have amplified the London Critics' Circle Awards listings - although much more work is needed - and have, as you know, spent a lot of time dealing with the RNT article.

I am also a pen pal of Javier Marias (Spanish novelist, translator and journalist) and the wonderful, Leicester-based Margaret Jull Costa who translates from Spanish and Portuguese - they are both subjects of Wiki articles and their sterling work has properly figured in several of my updates, including the Kingdom of Redonda, Lisbon classic novelist Eca de Quierez, etc.

As to the National, I seriously doubt if we should make an issue of the "Royal" in the title. On the whole the less said the better, especially as they still use their original, brilliantly designed NT logo, and almost no-one in the trade bothers to add 'Royal' to NT reviews, listings or interviews.

Do tell me if I am 'talking' to you in the correct Wikipedia slot.

Must dash now. Best wishes, John Thaxter. 4 November 2006

[edit] Helen Mirren

I have noticed your edits to Helen Mirren of which I am really glad. But could you please source your information as it would benefit the article greatly. Many thanks. Eagle Owl 21:23, 14 April 2007 (UTC)


Dear Eagle Owl

Thanks, and I had already done so before reading your message. See SOURCES

I have now added the Critics' Circle 2006 Award which was presented to Mirren on Tuesday 10th April 2007 during a very lively luncheon party at the National Theatre!

Best wishes, John Thaxter

[edit] A helpful (hopefully) note

Hello John Thaxter. I just wanted to let you know that you do not have to type in your name in the edit summaries. When you save a page your name is automatically attached to your edit summary. See this for an example [1]. Now you are certainly free to type it in if you wish but I am letting you know that you don't have to so you can save a few keystrokes if you want.

The only place you do have to sign you name is when you leave a message on a discussion page and you can again save keystrokes by simply typing four tildes (~). Wikipedia's software will automatically put in your name and the time that you saved your message when you do this. Again this is only for things you put on discussion pages and not edits to the main articles.

I hope that this helps and I thank you for the stage performances that you are adding to the Helen Mirren pages. Cheers and happy editing. MarnetteD | Talk 23:15, 14 April 2007 (UTC)


Dear Marnette D Thanks and wilco. John Thaxter 10:00, 15 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] The Critics' Circle

Dear Eagle Owl (or other helpful party),

Can you please help?

I am a member of the Critics' Circle drama section. When users search Wikipedia, using our title Critics' Circle (note the apostrophe), they are redirected to a Wikipedia article about the London Critics Circle Film Section (note: no apostrophe), even though there is a perfectly good The Critics Circle article (but again with no apostrophe, and needing a little tidying up)! This makes no sense since the Circle is made up of five sections, at present: Dance, Drama, Film, Music, and Visual Arts & Architecture.

In the knowledge that I am a regular contributor to Wikipedia, at our last drama section meeting the secretary asked if I could sort out this confusion of Wiki headings, in particular removing the totally incorrect prefatory 'London' (e.g. as used in London Critics' Circle Theatre Awards). London is no part of our title and is quite misleading since perhaps 10 per cent of the Circle's membership lives and works outside London.


The problem is that at some time, someone (perhaps from the Film section and no doubt with the best of intentions - probably to separate us from e.g. the Miami Critics Circle) prefixed the Circle's title with the word 'London', at the same time deleting the apostrophe in the interests of simplicity.

I believe the Circle could now drop the apostrophe. But such a change would certainly be opposed by diehards who would see it as ungrammatical for an organisation owned and run by its members.

Is there anything we can do to resolve this naming problem, which at present makes access to articles a hit and miss affair (and too often a miss)? It has occurred to me that the simplest solution would be to introduce a disambiguation page, pointing users in the right direction — not just to the UK based Critics' Circle, but to Critics Circles world-wide (mostly wihout an apostrophe). This would save having to amend all the many articles based on the Critics' Circle's activities.

I doubt if I have the time or the skill to create such a page. Can someone help?

Best wishes, John Thaxter 14:30, 15 April 2007 (UTC)


It is strongly discouraged to write an article about clubs that you are in, for example, see soapbox, article three. Because of this rule, your article may be deleted). Real96 15:08, 15 April 2007 (UTC)


Dear Real96,

The Critics' Circle is not a club but a professional association of British critics of dance, drama, film, music, visual arts and architecture. It was established in 1913 as an offshoot of the Society of Dramatic Critics, which had been formed in 1907.

Apart from professional functions, its significance for Wikipedia users includes extensive lists of dance, film and theatre awards presented annually by three of the sections. These constitute a resource of major historical and research value.

Other Critics' Circles, following this UK pattern and our title, have been set up internationally, especially in the US, Canada and Australia. If you search on Critics Circle you will find listed many hundreds of Wikipedia articles relating to their history, functions and awards.

I would therefore suggest that you do not delete the - as it were - foundation stone of these many professional associations.

Best wishes.. John Thaxter 18:25, 15 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Photo uploading

Just seen your note on User:Josiah Rowe's talk page. He's busy with real-life stuff at the moment, so if he doesn't manage to get back to you I'm more than willing to help guide you through photo uploading, or alternatively to upload the image for you. Do drop me a line on my talk any time. Angmering 23:27, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

Hi John. Uploading a photo by no means obliges you to upload any more ever again, so even if you don't see yourself regularly uploading photos you can still upload it yourself. What I'll do is take you through how to do it, and if you still have any problems with that I'll put my e-mail address at the bottom of this so you can send it to me and I can do it for you.
Basically, there's a link on the left-hand side of any Wikipedia page which says "Upload file". Click on that and you come to this page. Scroll down and you'll see the boxes that need filling in. In the "Source filename" one, click the "browse" button, find the file on your computer and then choose that file. In the "Destination filename", type the name you want the photo to have on Wikipedia - if it's already called something like "KewPalace07" or similar, then that'll be fine, but if it's got a generic digital filename such as "DSCF0008" or the like, then you'll need to change it to something more identifiable.
In the "Summary" box, type something along the lines of "Photo of Kew Palace Gardens taken by me, User:John Thaxter in 2007. Uploaded to illustrate the article on Kew Palace." Or whatever you fancy that describes the image best.
Finally, in "Licensing", if as you say you'd like the provide the image copyright-free, click the drop-down menu and choose "You created this yourself, it is all your own work and you release it into the public domain."

Then just click the "Upload file" button and you should be there! I

If you'd like help with how to add the uploaded photo to the relevant article, then I'm more than happy to take you through that too. Do drop me a line with any questions. Angmering 10:37, 18 April 2007 (UTC)
Hi, John. Sorry I wasn't around for a quicker response, but fortunately the very capable Angmering has stepped into the breach. It looks as if he's uploaded the image for you, at Image:Kew-restored.jpg, and it's been included in the Kew Palace article. (D'you suppose we could justify the inclusion of Alexander Pope's puppy couplet in the Kew Palace article? Actually, I suppose I'll ask at Talk:Kew Palace.) Anyway, if you have any other questions, or if there's anything I can help you with, I'd be happy to help if I'm around. —Josiah Rowe (talk • contribs) 04:27, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] A few questions

Hello John. I am fixing a few of the links on the Critics' Circle Theatre Awards page so they go to the correct pages and I have two questions.

  1. In the best actor category is the Caligula that Michael Sheen won for the play by Albert Camus or a different one?
  2. Which version of Electra did Fiona Shaw perform in: Sophocles, Euripides, von Hofmannstahl or another one?

This is as far as I got for now and if other questions come up as I work on the other categories I'll let you know. Thanks ahead of time for your help. MarnetteD | Talk 14:51, 18 April 2007 (UTC)

Hi again John. Just to clarify I wasn't trying to get too specific about the productions. I was just trying to clean up the links so they go to the pages here at wikipedia that are relevant. In the two examples above - when you clicked on the Caligula link as it was it went to the page for the Emperor. When I changed it to go to a play it then went to the page for Camus' play. I was just concerned that there might be another play version out there that I didn't know about and I didn't want a reader to go to a page that wasn't about the subject linked. When you clicked on the Electra link you went, first to the page for the lady from legend and then had to click on the link to a disambiguation page listing a host of pages here at wikiP that have that name. The casual user might not have even gone on to this disambig page. Now, after I fix that link it will go directly to the page about Sophocles play and that way a reader doesn't have to try and guess which Electra page to go to. As always thanks so much for you help and happy editing. MarnetteD | Talk 15:36, 18 April 2007 (UTC)

Hello once more. I have finished fixing the links (almost) and just have these questions.

  1. Please click on this link Flight. Is this the play that Howard Davies directed in 1998? If it is then the link is okay - if it isn't I'm going to have to come up with another qualifier for it.
  2. The Faust that won for 2006 has a few options of how we can link it. Is this one Faust okay or is one of the ones on this page Faust (disambiguation) better suited?
  3. As you can see the link for The Winter Guest goes to a somewhat lackluster page for the film. It doesn't currently mention that it was adapted from a play. Our options are to leave the link as it is and add some info about the play to the page (this is often done when the pages about a play/film aren't very large) or we could add the (play) quailfier to the link to create a separate wikipage in the hopes that someone will do an article about it one day.

When you have the time you may want to go back through the whole page and click on the links to the plays in case I linked something to the wrong subject. If this did occur just let me know and I will be happy to fix them and thanks for your time. MarnetteD | Talk 16:18, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

Thanks for the notes and I hope that you had an enjoyable evening at the theatre. It looks like it is best to leave the Faust link just as it is. I have started working my way through the recipients of the Circles' awards and making sure that when the group is mentioned that it links back to their page. Cheers. MarnetteD | Talk 21:20, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] The Corn Exchange

Hello John. The best way to get a page for this is to add Dublin to the title. Now this can be done one of two ways (as there is one of each of these on the current page. You can put Dublin in parentheses as this page has done with Corn Exchange (Newbury) or without as with Corn Exchange, Manchester. You will also want to decide whether to put Dublin after CE or before as in Cambridge Corn Exchange.

I don't think that there is a prefered style for this so whatever you decide should be okay. Just enter the style you pick on the current page. This will turn the link red. Then click on the red link and it will take you to an editing area which states that this article doesn't currently exist and would you like to start it. Then transfer the info that you have on the current CE page about this theatre and click save. You will have created a new article! Incidently whenever you start a new article it is automatically added to your watchlist. If you have any further questions I will be glad to help if I can. Cheers. MarnetteD | Talk 15:03, 21 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Tony Church

Hello John. This is a long shot but I am wondering whether you might have anything in you files about the actor Tony Church. I am trying to keep his page from being deleted, but am a little to busy to add much to it right now. The reason that I fear that you might not have much is that he spent the better part of the 90's and 00's acting here in Denver at the Denver Center Theatre Company until his retirment a couple of years ago. He was a treat in You Never Can Tell playing the waiter. He also stood out in The Dresser and The Quick Change Room but it was his one man show in Give Them a Bit of Mystery (a history of the theatre) that will always be a treasured memory. I was lucky enough to communicate with him by letter when I found that I had a record version of Robin Hood (made around 1960) with his name listed as portraying Friar Tuck (Robin was voiced by Robert Hardy). He confirmed that he was a part of that recording and I taped a copy of my record for him that he much appreciated.

I know that he returned to England when Tantalus transferred there after its run here in Denver and that he took over the parts performed by Alan Dobie but I don't know whether you might have seen him in any plays at all. Anything that you might add will help but if you don't have anything don't worry about it.

Congrats on adding some bio info to your user page and your continued good work here at wikiP. Also, many thanks for the reviews that you have emailed me. I always find them of interest and they let me feel like I am a small part of the UK's theatre experience even though I am 1000's of miles away. MarnetteD | Talk 16:45, 1 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Oklahoma!

Thanks for the new information, but would you kindly add your citations to the article? See WP:CITE. Best regards, -- Ssilvers 13:31, 15 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Gate Theatre Studio

Hi John, You will see that I have altered the name of the London theatre where Robert Morley played the lead in Oscar Wilde to the 'Gate Theatre Studio', and that I have now linked this name to my short new article giving some of the background to the theatre. The theatre is often confused with the much more recently founded 'Gate Theatre' in Nottinghill Gate. There is, of course, yet another possible source of confusion with the 'Gate Theatre' in Dublin! I have a particular interest in Robert Morley because one of his best friends, the writer and dramatist Sewell Stokes, was my godfather. You may be interested in my article about Sewell which is still 'under construction'. Best Regards, David David(Talk • Contribs) 10:42, 24 May 2007 (UTC)

P.S. I should have added that Sewell was the co-author of the Oscar Wilde (play) with which Robert first made his name as a stage actor, both here and in the US. This is another one of my play articles in progress. David(Talk • Contribs) 11:07, 24 May 2007 (UTC)

Dear John, Thanks for your reply. I have been researching the history of the theatre for some time now and have in front of me an original programme for the 1936 Norman Marshall production of Oscar Wilde with the name 'Gate Theatre Studio' on the front cover. I suspect that because of the relative length of the theatre's name it often gets abbreviated. However, as you rightly point out, accuracy in Wikipedia is of paramount importance.

Yes, I am aware of the Arts Theatre production and of a number of other productions when the play went on tour in Europe, Australia and in the US after the Broadway success. Best wishesDavid(Talk • Contribs) 16:11, 24 May 2007 (UTC)

Dear John, I am pleased that we are now in agreement over the name of the theatre. Yes, it's a superb photo of Robert as Oscar Wilde. I have an original print of it and would like to put a scan of it on the Robert Morley page. Being new to this game I'm not sure whether I am allowed to do this as far as copyright issues are concerned. What do you think? Best wishes. David(Talk • Contribs) 12:11, 26 May 2007 (UTC)

Dear John, Many thanks for adding all that fascinating detail to the Gate Theatre Studio article. Well done! I have introduced a small rewording to avoid the possible misunderstanding that Oscar Wilde might have transferred to the West End. Since it was never passed by the Lord Chamberlain in this country it was only ever staged in small theatre clubs. No such problems in the US, Australia, France, Germany, Italy etc, etc, but then that's another story! The Oscar Wilde link now links to the article about the play and not the man himself.

In view of the various Gate Theatres (Studio, Notting Hill, Dublin) I am thinking of setting up a disambiguation (horrible word!) page. Are there any others we should add and how do you set up such a page? Best wishes David(Talk • Contribs) 16:57, 26 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Computer problems

Hello John. I sent an email to you an hour or so ago. I hope that it came through okay, just let me know if it didn't. After reading the notes above I had to go and read the entry that you and Dnfenner have been working on and it is fascinating. I wish I could be looking through the books that you are getting to use to reseaarch this. Congrats to you both.MarnetteD | Talk 01:49, 12 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Arts Theatre (Club)

Hi John, The play 'Oscar Wilde' by Sewell & Leslie Stokes ran at the 'Arts Theatre Club' from 25 Oct 1938 for 4 weeks. Today there is the Arts Theatre London (6/7 Gt Newport Street, founded 1927) and the Arts Theatre Club (50 Frith St, but originally in Gt Newport Street too!! Also founded 1927!). Which of these staged 'Oscar Wilde' and what, if anything, is the connection between these two theatres? There is a stub for Arts Theatre and I thought it would be good to expand it, with your help. Best wishes. David(Talk • Contribs) 12:37, 13 June 2007 (UTC)


Hi John, Many thanks for your help. I will try to get hold of this book. David(Talk • Contribs) 11:21, 14 June 2007 (UTC)

Rodney Ackland Dear David

While writing up Rodney Ackland for Wiki I discovered that his Who's Who in the Theatre CV clearly states:

He made his stage debut at the Gate Theatre studio in 1924, playing Medvedieff in The Lower Depths. Was he wrong? Or does this disturb the Gate Theatre Studio's opening date of 1925? I need more time to think about it, but thought I should let you know right away.

Hi John, Thanks for the information about the Arts Theatre. I am hoping to extend the stub one of these days. Was in New York a few weeks ago and went looking for the Fulton Theatre where 'Oscar Wilde' was staged in 1938. This Broadway theatre was demolished, along with several others, some years ago to make way for a hotel! If you can add anything to my article using your references then please do so. Best regards David(Talk • Contribs) 11:58, 3 October 2007 (UTC)

Hi John,

Have managed to get hold of a copy of THE ARTS THEATRE, LONDON, 1927-81, by WENDY TREWIN & J.C. TREWIN so will hopefully be making some more additions to the article shortly. Best regards David(Talk • Contribs) 12:05, 22 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Rodney Ackland

Dear John,

The 1925 date was from Norman Marshall's book, but it obviously requires further confirmation after your recent research. David(Talk • Contribs) 11:23, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

Hello again John, Yes I see what you mean. Ackland made his debut in 1924 in the Gate Theatre studio (with 's') which was probably a forerunner of the Gate Theatre Studio (with 'S') opened in 1925. Best wishes.David(Talk • Contribs) 13:02, 3 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Regarding edits to Imelda Staunton

Thank you for contributing to Wikipedia, John Thaxter! However, your edit here was reverted by an automated bot that attempts to remove spam from Wikipedia. If you were trying to insert a good link, please accept my creator's apologies, but note that the link you added, matching rule irishabroad\.com, is on my list of links to remove and probably shouldn't be included in Wikipedia. Please read Wikipedia's external links guidelines for more information, and consult my list of frequently-reverted sites. For more information about me, see my FAQ page. Thanks! AntiSpamBot 16:56, 16 July 2007 (UTC)


Dear Mr AntiSpamBot:

Thanks for your thanks, but your automated bot got it wrong this time - by association.

The link I was adding was to a major interview in the Sunday Telegraph by a leading London arts journalist, Tim Auld. The piece is notable for its detailed research and measured judgement and I have now re-entered it as an external link of enduring value for those studying the life and work of Imelda Staunton.

(But, incidentally, I would agree that it was probably right for Bot to delete the irishabroad\.com link, which celebrates Oirishry rather than providing encyclopedic back-up material, - and which had absolutely nothing to do with me).

I am now about to add what is virtually a complete listing of Imelda Staunton's theatre appearances, drawn from her own programme CVs and the indexes to Theatre Record. I believe this will be of continuing value for arts journalist and for future researchers. Perhaps also for Imelda herself.

I hope to keep it up to date with events, but old men forget. John Thaxter 13:56, 17 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] re John Galsworthy

Hello John. I have posted your questions on the talk page for JG here [2] and at the talk page for the Wikiproject Biography here [3]. I think that these are the two best places to start. If we don't get any response the one other place that we might go is to one of the pages at the Village Pump but I will leave them here for now. I also placed a {{fact}} tag next to the mention of the spreading of his ashes on the page for the article. These are used to spur editors to place a verifiable citation or reference into the article to back up the note. One question that may come up is your note about his being buried at Highgate Cemetary. Is this from an online source or from your wonderful library of research material? You may want to add a brief note about where this info comes from to the two posting that I have made. I got a nice chuckle :D from the idea of having an article that states that his ashes were spread at a given spot and then has link to a gravesite. Thanks for bringing this up and thanks also for your kind words about me on your user page. I hope that all is well with you. MarnetteD | Talk 16:49, 22 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Jude Kelly

Near as I can tell from looking through the history of the edits for Jude Kelly it looks like Amoammo already removed the offending items. The person who put in the entries was an anonymous IP address and this was the only page that they have ever edited. If you want to make sure that this does not happen again you can put this page on your watchlist by clicking on the watch tab near the top of your computer screen and then clicking on the "my watchlist" command in the top righthand corner of your screen. This will show you any changes for the last three days on articles that you have designated to be on the list. Any new pages that you have started will also be on the list automatically. I have put Jude on my watchlist just to keep an eye on things for awhile. Thanks also for letting me know about Judy Campbell. It was an interesting read and I added a few things to the page to make it a little more complete.

Have you seen any pages with an IBDb external link here at wikipedia? It stands for Internet Broadway Database. It isn't as comprehensive as the IMDb data is for films but it can be useful in looking for historical listings of plays and actors who have been on Broadway. Look at the bottom of this page and you will see what I am talking about Helen Mirren at the Internet Broadway Database. The main reason that I am asking if you've seen it is that I am wondering if there is any database like it for the London Theatre world? If there is we may want to think about adding it as an external link to the pages of the actors that you are helping to improve here at wikipedia. Please let me know if I can be of any more help. MarnetteD | Talk 22:53, 27 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] The Years Between

Have created the article after seeing the show last night at the OTT. Would appreciate your input, etc. Best.. Peripatetic 15:22, 3 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Milton Shulman

Hi, yes the Goring comment was clearly an error on my behalf sorry about that. I have Deafeat In the West sitting on my shelf which has a list of what appears to be all senior German officers he interviewed (yes Goring isnt there ;)) Would you recommend adding some more in or leaving the article as it is?

Out of intrest since you stated you have read his memoirs, am only a Second World War geek so the rest of his life doesnt really intrest me to be honest but does he give you the impression by any chance that he never full got over the war and resented the Germans to an extent?

I only ask, after reading the latest version of Defeat in the West, around 2003 iirc he basically makes this claim and it rather intregied me. —Preceding unsigned comment added by EnigmaMcmxc (talk • contribs) 21:30, 8 October 2007 (UTC)


Dear Enigma talk

I cannot find your User talk:page, so in answer to your queries above.

1 No. We do not need to add the names of the other German officers interviewed. Those who need that information should acquire a copy of Defeat in the West. The memoirs focus on on Von Rustedt and Meyer.

2 No-one involved in the Second World War was unaffected by it, but reading his memoirs there is no suggestion that he resented the Germans (qua Germans). He makes the point about how ordinary these officers were, and he also notes that they were better looked after by the Brits than the Yanks, the latter holding them in minuscule cells.

3 If you are so interested in the war you should read his memoirs, with marvellous material on Toronto induction, training, commissioning, overseas postings, life in London in the Blitz and black-out, amazing work done by MI 14(b) and the horrors of Dieppe and other engagements affecting Canadian troops., This constitutes at least a third of the book and is brillantly written.

Best wishes, John Thaxter 22:48, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Frank Dunlop

Hello John. Thanks for your note on my talk page. There has been an ongoing push for inline citations, a wikiform of foot/end notes, for some time now. The instructions for it are here Wikipedia:Inline citation. As you can see it is a bit cumbersome. I have not dealt with them a great deal as the projects that I have been working on the last few months haven't involved them. As to the idea that they are "required" I have made a comment on this here [4]. While they are here to stay I think that the important thing to note is that they is not a requirment until one is trying to get an article up to feature article status. I don't think that your article is in immeadiate danger of being deleted. I found it to be quite informative and well done and I will be happy to say so at any forum here at wikipedia that you may need me to. I did add a few categories at the bottom of the page as that is another thing that the powers that be like to have as part of a new article. Cheers MarnetteD | Talk 00:31, 11 October 2007 (UTC)

I took care of getting the references to appear and made a couple of other small fixes. If they still want more you can even use the same reference technique to cite the exact page from Who's Who for your other entries. You might want to look at one other thing. One section contains the header "A late blooming". Did you mean to add another word? Maybe "career" or something of the sort? If it says what you wanted it to then my apologies for being so rude as to assume something else. Let me know if there is anything else that I can do. MarnetteD | Talk 13:24, 11 October 2007 (UTC)
Thanks for your note. I did not mean to imply that you had to add all of the pages numbers as citations. I just wanted you to know that you could do it if someone else insists. Your note helped me see what you had intended with the section header and, of course, it makes perfect sense. I must not have been fully awake yet when I read it this morning. The new one may be better in the long run. I hope that if, and when, you hear from Mr Dunlop that he is pleased with his page here at wikipedia because I think that you have done a good job with it!. MarnetteD | Talk 17:25, 11 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Peter McDonald

Hi John. I took care of bringing up the refs on Mr Mcdonald's page. There are a couple of different commands that you can type that bring up inline citations. The one that works best for me is to type {{reflist}} just below the references header. This then captures any info that you have made as an inline citation and displays it as a kind of footnote. I don't know whether this works universally so if you ever get to a page where this doesn't work let me know and I will see what I can do. Please don't worry about asking for my assistance as I am always happy to help if I can and to try to find the answers when I can't. It is the least that I can do to repay the generosity that you show in sending me your reviews. Cheers. MarnetteD | Talk 23:43, 14 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] David Fenner

A check of David's edit history shows that he last made an entry on October 10th so maybe he is just taking a short break. I think that there is a way to resurrect articles that have been deleted but I'm not sure what it is. You might try asking your question (along with posting your reasons for whay it should be resurrected) at the help desk WP:HD or the village pump WP:VPT or the Community bulletin board WP:CBB. Sorry that I don't have a better answer as I know how disheatening it can be to have ones hard work obliterated here at wikiP. MarnetteD | Talk 14:38, 15 October 2007 (UTC)

Hi John,

Thanks for your concern but all is not lost!! The article that was deleted, Gate Theatre (London), was the beginnings of an article about the 'new' Gate Theatre in Notting Hill. It was a clumsy, unfinished piece which I intended to do further work on. The Gate Theatre Studio article is still alive and kicking, touch wood!! Best Regards David(Talk • Contribs) 09:56, 16 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Aidan Gillen

Hi John, I'm not sure what to tell you about your predicament. I'm not sure how often readers actually click on the references provided but your concerns over having such an incident more widely read is also something worth considering. I'm sure that you will make the best choice. I am glad that David is also still around improving wikipedia's theatre articles.

This is a big day for playwright birthdays as both Oscar Wilde and Eugene O'Neill were born on October 16th. So was my mother so we are celebrating *<:-) here tonight. Cheers and best regards. MarnetteD | Talk 21:07, 16 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] John Barton

Hi John. I think I fixed everything but I want you to double check the page. Near as I can tell the problem happened during your second edit when you moved the reference about The Greeks to the end of the paragraph next to the reference for the Sally Beauman RSC citation. I think (though I don't know this for sure) that you can't have two reference listings next to each other. The references section also mixed the footnote style references with the source books and the IMDb link and this might have been part of the problem also so I have seperated them out into their own sections. I hope that I put everything back but if I left something out please fix it. Cheers MarnetteD | Talk 16:12, 23 October 2007 (UTC)

I forgot to mention. The 1970 version of Hamlet that he wrote the adaptation of was for US television and starred Richard Chamberlin. Now I would have learned about Hamlet's importance to theatre history years before and I may have seen Olivier's film earlier in my life, but, this is the first version that I can remember seeing and paying attention to so it was wonderful to be reconnected to that memory today. MarnetteD | Talk 16:20, 23 October 2007 (UTC)
Hi again. I'm sure that there is some way to put two refs next to each other so I will experiment with it when I get some time. If I can make it work do you want them put back in at the end of the paragraph where they were before? Also, I was updating the IBDb link that you added and I am not sure that it connects to the correct John Barton. When you get to IBDb's page it says "also known as John W. Barton" and it only has one listing for him. You will note that neither of his middle names starts with a W. If this is still okay then we can leave it but if this is the wrong JB we should probably remove the link. Let me know what you think and regards. PS - I've been thinking that I may have seen Nichol Williamson's version of Hamlet around 1970 too (depending on when the filmed version of his adaptation showed on TV over here). MarnetteD | Talk 21:04, 23 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Your note

Thanks for the note. I am glad that the correct JB is linked. I forgot to mention that there is a template for IBDb that is a little easier (once you get used to it) to use than typing the big long link that was used on JB's page. You type {{ibdb name|id=118659|name=John Barton}} and it gives that nice clean link to IBDb's page and to wikipedia's page for IBDb. I usually copy one that I previously entered and substitute the new ID number and name for the persons wikipage that I am working on.

I don't know if this will help but I am wondering if a trip to the library and a search into the microfilm files might fill in the Evening Standard Awards that are missing. My first time of using this resource, since graduating college, was when, in 2001, I was researching Oscar Wilde's four days in Colorado in 1882 and Vincent Price's performance as Wilde in John Gay's play Diversions and Delight's (which I was lucky enough to see more than once as it was here in both the fall of 78 and the summer of 79). The research was great fun both in the specifics of what I was investigating and in the other items that I came upon. For example one of Denver's papers of April 1882 mentions that fact that Charles Parnell has gone missing and noone knows where he is. Was this one of the times that he dropped out of site to be with Kitty O'Shea? I don't know the timelines of those events to be sure. I have gone back to the library several times in my work here at wikipedia and always enjoyed it. Of course, this suggestion may not be viable for what you are looking for but I thought that I would throw it out just in case. Also, you may be too busy to get fit this into your schedule so, once again, I wish I was there as I would be happy to dig into the past to find this info.

I always wonder about the "h" in Nic(h)ol's name as I have seen it spelled both ways over the years. Your description of him is interesting as I remember that his Hamlet was described as "the Hamlet without a Hamlet". Regards MarnetteD | Talk 00:51, 24 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Q Theatre

Hi John, Have justed started the new article Q Theatre about another one of those fascinating little London theatres. If you can add anything, please do. Best regards David(Talk • Contribs) 14:34, 25 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Award

Hello John. This weekend was busy so I am behind in replying to messages on my talk page. Both of the articles that you mentioned in your recent note look great. This also gives me the opportunity to present you with a long overdue award so here it is.

The Barnstar of High Culture
Is presented to John Thaxter for all of his hard work starting and/or improving the articles of actors, theatres and various awards pages here at Wikipedia. Congratulations! MarnetteD | Talk 20:53, 29 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Michael Boyd

Took a peek and all looks okay. Have a great weekend. MarnetteD | Talk 15:06, 7 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Fixing the page

I think that I got it fixed. It looks like you put the opening <ref> at the start of the citation but forgot to put the closing </ref> at the end of it and that is what caused the rest of the page to disappear. It is often the simplest things that trip us up :-). Glad I was able to help and it was a wonderful page to read and think about all of the special things that this company has done. MarnetteD | Talk 00:19, 12 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Chains at the Orange Tree

Hi John, Did you manage to catch Chains at the Orange Tree? Very good show. I've created articles on Chains, Auriol Smith and the writer Elizabeth Baker. Your feedback would be great. Cheers. --Peripatetic (talk) 16:21, 13 December 2007 (UTC)

I don't think we've met.. I only moved to London a couple of years ago and started going to the theatre soon after. I try to see a lot of shows, although I don't make enough use of the programme notes afterwards to write up about the plays/personnel! Let me know if there's any particular aspect of the London theatre or any current Wiki theatre projects that you'd like me to collaborate/assist on.. what I lack in experience, I do make up for in enthusiasm! --Peripatetic (talk) 19:19, 13 December 2007 (UTC)
Unfortunately I have no access to the records you mention. But feel free to email any likely work to me. I've emailed you with details. I'll do my best. Regards, Peripatetic (talk) 15:34, 14 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Talk page guidelines

Hi,

Regards this edit, it is easier for later readers to distinguish comments if you adhere to the formatting detailed in the talk page guidelines - space each contribution out by one colon per new edit or editor, thus:

First editor's comments

:Second

::Third

::::::::::N-1th

<undent>Nth


Appearing thus:

First editor's comments

Second
Third
N-1th

<undent>Nth

Thanks, WLU (talk) 17:46, 13 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (musical)

Hi John. I was pretty sure wikipedia had a page for this musical and when I got to your edit I found that you had left out a Chitty and that was why it came up as a red link. It is fixed now. Unfortunately, the musical Windy City does not yet have a wikipage so it will stay red for the moment. Thanks for adding all of the info to Anton's page!! MarnetteD | Talk 00:07, 16 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] New stubs

Hi John, A very Happy New Year to you. One of my resolutions is to create many more London theatre-related articles on Wikipedia this year, and to that end I've started off with Scarlett Mackmin, Susan Brown and David Salter. I haven't forgotten about that scan you sent me. I hope to tackle that next. The end of the year was rather busy, I'm afraid! Best wishes, Peripatetic (talk) 10:58, 1 January 2008 (UTC)

Hi John, Apologies for the Anton thing. And thanks for doing it anyway! I've been creating theatre stubs - everything from Mike Packer and Pearce Quigley to Dearbhla Molloy and Nikki Amuka-Bird. Went to see Dick Whittington last night at the Hackney Empire, it was a total riot! Have you been? Really bad news about the Bush and the Orange Tree getting shafted by the ACE. Are the Walters duo worried? Are there any other theatres in London being affected by the cuts? I have a mind to join the OTT's Friends scheme when I visit next to see The Woman Hater - these guys deserve all the support they can get. Any feedback on The Woman Hater? Cheers, Peripatetic (talk) 17:51, 12 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Your recent notes

Hello John. My apologies for not getting back to you sooner. Life has been very busy and I have been online minimally in the last week or so. I promise that I will get to Anton Rodger's and John Woodvine's pages when I get a chance. As to the various discrepancies I would say that you could bring them into line as you see fit, although checking with him first, when you get a chance, is a good idea too. I will never forget how riveted to the TV screen I was the first time that I watched his performance as Ralph Nickleby - the leadup to his demise left me breathless. I am very glad that you got to see it again. It is fun to think of him as a mid-twenty year old treading the boards on Broadway around the time that I was born in '57. Thanks for keeping me in the loop and, as always, happy editing. MarnetteD | Talk 22:01, 14 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Edit summaries

Welcome to Wikipedia. Although everyone is welcome to contribute constructively to the encyclopedia, we would like to remind you not to attack other editors, as you did on Royal Shakespeare Company. Please comment on the contributions and not the contributors. Take a look at the welcome page to learn more about contributing to this encyclopedia. Regardless of the edit you commented on in your edit summary, which I can understand would be frustrating, edit summaries should not be used to call other users "crass idiots". ♦Tangerines♦·Talk 22:27, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Nora Swinburne

Hi John, Thanks for drawing my attention to your new article on Nora Swinburne. You've certainly been busy lately. I've also been burning the midnight oil on Wiki but at the moment it's the history of Argentina's railways that is keeping me awake at night. It's a fascinating subject as is the history of English theatre which I hope to return to in the not too distant future. Keep up the good work. David(Talk • Contribs) 19:29, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] 2007 and 2008

Hello, Mr. Thaxter; I noticed that you have been updating articles with awards from Evening Standard British Film Awards. One small example in the article Atonement (film), are you sure it's feb 4, 2007? I changed it to 2008. If you need to correct your other edits, just a heads up. — Andy W. (talk/contrb.) 01:25, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

i think it is more encyclopedic to create extra articles for all years (1973 - 2007) and not only to put the winners of 2007 in the main article --Melly42 (talk) 15:08, 5 February 2008 (UTC)
A reply to your post: I believe you would like to introduce separate pages listing the awards. (Good example: Academy Award. This year, there is the 80th Academy Awards page. And I'm sorry, I'm not very familiar with the Evening Standard British Film Awards and what won previously, but good luck. — Andy W. (talk/contrb.) 19:13, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] The Dresser

Hi John, Have added details of an excellent revival I saw in 2005 of The Dresser. Keep up the good work. I'm still stuck in a station somewhere in the depths of pre-war Argentina. Not a bad place to be actually!! Best wishes David(Talk • Contribs) 16:34, 17 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Nervo and Knox

I notice that you have changed the adjective "scots" to "scottish". I have no objection to this, however I do object to your statement that the former is incorrect. The Oxford Dictionary says that both are acceptable. I personally prefer "Scots" because a number of my friends from Scotland used it. I do not like the US use of "Scotch" as an adjective (unless it is used as an abbreviation for Scotch whiskey!). Although I am a Londoner, I now live in Canada where all forms are used

DonJay (talk) 15:07, 23 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] WikiProject Theatre invite

Hey there - have noticed your recent edits to the Richard Bean article and clicked through to your user page to find you're a bit of an avid theatre fan. Just thought you'd like to know about WikiProject Theatre and would like to formally invite you to join us - it would be great to have someone with your knowledge lend a helping hand. theolimeister (talk) 16:28, 10 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] In Good King Charles's Golden Days

Have done the best I can but have very limited resources on the subject. Most of my books state what is already in the article and a google search doesn't bring up much. Hopefully the restructuring "rounds it off" a little. Sorry I couldn't be of more use on that one... theolimeister (talk) 16:25, 12 May 2008 (UTC)

It is certainly no longer a stub and as such I have changed the WikiProject Theatre template on the article's talk page class to "Start".theolimeister (talk) 11:20, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] RE:Martin Crimp and Howard Brenton

No, this helps a lot - it's great to be kept in the loop. theolimeister (talk) 20:28, 28 May 2008 (UTC)