New Review Site WasThatGood.com Delivers Independent Theatre Opinion

WasThatGood.com, a new site dedicated to bringing informed and independent theatre review and opinion to stage fans, has been launched in the UK.

The site has been introduced to address a demand for genuine, unbiased theatre reviews which are different from the now-standard sites which are full of intrusive advertising. WasThatGood.com will offer true, honest reviews of shows like Chicago and Billy Elliot from people who have actually been to see them and who are not promoting anything.

WasThatGood.com has been built by Robert Stuart, a big fan of theatre and shows, who was tired of trawling through websites which consisted of nothing but advertisements. The new site will offer impartial opinion, show times and the chance to buy London theatre tickets too.

Robert Stuart says, “There was clearly a gap in the market for a genuine, honest theatre review website – hence why I decided to introduce WasThatGood.com. There are far too many websites around which are advertising based and which actively promote shows – I wanted to have a place where all fans of theatre can share genuine reviews.”

In recent times the economic crisis has resulted in lots of people choosing not to go to see shows any longer for fear of wasting their money. WasThatGood.com intends to address this by giving people unbiased, genuine reviews via which they can make informed choices about which shows to go and see.

In addition to its review services WasThatGood.com will also host show time and date information and will let people search for the highest-rated shows by peer review. Users will also be able to buy tickets for shows all over the country through the site.

About WasThatGood.com

WasThatGood.com was born in an attempt to give the public a say in the world of theatre by offering an independent forum for them to share their opinions. The intent is to promote open discussion regarding the theatre, which could very well lead to improvement as theatres will have to face reality and will no longer be subject to only a handful of critics who have a channel to the public.

Via EPR Network
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Findmypast.ie helps to reveal Dracula was Irish not Transylvanian

findmypast.ie has conducted research on Bram Stoker’s family tree which sheds new light on how he created the gothic horrors of Dracula.

Count Dracula, the Transylvanian nobleman and daddy of all vampires, was originally Irish rather than Transylvanian, according to new research by the family historian who previously traced Barack Obama’s Irish roots, Fiona Fitzsimons.

Dracula is the title character of the 1897 Gothic horror novel by Bram Stoker, the Irish writer who died 100 years ago, on April 20, 1912.

Many historians have wondered how Stoker, a one-time Dublin civil servant and chum of Oscar Wilde came to imagine the gothic horrors of Dracula and now, new research into Stoker’s family tree by the genealogy website findmypast.ie provides the answer. The new findings are the fruit of months of research by Fiona Fitzsimons, a director of findmypast.ie and the historian who last year identified Obama’s closest living Irish relatives, enabling the U.S. President to meet them on his state visit to Ireland.

Bram Stoker turns out to have been of an old family with a glorious history. His direct ancestor, Manus “The Magnificent” O’Donnell, once ruled much of Ireland and led a rebellion against Henry VIII.

“We have discovered that Bram Stoker could trace his own direct family line back almost 1,000 years,” said Fitzsimons. In short, his own lineage turns out to have been remarkably similar to Dracula’s.

Fitzsimons added: “Stoker did not use overtly Irish references in Dracula, but his main theme is taken from Irish history – the history, we now learn, of his own family – recast in the writer’s imagination.”

Although the Stoker family on Bram’s father’s side were of humble stock, it was already known before now that Bram’s mother Charlotte was descended from the Blakes, a landed Irish family.

What Fitzsimons has now discovered, with the help of land records found on findmypast.ie, is that Charlotte also descended from the O’Donnells, one of Ireland’s greatest families, with one of its oldest recorded lineages.

The story goes back farther still; from 561 A.D. the O’Donnell lords were the hereditary keepers of the psalter (holy book) of St Columba, revered in Ireland as the patron saint of poets.

These objects remained in the O’Donnell’s keeping until 1843, when they were given to the Royal Irish Academy. Their donation received wide press coverage and was a cause célèbre.

Fitzsimons said: “Our research has proven links between the writer’s family, the oldest surviving Irish manuscript in existence, and one of the greatest treasures held in the National Museum of Ireland. The manuscript book and its reliquary provide evidence that Stoker’s O’Donnell family could trace their direct lineage back more than 1,300 years to 561 A.D.”

Fitzsimons believes the true inspiration for Dracula was Manus the Magnificent, Stoker’s direct ancestor.

This is not to say that Manus was either a vampire or a tyrant, since he was neither, but he was a feudal leader with great power over much of the country and hisheroics in gory battle are just as likely an inspiration for Dracula as any historical figure.

Via EPR Network
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