The Stage
| Type | Online, apps and weekly newspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Web, Tabloid, Media Company, tablet |
| Owner(s) | The Stage Media Company Limited |
| Publisher | The Stage Media Company Limited |
| Editor | Alistair Smith (print), Paddy Smith (online) |
| Founded | 1 February 1880 |
| Language | English |
| Headquarters | Stage House, 47 Bermondsey Street, London SE1 3XT |
| Circulation | 400,000 per month (online); 30,000 per week (print readership) |
| ISSN | 0038-9099 |
| Website | thestage |
The Stage is a British weekly newspaper and website covering the entertainment industry, and particularly theatre. It was founded in 1880. It contains news, reviews, opinion, features, and recruitment advertising, mainly directed at those who work in theatre and the performing arts.
The first edition of The Stage was published (under the title The Stage Directory – a London and Provincial Theatrical Advertiser) on 1 February 1880 at a cost of 3 old pence for twelve pages. Publication was monthly until 25 March 1881, when the first weekly edition was produced. At the same time, the name was shortened to The Stage and the publication numbering restarted at number 1.
The publication was a joint venture between founding editor Charles Lionel Carson (then aged 33) and business manager Maurice Comerford (26), and operated from offices opposite the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.
The Stage entered a crowded market, with many other theatre titles (including The Era) in circulation. Undercutting their rivals, Carson and Comerford dropped the price of the paper to one penny and was soon the only remaining title in its field.
The newspaper has remained in family ownership. Upon the death in 1937 of Charles Carson's son Lionel, who had assumed the joint role of managing director and editor, control passed to the Comerford family. The current managing director, Hugh Comerford, is founder Maurice's great-grandson.
In 1959 The Stage was relaunched as The Stage and Television Today, incorporating a pull-out supplement dedicated to broadcasting news and features. Derek Hoddinott, the main paper's TV editor, became editor of the new supplement.
The name and supplement remained until 1995, when broadcasting coverage was re-incorporated into the main paper. The name on the masthead reverted to The Stage, but in 2006, the paper introduced a blog concentrating on television, named TV Today.
From 1995, the newspaper has awarded The Stage Awards for Acting Excellence at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
In 2004, 96-year-old contributor Simon Blumenfeld was recognised by Guinness World Records as the world's oldest weekly newspaper columnist. The column continued until shortly before his death in 2005.
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