Ian McDiarmid: Large List Of Links
Introduction & FAQ

Introduction:

Hello and welcome to Ian McDiarmid: Large List of Links! I'm Rainbow Heron the webmaster (okokok 'webmistress') around here! This website is an ongoing archive/culmination of all of the various links to websites and webpages I've encountered that have content concerning the actor Ian McDiarmid and the theatre at which he works, the prestigious Almeida Theatre in London, England.

Evolution of a Site:

I originally was just toying with the idea of putting up a one-page 'I think he's a great actor and here's why' kind of site, when I noticed something...well several things actually. Every single Ian McDiarmid page I'd seen up until that point had dealt nearly 100% with his most famous film role, the evil Emperor Palpatine/Darth Sidious in the Star Wars Saga. Any and all information given on the actor himself was either the filmography listed at the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) and/or the 'official bio' which can be found duplicated on many different sites. And there was almost nothing concerning his stage career, except for maybe an incomplete list of the titles of various plays he's been in.

Several fans and a few sites complained along the lines of: "there's nothing on Ian on the web!" I know that Mr. McDiarmid values his privacy (and I respect him for that), so I knew there wasn't going to be much on his personal life readily available. I mean, how much does one really *need* anyway? :-P But at the same time, I knew that if he acts onstage (which he does), and that he was the joint artistic director of a theatre (which he also was at the time), then there were bound to be reviews of the plays and articles about the theatre online!

So I went digging...no, nothing sinister...

The Find:

However, I also came across a plethora of information: film reviews, play reviews, articles, essays, commentaries, interviews, photos, books...information on both Ian McDiarmid and the Almeida Theatre. The very things everyone thought didn't exist on the web! Proves what you can accomplish with a few search engines. And that was just on Yahoo! I noticed that a couple of articles had similar sources: various online news magazines from the UK. So I used the search engines located on their sites and well...you get the rest. :-)

The Large List of Links:

The site orgininally was just one large page, but when it became too large for Notepad to handle, I decided to split it up into several pages. Besides, no one likes one big, long, unorganized, unreadable, list anyway, right?

Only time will tell how large this site will get since it's an ever-growing process, and (thankfully) neither Ian McDiarmid nor the Almeida Theatre show any signs of slowing down. Thanks for stopping by! I hope you'll find some useful, informative, and enjoyable stuff here!

FAQ:

What Goes Up and What Does Not?

If I do find a site that seems redundant but has an interesting layout, is written in a different language, or has a photo, then I'll probably put it up for good measure. I also list site mirrors, and 'same article, different search result location or website' urls. I also labeled these too as 'mirrors' even though they are not exact mirrors per se...but...well, you catch my drift right?

I don't link at all to DejaNews/Google Groups newsgroup threads because most of it is opinion, speculation, or just musings, but nothing really solid on either Ian McDiarmid or the Almeida Theatre. Only if I find something to be considerably important will I consider doing so.

How Much Of What You Find Gets Posted?

In contrast, nearly 100% of everything I find at the online newsmagazines goes up immediately.

How Often Do You Search?

Because there is a lot of information to sift through ...trust me, you'd be surprised... it ususally takes me about 1-2 weeks or so to go through it all. I have to copy the urls, read them, write a description, paste them into DHTML, check the url to make sure it hasn't expired, count them, and then finally upload them.

And yes, I do indeed read each and every page I link to! I kinda have to because I need to screen them, and besides, I want to read 'em! There's some really interesting stuff here! I've actually gotten a renewed interest in the theatre just by reading all of this stuff! Boy that really makes me wish I lived in London, New York, or back in Washington DC sometimes...

It all takes awhile but it's worth it.

Have You Ever Met Mr. McDiarmid? Have You Ever Seen An Almeida Play?

I'd be really nice and an honor, but it's probably not a feasible idea for me.

How Can I Contact Mr. McDiarmid or the Almeida Theatre?

As for Mr. McDiarmid, you can write and/or send SASE to (thanks to Kwawin):

Ian McDiarmid
International Creative Management Ltd
Oxford House
76 Oxford Street
London W1N 0AX, ENGLAND

Subscribers the the Star Wars Insider could also get free fanmail forwarding to some addresses/actors- I don't know if they still do this or not so please don't quote me on that.

There are photo postcards of performances for sale at the Almeida Theatre, and yes there are some of Ian McDiarmid onstage. I understand they're quite used to that particular request. :-)

If you insist on a face-to-face meeting, Mr. McDiarmid reportedly stays around after stage performances so you can probably catch him then.

May I Submit Anything Here?

The criteria is simply that it be relevant to this site. It must be in regards to: Ian McDiarmid (any characters he has portrayed, movies or plays he has been in) and the Almeida Theatre (any of the plays performed there or comments on the theatre itself).

You don't have to submit anything if you don't wish to, but the option is there.

May I Submit Fanfiction Or Fanart?

Fanfiction no.

There are plenty of other and more appropriate forums for fanfiction. However I will link to your story if you think it applies to this site AND I get enough requests. So far there's no interest.

Again, you don't have to submit anything if you don't wish to, but the option is there.

How Did You Become A Fan Of Ian McDiarmid's?