The Stage is a weekly British newspaper founded in 1880, available nationally and published on Thursdays. Covering all areas of the entertainment industry but focused primarily on theatre, it contains news, reviews, opinion, features and other items of interest, mainly to those who work within the industry.

It is an important publication for actors throughout the country, as it contains regular advertisements for available jobs and provides an opportunity for various acts to promote themselves to agents and directors.

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.

John Christopher "Johnny" Depp II (born June 9, 1963) is an American actor, producer and musician. He has won the Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild award for Best Actor. Depp rose to prominence on the 1980s television series 21 Jump Street, becoming a teen idol. Dissatisfied with that status, Depp turned to film for more challenging roles; he played the title character of Edward Scissorhands (1990) and later found box office success in films such as Sleepy Hollow (1999), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), Rango (2011) and the Pirates of the Caribbean film series (2003–present). He has collaborated with director and friend Tim Burton in eight films, most recently with Dark Shadows (2012).

Depp has gained acclaim for his portrayals of people such as Ed Wood, in Ed Wood, Joseph D. Pistone in Donnie Brasco, Hunter S. Thompson in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, George Jung in Blow, and the bank robber John Dillinger in Michael Mann's Public Enemies. Films featuring Depp have grossed over $3.1 billion at the United States box office and over $7.6 billion worldwide. He has been nominated for top awards many times, winning the Best Actor Awards from the Golden Globes for Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street and from the Screen Actors Guild for Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. He also has garnered a sex symbol status in American cinema, being twice named as the "Sexiest Man Alive" by People magazine in 2003 and 2009. He has been listed in the 2012 Guinness Book of World Records as the highest paid actor, with $75 million.

Haruki Muramatsu (村松 治樹, Muramatsu Haruki^?) (born 15 April 1977) is a Japanese darts player.

Muramatsu qualified for the 2010 PDC World Darts Championship. He defeated Poland's Krzysztof Kciuk 4-1 in the preliminary round, but lost 3-0 to Ronnie Baxter in the first round.

Muramatsu qualified for his second PDC World Championship in 2012, where he beat Dennis Nilsson 4-2 in legs in the preliminary round to set up a last 64 meeting with 15-time world champion, Phil Taylor. He was beaten 0-3 but did manage to win three legs during the match, including breaking Taylor's throw twice. Taylor said after the match that Muramatsu would have "frightened any pro" with the level of his performance during the match. He moved to 94 in the PDC Order of Merit after the Championship. Muramatsu represented Japan with Morihiro Hashimoto in the 2012 PDC World Cup of Darts and together they were beaten 2-5 by Sweden in the first round.

Paul "Sage" Francis (born November 18, 1976) is a hip hop artist from Providence, Rhode Island. He is a founder of Strange Famous Records.

Born Paul Francis in Miami, Florida, Sage Francis is a rapper, writer and performer from Providence, Rhode Island. He is a founder and CEO of the independent hip hop record label Strange Famous Records. The label first began as a way for him to release his previously unreleased songs in the late 1990s. It has since evolved into an official enterprise with an expanding roster of like-minded artists. He released several Sick Of mixtapes available only on his tours and website.

Sage Francis won the Scribble Jam emcee battle in 2000. In 2001, the song "Makeshift Patriot," recorded on October 11, 2001, became an Internet hit for its critique of American media during, and immediately following, the September 11 attacks. He released the critically acclaimed first solo album Personal Journals in 2002. He signed to Epitaph Records, making himself the first hip hop artist to sign with the punk rock label. He subsequently released three albums with Epitaph Records; A Healthy Distrust, Human the Death Dance and Li(f)e.