Language focus. · History of Theatre in Great Britain

MODULE 2

· History of Theatre in Great Britain

· A Visit to the Theatre

· The performance arts: reviews and critiques

· The Ukrainian Theatre

· The Ukrainian Theatre. My Favourite Playwright/Actor/Actress

— Speaking

Comment on the following quotation:

“All the world ‘s a stage. And all the men and women merely players:

They have their exits and their entrances”

/W.Shakespeare “As You Like It”/

History of Theatre in Great Britain

& 1. Read the text. Make sure you study the language of the text to be competent in further exercises and discussions.

HISTORY OF THEATRE IN

GREAT BRITAIN

THE ELIZABETHAN THEATRE

Although plays of one sort and another had been acted for many generations, no permanent playhouse was erected in England until 1576. In the 1570's the Lord Mayor and Aldermen of the City of London and the players were constantly at variance. As a result James Burbage, then the leader of the great Earl of Leicester's players, decided that he would erect a playhouse outside the jurisdiction of the Lord Mayor, where the players would no longer be hindered by the authorities. Accordingly in 1576 he built the Theatre in Shoreditch, at that time a suburb of London. The experiment was successful, and by 1592 there were two more playhouses in London, the Curtain /also in Shoreditch/, and the Rose on the south bank of the river, near Southwark Cathedral.

Elizabethan players were accustomed to act on a variety of stages; in the great hall of a nobleman's house, or one of the Queen's palaces, in town halls and in yards, as well as their own theatre.

The public playhouse for which most of Shakespeare's plays were written was a small and intimate affair. The outside measurement of the Fortune Theatre, which was built in 1600 to rival the new Globe, was but eighty feet square. Playhouses were usually circular or octagonal, with three tiers of galleries looking down upon the yard or pit, which was open to the sky. The stage jutted out into the yard so that the actors came forward into the midst of their audience. Over the stage there was a roof, and on either side doors by which the characters entered or disappeared. Over the back of the stage ran a gallery or upper stage which was used whenever an upper scene was needed, as when Romeo climbs up to Juliet's bedroom, or the citizens of Angiers address King John from the walls. The space beneath this upper stage was known as the tiring house; it was concealed from the audience by a curtain which would be drawn back to reveal an inner stage, for such scenes as the witches' cave in Macbeth, Prospero's cell or Juliet's tomb.

There was no general curtain concealing the whole stage, so that all scenes on the main stage began with an entrance and ended with an exit. Thus in tragedies the dead must be carried away. There was no scenery, and therefore no limit to the number of scenes, for a scene came to an end when the characters left the stage. When it was necessary for the exact locality of a scene to be known, then Shakespeare indicated it in the dialogue; otherwise a simple property or a garment was sufficient; a chair or stool showed an indoor scene, a man wearing riding boots was a messenger, a king wearing armour was on the battlefield, or the like. Such simplicity was on the whole an advantage; the spectator was not distracted by the setting and Shakespeare was able to use as many scenes as he wished. The action passed by very quickly: a play of 2500 lines of verse could be acted in two hours. Moreover, since the actor was so close to his audience, the slightest subtlety of voice and gesture was easily appreciated.

The company was a "Fellowship of Players", who were all partners and shares. There were usually ten to fifteen full members, with three or four boys, and some paid servants. Shakespeare had therefore to write for his team. The chief actor in the company was Richard Burbage, who first distinguished himself as Richard III; for him Shakespeare wrote his great tragic parts. An important member of the company was the clown or low comedian. From 1594 to 1600 the company's clown was Will Kemp; he was succeeded by Robert Armin. No women were allowed to appear on the stage, and all women's parts were taken by boys.

2. Comprehensive questions:

1. When did James Burbage decide to erect a playhouse? Why?

2. What was the name of the first playhouse?

3. Was the experiment successful?

4. Where were Elizabethan players accustomed to act?

5. When was the Fortune Theatre built?

6. Describe the building of the Elizabethan theatre.

7. What do you know about the company a "Fellowship of Players"?

8. Were women allowed to appear on the stage?

9. Did the stage resemble the present day one?

Language focus

Explain the meanings of the following words and word combinations in English and use them in situations of your own:

1. to be at variance

2. to hinder

3. outside measurement

4. outside the jurisdiction

5. to be a small and intimate affair

6. rival

7. octagonal

8. to jut out

9. to come forward into the midst of their audience

10. to conceal

11. garment

12. to distract

13. subtlety

14. to be appreciated

15. to be sufficient

16. to distinguish oneself as

17. to be succeeded by

! Memory work

4. Enrich your vocabulary:

to conceal smth. from smb. – приховувати будь-що від будь-кого

to conceal oneself -ховатися

to reveal oneself -з'явитися, виявитися

to reveal one's іdentіfy - назвати себе

suffіcіent tіtle - достатня підстава

sіmplіcіty of habіts - скромні звички

to be dіstracted wіth paіn - збожеволіти від болю

such subtletіes are beyond my reach - такі тонкощі вище мого розуміння

to dіstіnguіsh oneself - відрізнитися

dіstіnguіshіng features –розпізнавальні ознаки

dіstіnguіshed guest - почесний гість

rollіng scenery -пересувні декорації

a change of scenery - зміна обстановки

to be complіmentary about the the scenery – схвально озиватися про декорації

we erected a statue to hіs memory - на згадку про нього ми поставили статую

to erect the ears - насторожити вуха

to buіld /to erect/ a monument - спорудити пам'ятник

varіances іn temperature - коливання температури

fortune's varіance - мінливість долі

states at varіance -держави, між якими виник конфлікт

(to be) at varіance - у сварці

to set at varіance - викликати конфлікт

domestіc jurіsdіctіon - внутрішня компетенція

wіthіn (the) jurіsdіctіon (of) - у межах юрисдикції

to hіnder smb. - заважати кому-небудь

to hіnder smb. іn smth. - заважати комусь у чомусь

to become accustomed - звикнути

іntіmate detaіls - інтимні подробиці

іntіmate dіary - особистий щоденник

іntіmate connectіon - інтимний зв'язок

to be іntіmate wіth smb. - бути в інтимних відносинах з ким-небудь.

іntіmate frіend - близький друг

іntіmate relatіons - дружні відносини

to be on іntіmate terms wіth smb. -підтримувати дружні (приятельські) відносини з ким-небудь; бути в інтимних (любовних) відносинах з ким-небудь.

rіval fіrms - конкуруючі фірми

rіval decіsіon - альтернативне рішення

busіness rіvals - конкуренти

rіvals іn love - суперники в коханні

wіthout a rіval - не має суперників; не має собі рівних, неперевершений, поза конкуренцією

three tіers of shelves - три ряди полиць

arranged tіer upon tіer - укладення в кілька полиць

to arrange іn tіers - укласти в кілька ярусів

the lowest tіer of socіety - нижчий клас суспільства

? 5. Give English equivalents for the following word combinations:

заборонене носіння зброї; він насилу приховував роздратування; бути надійно захованим; він не міг приховати свою непідготовленість до цієї роботи; приховувати свої задуми під маскою ввічливості; ховати (укривати) біженця; приховувати своє справжнє ім'я походження, неуцтво, страх; приховувати правду; він повернувся так, що ми розгледіли (побачили) його обличчя; його поведінка свідчить про великий розум; у картині безпомилково вгадується її автор; я розповім вам, як мені це представилося;

відкрити (повідати) кому-небудь. таємницю; відкрити кому-небудь свою душу; він не та людина, яку варто знайомити з такою важливою інформацією; свідок відмовився назвати особу, що дала йому відомості;

розкрити змову; його мовчання красномовніше слів; хіба мого слова не досить?; простота завдання (аргументації); сувора простота; простодушність (щирість) дитини; простодушність, прямодушність.

X Listening

Дата добавления: 2015-11-04