Dorfman Theatre

The Dorfman Theatre (formerly the Cottesloe Theatre) has been redeveloped, with a greater capacity, more comfortable seats, better sight-lines and enlarged foyer spaces. It is the smallest, the barest and the most potentially flexible of the National Theatre houses. It is a dark-walled rectangular room, which can hold up to 350 people, but may readily be rearranged to take fewer. On three sides of the room there are two levels, the balcony and gallery, which look down on an adjustable floor-space which has no fixed seating or staging. This space may be used for classical staging, for the latest experimental theatre, or for practically anything in between. You can stage an event at one end with or without a proscenium, in a corner, or in the centre. You can clear the floor of seats, or group the audience close in around a central happening. Everything is open to change except the balcony and gallery.

Your new, transformed National Theatre is almost ready. Soon you’ll be able to see shows in the new Dorfman Theatre; make amazing discoveries in the Clore Learning Centre – and even watch new productions being created backstage. As well as enjoying a warm welcome and improved facilities every time you visit. This £80m redevelopment is called NT Future, and here is where you can discover what’s happening and how you can get involved. We’ve only got this far with the support of audience members like you. So thank you. Please give all you can to make sure you’re part of this exciting future.

24. Give the English definition and the Russian translation to the following words:

1) storage	3) crush	5) spill out
2) extend	4) scrum

25. Fill in the gaps with the words or word combinations from the video. Read the sentences beforehand!

1) They’ve taken away some ________________________ at the sides.

2) That allows us to have about 100 more ____________. A lot of the experience within the theatre is going to be very much more comfortable and ____________.

3) The foyer is going to be greatly ____________.

4) It was a bit of a ____________before!

5) The ____________ space is also going to be used for educational purposes.

6) The seating here is on ____________. So it means they can bring the theatre to a flat floor and perhaps do educational work within the space.

7) It’s lovely to see that we’ve not ____________ that character.

8) NT Future - ____________YOUR National Theatre. Give today and create a theatre for tomorrow.

26. Ask and answer the following questions with your partne:

1) Have you ever been to the theatre in another country?

2) Would you like to see a theatre play in the National Theatre?

3) Is the theatre only for rich people?

4) Do you think theatre tickets are reasonably priced in Russia and abroad?

5) Do you think it is a good idea to donate to the redevelopment of theatres?

Have a look at the graph showing the types of the Arts the British prefer. You have got 15 minutes in a TV show to talk the British into going to the theatre. Make up your speech performance as assuring as possible.

Writing

28. Read the following quotations about theatre. Which one do you like? Write an essay based on the one you’ve chosen.

1) “A talent for drama is not a talent for writing, but is an ability to articulate human relationships.” (Gore Vidal, American novelist, critic)

2) “Every now and then, when you’re on stage, you hear the best sound a player can hear. It’s a sound you can’t get in movies or in television. It is the sound of a wonderful, deep silence that means you’ve hit them where they live.” (Shelley Winters, American actress)

3) “My playground was the theatre. I’d sit and watch my mother pretend for a living. As a young girl, that’s pretty seductive.” (Gwyneth Paltrow, American actress)

4) “The primary function of a theater is not to please itself, or even to please its audience. It is to serve talent.” (Robert Brustein, American drama critic)

5) “The novel is more of a whisper, whereas the stage is a shout.” (Robert Holman, British dramatist)

Дата добавления: 2015-11-04