Imagine that you are in London and you have a free evening. You’d like to go to the theatre. Study the information how to book your theatre tickets in London. How to Book Your Theatre Tickets

Develop the following statements into situations or short stories.

1. Will you go and buy tickets for me?

2. Let’s go to the pictures.

3. I’d rather go to the Drama Theatre.

4. I wonder if somebody would join us.

5. I suggest we start at 6 o’clock. The doors of the House shut at 7.

6. It’s a shame you can’t go with us tonight. What about next Sunday?

7. We are going to see a new ballet at the Bolshoi Theatre. Would you join us?

8. I wonder if anybody would like to go with me to book the tickets for the play?

Study the following passage. Be ready to speak about any performance you like.

The Green Table.

Dance of Death in eight scenes. Book by Kurt Joos. Music by Fritz Cohen. Choreography by Kurt Joos. First presented in 1932.

One of the most renowned dance works of the century, Kurt Joos’s ballet about war and death was first performed in the 1930s. Memories of World War I were still fresh and apprehensions of another war dominated many people’s thoughts. Although naturally influenced by the time of its creation, “The Green Table” has been successfully presented ever since, testifying to the power of its theme and presentation. The English critic John Percival has written: “The Green Table” must be one of the most shocking ballets ever created, in the proper sense of the world , but its impact remains the same after repeated performances”.

Subtitled “A Dance of Death”, the ballet is about diplomacy and war, the seeming uselessness of talk, the horror of battle. The table of the title is the green baize table to be found in a diplomatic conference room, where the ballet begins. Three men in morning dress negotiate at the table. The two sides cannot agree about the matter under discussion, evidently one of the great seriousness. In the final argument the diplomats pull out guns and fire them across the table, and war is declared.

We now see the result of the fruitless discussions and watch as Death, stalking throughout the battle like a rentless demonic force, claims his victims. There is a scene of parting, as soldiers leave war, scenes of carnage in battle and refugees fleeting, a scene in a brothel and the homecoming of the few survivors. Death claims every one; the fighting men, an old mother, a young girl in a brothel, a war profiteer. Then the action returns to the beginning and we are at the conference table again. Signifying peace, the diplomats fire their revolvers into the air and get on with discussion.

8. Comment on the following quotations.

1. Theatre is a magnifying glass. (M. Neyelova)

2. My character must live inside me for quite some time and I must believe in his identity more strongly than even the director does. (V. Tikhonov)

3. An actor certainly needs success and popularity. (L. Gurtchenko)

4. I would like to play women of deep emotions and whole-hearted strong character. (A. Vertinskaya)

5. I can see poetry everywhere, even in the grass. (A. Demidova)

With a partner, create the beginning of a script for a documentary, sitcom, miniseries or news broadcast. Keep in mind that it should be a compromise between written and spoken English. Read or perform your script for the class.

Topics for discussion.

1. It is often believed that TV and the cinema are eclipsing theatrical art, which is actually dying.

2. Many people believe that it’s much more convenient to watch a performance on TV at home. You don’t have to bother about the tickets, a baby-sitter, transport, etc. Give your comments.