THE BRITISH THEATRE

One of the main reasons for so many wanting to visit Britain is its enviable reputation in the performing arts. In music and drama, opera and ballet, there are endless opportunities for visitors to enjoy themselves to the hilt.

There are today about 200 professional theatres in Britain. The centre of theatrical activity is of course London, where there are some 40 principle theatres in the West End and several more in the suburbs.

The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), one of Britain’s most important theatre companies performing at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre at Stratford-upon-Avon and at the theatre at the Barbican, a large cultural centre in London opened in 1982.

The Royal Shakespeare Theatre is one of the most comfortable and best equipped. Shakespeare’s Birthday in Stratford is a characteristically English occasion. It has been said that on the 23^rd of April the world comes to Stratford. Diplomats and ambassadors arrive for the Birthday Luncheon with its toasts to ‘The Immortal Memory of William Shakespeare’ and ‘The Drama’.

The National Theatre, 1) a London theatre opened on the South Bank site in 1976, and staging both classical and modern plays; 2) the theatre company famous for its productions of Shakespeare’s plays.

Britain’s long-awaited National Theatre was officially opened on the 25^th of October, 1976, at a gala night celebration which included a spectacular firework display and a performance of a Venetian comedy – a suitable choice for a national theatre of international importance. Hundreds of distinguished people from all over the world came to the celebrations.

The National, as it is known, is a part of the South Bank arts complex, overlooking a beautiful part of the River Thames. The whole complex contains theatres, cinemas, an art gallery, lecture halls, concert halls, restaurants and bars. And the National contains not one but three theatres in one: the Olivier [o’lıvıə], the Lyttelton and the Cottesloe theatres.

Britain’s new National Theatre is a major achievement. The fact that nearly every performance is sold out is proof of its success. People queue up outside the theatre every day for cheap tickets for the evening performance.

The Globe (Theatre), 1) a famous theatre built in 1599 on the south bank of the Thames, in which Shakespeare’s greatest plays were first performed. It was burnt down in 1613, rebuilt in 1614, and remained in use until 1644 when it was demolished to make space for new houses; 2) a theatre in Shaftesbury Avenue, London, staging mainly light comedies and musicals. It was founded in 1906.

St. George’s Theatre, a theatre in Islington, London, which is of special interest to students of English. Originally the building was a church, but it has since been designed to closely resemble the playhouse of Elizabethan times – the type of theatre in which Shakespeare and his fellow actors originally performed. In the 1980s the company at St. Georges presented ‘Macbeth’, ‘The Merchant of Venice’, and ‘The Winter’s Tale’. But they don’t only present plays. They also have a special introduction to each play that is designed for foreign students of English. At these sessions the students have the opportunity to discuss the play with the actors and are told about the characters and the plot of the play which they are going to see.

Date: 2016-04-22; view: 1305