D. Soho theatre

C. COTTESLOE THEATRE

The Cottesloe — named after Lord Cottesloe, chairman of the South Bank Board (the body responsible for the construction of the National) — is the smallest, the barest, the most potentially flexible and (for some people) the most potentially influential of the National houses. It is a dark-walled rectangular room, which can hold up to 300 people, but may readily be rearranged to take fewer. On three sides of the room two tiers of pillared galleries look down on an adjustable floor-space, which has no fixed seating or staging. This National cockpit 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 galleries.

Situated in the heart of London's West End, it is a state of the art venue with theatre, studio and ancillary space and is home to Soho Theatre's diverse range of new plays, comedy, writers' development work and an innovative community and education programme. Soho Theatre's auditorium seats 144-160 people on comfortably cushioned benches. The seating is unreserved and arranged on a high rake which means that the sight-lines are excellent wherever you sit. Unlike a conventional studio space, the stage has an impressive depth and scale and can be completely transformed with each production. Sets have ranged from the minimal to a two-story house, a barn and even a wrestling ring. Whether you're coming to see a play, comedy or join in a writers' event, you can expect a smart but informal atmosphere in a contemporary and intimate setting.

*Laurence Olivier (1907 89) -one of the greatest British actors of the 20th century.

* The National Theatre — a modern building on the South Bank in London containing three famous theatres.

* The Old Vic — a theatre in South London, especially famous for its plays by Shakespeare.

6. Work in pairs. Find in the texts the words meaning:

Text A — administrator, training room, trial, contain, looking like a flat object that you wave to make the air cooler, hall, level, vertical, collected, side, brush off, width, range;

Text B — usual, fundamental, vision position, sound, vision-interfering, column, banister, danger, adjustable;

Text C — non-decorated, transformable, contain, arena, event;

Text D — using the latest methods, materials, or knowledge; place, auxiliary, varied, padded, size, an informal communication with an author, modern.

7. Watch the documentary film “The Drury Lane Theatre” and do the following tasks.

Дата добавления: 2014-11-06