Vocabulary

1.Translate the following sentences from English into Russian.

1. The play was rathersuccessful.

2. The performance was a tremendous success.

3. It’s a very interesting production but too unusual to be a box office success.

4. They put on a musical of “Jane Eyre” but it was a flop.

5. What sort of reviews did it get?

6. What were the reviews like?

7. It had favorable reviews.

8. It was reviewed in “The Observer”.

9. The productionwas enthusiastically received.

10. The play was well received by the critics

11. Pinter’s new play was given a cool reception both by the public and the critics.

12. The new production of “The Rivals” by Sheridan was given an enthusiastic reception at the National Theatre yesterday.

2.Fill in the gaps with the words from the list below. Act out the dialogues.

Dialogue 1

• Well, and now that the ____________ is over, what’s your impression ____________ it?

• Everything is just wonderful! The play itself, the ____________, the stage effects, the ____________ were too marvelous ____________ words.

• You are right, especially the acting – that was simply ____________.

• You know, at times I completely forgot myself. And what an____________ audience! Did you ever hear such ____________ applause from spectators every time the curtain ____________?

• I’ve never seen an audience ____________ so much before. I think there were more than five curtain calls. I clapped so much that my ____________ even now.

List of words: applaud, performance, bursts of, for, went down, palms hurt, beyond description, acting, appreciative, staging, of.

Dialogue 2

• Oh, hello! Where have you been?

• To the theatre. I was lucky enough to get the ticket before the performance.

• What did they present?

• They were showing “School for Scandal” by the great English playwright Sheridan.

• Is it still on? It has been on the ____________ for a long time, hasn`t it? I thought it had been ____________.

• No, it has such a ____________ reception that it just can`t be taken of now. People still want to see it and there is a queue outside the theatre every night in spite of the “____________” sign.

• Well, how did you like it?

• Oh, it was ____________. Too marvelous for words. Really, I was so deeply impressed by the play that I can hardly put into words what I think of it. It’s one of the best productions I’ve ever seen.

• What about the ____________?

• Sergeev and Petrova in the leading roles were superb. Their acting is so natural and true-to-life that you simply forget that you are watching a play. I was completely ____________ by their performance. Not only the main roles, but even some of the ____________ ones were performed by People’s Actors of Russia. The audiences brought the house down after every scene. I’ve never seen such an enthusiastic audience. The actors got many ____________ and were presented with large bouquets of flowers.

• So you’re not sorry to have gone?

• No, I’ve never enjoyed a show more. Now I’m looking forward to the first night performance of “Macbeth”. Would you like to join me next Saturday?

• Most ____________!

• Then I’ll book two seats over the phone.

• All right. I think I must be going now. See you later.

List of words:curtain calls, taken off, splendid, willingly, bill-boards, cast, sold out, supporting, carried away, favourable.