Theatre

The 20th century brought great changes into the theatre. Cinema, radio, television, video altered the course of the major performing arts and created the new ones. But still there are hundreds of puppet theatres, conservatoires and philharmonics, musical comedy theatres, drama theatres and opera houses where the audiences are excited at the prospect of seeing a play and the actors are most encouraged by the warm reception. But before going to a theatre you should book a ticket at a box-office. The most expensive seats are in the stalls, boxes and dress-circle. The seats in the balcony, pit and the upper circle are less expensive, they are cheap. Then at the entrance to the theatre the attendant tears your theatre ticket in half. He gives you your half back so that you can find your seat by its number. Another attendant shows you to your seat and sells a programme that will tell you which parts the actors are playing and how many acts there are in the play. Then you take your seat and may enjoy the play. I have always envied the dwellers of large cities. They have so many opportunities to enjoy themselves. Theatres, cinemas, variety shows, circus, conservatoire, concert halls, etc. are at their disposal. In provincial towns like mine is we have only amateur dramatics. That's why I always take the smallest chance to go to a theatre when in a city.

Theatre is a place where you can see a play staged. It is also one of entertainments. A theatre consists of two parts: the stage and the hall. They are separated by a curtain and the orchestra. Actors and actresses perform on the stage and public occupies the hall, the pit, the dress-circles, the boxes and the gallery. If we made up our mind to go to the theatre we should go to the box-office to buy tickets. Seats can be reserved beforehand. The last performance I saw was the "Nut Cracker" by Tchaikovsky. How great it was! The main parts were performed by Vadim Pisarev and Inna Dorofeeva. Everyone knows that they are very talented dancers. But I also was impressed by a very young ballet-dancer who was performing the part of Masha girl. I think she deserves respect of the audience because she did her best and looked great for her young age. I had a great time that night. But we are to admit that theatre is not popular now as it used to be. There are many people who prefer to seat comfortably before the TV and enjoy themselves without leaving their homes.

Travelling

Almost all people are fond of travelling. It is very interesting to see new places, another towns and countries. People may travel either for pleasure or on business. There are various means of travelling. For me there is nothing like travel by air; it is more comfortable, more convenient and, of course, far quicker than any other means. There is none of the dust and dirt of a railway or car journey, none of the trouble of changing from train to steamer and then to another train.

With a train you have speed, comfort and pleasure combined. From the comfortable seat of a railway carriage you have a splendid view of the whole countryside. If you are hungry, you can have a meal in the dining-car; and if a journey is a long one you can have a wonderful bed in a sleeper.

Travelling by ship is also very popular now. It is very pleasant to feel the deck of the ship under the feet, to see the rise and fall of the waves, to feel the fresh sea wind blowing in the face and hear the cry of the seagulls.

Many people like to travel by car. It is interesting too, because you can see many sights in a short time, you can stop when and where you like, you do not have to buy tickets or carry your suitcases.

A very popular means of travelling is hiking. It is travelling on foot. Walking tours are very interesting. Hitch-hiking is a very popular method of travelling among young people. But it is not as popular in our country as abroad.