The art of acting. From the fall of the Roman Empire until the 10th century, acting hardly existed as an art in Western Europe only the wandering minstrels gave entertainment in castles and at fairs.
In England, the first real actors were amateurs who performed Miracle and Morality plays, which were religious in character. In the Elizabethan age, the first professional theatres were opened. At the time of Shakespeare there were at least six companies of actors. Shakespeare himself joined the Earl of Leisesters company, which under James I became known as the Kings Men. There were also companies of boy actors.
All the womens parts were played by boys. It was very difficult for most actors to earn a living on the stage, even in a London company, and many of them fell into debt. When Shakespeare arrived in London in 1586, the acting was very crude and conventional. There was almost no scenery, and the actors were dressed in the costumes of their day. But when The Globe was opened to the public in 1599, it started the golden age of the theatre in England. In the first half of the 17th century the influence of the Puritans was bad for the popular theatre, and it was not before the restoration of the monarchy in 1660 that theatre going again became a popular habit.
The most popular plays were comedies. The first part played by an actress was that of Desdemona. Nell Gwynn was the first English actress. By the beginning of the 18th century the most popular type of play was the sentimental comedy. The acting was artificial probably due to the influence of French actors. But, later, under the influence of David Garrick and some other actors, acting became much more naturalistic.
David Garrick was one of the greatest actors known. But even at his time acting was not very popular. An actor whose acting had offended the audience had to ask pardon on his knees before a full house before he could continue in his profession. During the 19th century acting became more and more naturalistic. Like in Shakespeares time, the best actors understood the importance of the teamwork of the company.
One of the most famous actors of that time was Henry Irving. He was the first actor to be knighted. By the 1920s naturalistic acting reached a peak in the performance of Sir Gerald Du Maurier. He hardly appeared to be acting at all. At present most acting still continues to be naturalistic. Designers make the settings as realistic as possible. Modern producers and directors Peter Hall, Peter Brook and others are trying out new styles of acting. Some go back to Greek methods, with a revival of the chorus others are making use of the audience in helping to interpret the play. British Drama Theatre Today Britain is now one of the worlds major theatres centres. Many British actors and actresses are known all over the world.
They are Dame Peggy Ashcroft, Glenda Jackson, Laurence Olivier, John Gielgud and others. Drama is so popular with people of all ages that there are several thousand amateur dramatic societies. Now Britain has about 300 professional theatres.
Some of them are privately owned. The tickets are not hard to get, but they are very expensive. Regular seasons of opera and ballet are given at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in London. The National Theatre stages modern and classical plays, the Royal Shakespeare Company produces plays mainly by Shakespeare and his contemporaries when it performs in Stratford-on-Avon, and modern plays in its two auditoria in the Citys Barbican Centre. Shakespeares Globe Playhouse, about which you have probably read, was reconstructed on its original site. Many other cities and large towns have at least one theatre.
There are many theatres and theatre companies for young people the National Youth Theatre and the Young Vic Company in London, the Scottish Youth Theatre in Edinburgh. The National Youth Theatre, which stages classical plays mainly by Shakespeare and modern plays about youth, was on tour in Russian in 1989. The theatre-goers warmly received the production of Thomas Stearns Eliot s play Murder in the Cathedral. Many famous English actors started their careers in the National Youth Theatre.
Among them Timothy Dalton, the actor who did the part of Rochester in Jane Eyre shown on TV in our country. VOCABULARY reign - царствование expansion - расширение chiefly - главным образом, в основном grief - горе dedicate - посвящать fan - vaulting - веерный ребристый свод royal treasury - королевское казначейство devotion - преданность earn - зарабатывать out - of - doors - на открытом воздухе brass band - духовой оркестр military band - военный оркестр bagpipe - волынка chanter - верхний голос windbag - мешок перемотки complexity - сложность obviously - очевидно flock - стекаться worth - while - стоящий gesture - жест ploy - развлечение.