Cultur B1+ Unit
Art on stage
Theatrein� London
� �
1 Talk about the statistics with your partner.
Answer the questions. ■ 241 professional theatres
1 Does the information about the theatre in ■ more than 110,000 seats
London surprise you? ■ 24% of holiday visitors to London go to the theatre
2 Why do you think going to the theatre is ■ up to £620 million in box office revenue last year
■ 22 million theatre visitors each year, compared
much more popular than a football match?
to 13 million for major UK football matches
3 Do you enjoy going to the theatre? What
sort of shows do you like or dislike?
2a Read the theatre programme. Find two events that took place in 2003.
Art on stage
This month London sees four fabulous stage
performances from all over the world, bringing a rich
mix of cultural entertainment for all the family.
1–8 March: Riverdance
Our first show of March is a hugely popular dance production from Ireland. First
performed in Dublin in 1995, the show has been seen by over 25 million people in 450
venues globally, making it one of the most successful dance acts in the world.
The dancing traditions of Ireland go back about 2,000 years to a time when the country was
experiencing a lot of population changes. Migrants, mainly from continental Europe, brought
with them different styles of music and dance. Over the centuries, these dancing techniques
developed into the rich heritage of Irish dance known today. The style of dance is very
particular, with rapid leg and foot movements and the body and arms kept mostly
still. Dances are accompanied by traditional Irish musical instruments and performers wear
costumes of the style worn in Ireland 200 years ago.
9–16 March: 17–24
Wayang Puppet March:
Theatre Kathakali
We’re excited to
Dance-Drama
introduce a performance In mid-March, we welcome a
of the acclaimed Wayang group of actors from Kerala in
Puppet Theatre from India with an inspiring
Indonesia. In 2003, performance of Kathakali, the
Wayang was added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List as a classical dance-drama famous
masterpiece of Indonesian cultural identity, and is the most for its colourful characters
ancient form of puppet theatre known in the world. and elaborate costumes.
Wayang is an ancient form of storytelling that’s said to have With a history going back more
been introduced to the Indonesian island of Java centuries ago. It than 1,500 years, Kathakali is
uses a unique theatre style of light and shadow to act out based on folk dances and
traditional tales with characters from local, Indian and Persian traditional stories
legends. The beautiful puppets are handcrafted and made of from southern India. The storytelling is very powerful and
leather, and the puppeteer moves their arms using bamboo emotional, and is performed through song and gesture – the
sticks while narrating the story. Meanwhile, a traditional cast uses elaborate body and facial expressions to act. This is
orchestra plays intense music and the puppeteer changes his or accompanied by musicians playing percussion instruments
her voice to create suspense as the drama increases. such as drums and cymbals.
25 March–25 April: Wicked the Musical
One of musical theatre’s best-loved shows comes to London at the end of the month.
Wicked first opened on Broadway in 2003 and tells an alternative version of the classic
novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
Musicals are popular shows in western culture combining song, dialogue, acting and dance.
First appearing in the 19th century in the theatres of London as music hall concerts, they were
then taken to the US where their popularity grew in the theatres of New York. The origins of
musical theatre go back to the comedies and tragedies of Ancient Greece, which first joined
music and dance together. This evolved into other European theatrical forms, such as opera.
Today, musicals are mainly light-hearted and the stories they tell can be original or adapted
from historical events, films, books, etc.
This page has been downloaded from www.macmillangateway2.com
Photocopiable © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2016 1 of 2
Cultur B1+ Unit
2b Read the theatre programme again. Are these sentences True (T) or False (F)?
1 Kathakali is based on ancient storytelling, but the main characters aren’t actors. T / F
2 Musicals are stage shows that are generally light and optimistic. T / F
3 Wayang is a unique style of theatre because it doesn’t use actors. T / F
4 Irish dance evolved from the popular music hall concerts of the 19th century. T / F
5 Wicked is a musical adapted from a well-known play. T / F
6 Expression plays an important role in Kathakali dramas. T / F
7 Riverdance is an international dance production. T / F
8 The narrator of Wayang stories also plays musical instruments to increase the drama. T / F
2b Read and tick (✔) the correct performances. Irish dance Wayang Kathakali Musical
1 A performance that includes song.
2 A performance without dialogue.
3 A performance that tells a story.
4 A performance without actors.
5 A performance with characters from eastern culture.
6 A performance originating in Europe.
Gateway to culture
3a Answer the questions.
1 Which of the shows in the theatre programme in 2a
would you like to see? Why?
2 What kind of theatre shows are popular in your
country?
3 Is there any particular kind of theatre associated with
your country?
4 How important do you think theatre is as an art
form?
This page has been downloaded from www.macmillangateway2.com
Photocopiable © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2016 1 of 2
