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9. Have you seen any Shaw’s plays?

Theater

Britain has a long tradition of theater. It was introduced from Europe to England by the Romans. By the medieval period theatre had developed a form of early street theatre, concentrating on themes such as Saint George and the Dragon and Robin Hood. The actors travelled from town to town performing those for their audiences.

The reign of Elizabeth I saw a flowering of the theater. The Elizabethan age is sometimes nicknamed " the age of William Shakespeare" for the amount of influence he held over the era. His 40 plays include tragedies, such as Hamlet (1603), Othello (1604), and King Lear (1605) Romeo and Juliet; comedies, such as A Midsummer Night's Dream (1594—96) and Twelfth Night (1602); and history plays, such as Henry IV.

During the Revolution of 1642—1660, English theatres were closed by the Puritans. When the London theatres were opened again with the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660, they flourished under the personal interest and support of Charles II. The audiences were attracted by the introduction of the first professional actresses (in Shakespeare's time, all female roles had been played by boys). New genres of the Restoration were heroic dramas and comedies.

In the 18th century, the Restoration comedy was replaced by an overwhelming interest in Italian opera. A change came in the late 19th century with the plays by the Irishmen George Bernard Shaw, Oscar Wilde and Norwegian Henrik Ibsen, all of whom vitalised English drama again.

The Irish playwright Bernard Show, (1856-190) wrote a great number of satirical, witty and psychological plays that became well known not only in Britain, but also all over the world, including Russia. Among Shaw’s best-known plays are Heartbreak House, Saint Joan and Pygmalion, based on a Greek myth about a sculptor who carved a statue of a woman and fell in love with her. The adaptation of Pygmalion is a very popular musical “My Fair Lady”, successfully staged in Broadway and many Europeans theaters.

Today there are over 200 theaters in Britain: 40 of which are situated in London’s West End. The most famous British theaters are The Royal Opera and Royal Ballet, both based at Covent Garden, the National Theatre and the Barbican Theatre. The National is a part of the South Bank Arts Centre, located near the River Thames. The Centre contains three theatres, cinemas, an art gallery, lecture and concert halls. The diamond of the National is the 1. 160-seat Oliver Theatre, named after famous actor and director Laurence Olivier. The Royal Shakespeare Company performs at the Barbican in London and in Shakespeare's birthplace Stratford-upon-Avon.

Pop music in Britain is an important part of British culture. It is mainly a mixture of styles. It is difficult to find people who don’t listen to music at least for pleasure so it is not surprising, that music can be an instrument of social influence and change. A prolific composer of the 20th century Andrew Lloyd Webberhas dominated the West End for a number of years and his musicals have travelled to Broadway inNew York and around the world, as well as being turned into films.

In the 20th century American influences became most dominant in popular music, with young performers producing their own versions of American music, developing a parallel music scene. This led to the explosion of the 'British Invasion' of America of the early 1960s, headed by The Beatles, with movements on one side of the ocean being exported to the other. As a result of these factors the United Kingdom remained a major source of musical innovation and participation in the modern era.

1. Answer the following question:

1. When was the term ballad used in its present sense?

2. What is one of the oldest printed fairy tales in England?

3. What important information does the British folklore contain?

4. What English fairy tales and legends do you know?