Shakespearean theatre uncovered in London

Under an old warehouse in Shoreditch, secrets of London's 16th Century Theatreland are being painstakingly uncovered. Thousands of artefacts have been uncovered giving us more clues about Elizabethan life.



Three meters under what was an old warehouse in Curtain Road Shoreditch, secrets of London’s 16th century theatre land are painstakingly uncovered.
It’s a hugely exciting project to be part of, and it’s not just that here we are with all that chance to look at one of this really rare buildings which is connected to people such as William Shakespeare, but it’s also what’s gonna happen to the archaeology at the end.
The Curtain Playhouse was one of London’s first theatres. Historians believe this was the first place where Shakespeare performed some of his plays. The rectangular shape of the stage and the mysterious underground tunnel are puzzling archaeologists.
You realise the size and shape of the stage, but these were doorways that would allow access under the stage so, again, you know, how were actors using that space, how does that influence what you can form on the stage itself. It’s asking a whole range of questions that can really kind of change our understanding of the evolution of early English drama.
We’ve got this lovely drinking jug…
Thousands of Elizabethan artefacts have also been found, including the cones everyone carried for tackling headlights.
These are tops from ceramic pots that would’ve been used to collect theatre-goers takings. They were sealed to prevent theft, and taken to a special office to break them open and transfer the money to a strongbox, hence the term box office, still in use today.
16th century audiences were apparently a rowdy bunch.
There would’ve been thousands coming to these places. We know about pawnshops, in fact there was a famous pawnshop at the door of The Curtain in 1613, we know people were eating and drinking, we know that people would throw rotten apples or whatever at the actors if they didn’t like it.
The Curtain Theatre and artefacts will be on show to the public when an office and housing development opens near the sight in 2019.
Yvonne Hall, BBC London News, Shoreditch.

Listening test: Art news

Listen to five news items related to art and music and match the headings below with the corresponding news. There are two headings you do not need to use.



A - Appearances can be deceptive
B - Health scare
C - Impending disaster
D - Long way back home
E - Striking similarities
F - Unexpected result
G - Versatile character

1
A musical riff Led Zeppelin is accused of stealing from another band for its 1971 classic “Stairway to Heaven” was not unique, singer Robert Plant and guitarist Jimmy Page’s attorney said at a civil trial that got underway with opening arguments on Tuesday. The lawsuit, which alleges the British band stole the opening chords for Stairway to Heaven from the 1967 instrumental Taurus by the American band Spirit, was brought by Michael Skidmore, a trustee for the late Randy Wolfe, Spirit’s guitarist and the composer of Taurus. In the latest case, Plant, 67, and Page, 72, appeared in court on Tuesday sporting long gray hair and are expected to testify eventually in the closely watched trial. Skidmore has said Page may have been inspired to write Stairway after hearing Spirit perform Taurus while the bands toured together back in 1968 and 1969, but that Wolfe never received credit. U.S. District Judge Gary Klausner said in April that a jury might find substantial similarity between the first two minutes of Stairway and Taurus, and to let it decide whether Plant and Page were liable for copyright infringement.

2
A warm welcome home for a marble sculpture of the head of Rome’s first emperor some 40 years after it was stolen. The sculpture of Augustus is one of the earliest known depictions of the leader, born more than 2,000 years ago. It’s the latest artifact from Italy’s ancient sites to be repatriated after being illegally smuggled abroad.
Deputy Foreign Minister Mario Giro says the sculpture’s return is a celebration of culture and humanity. The veiled head was on display at a museum in Brussels that purchased it in good faith from a private collection. Once determined to be stolen from Nepi near Rome, the museum returned it to Italy.

3
Rap star Lil Wayne has thanked his fans for their support after he suffered a minor seizure. The 33-year-old is in a stable condition following the incident on Monday. His spokesman confirmed the news after media reports that the Grammy Award winner was forced to make an emergency landing in Nebraska.
In an email Wayne’s rep said: “We can confirm that he did experience a minor seizure”. Adding: ‘’He is now in stable condition and good spirits. He thanks his fans for their everlasting support, prayers and well wishes.”
The incident comes three years after Lil Wayne spent several days at a Los Angeles hospital and soon after a radio station told that he is epileptic and prone to seizures. The New Orleans-born rapper began his professional career at the age of nine, when he became the youngest artist to be signed to Cash Money Records. Over a two-decade career, Lil Wayne has become one of the biggest names in rap music.

4
From afar it’s a colourful jungle of life-size animal sculptures and intricate landscapes. But look closer and the slinky leopard shows its true colors - it’s entirely made out of bullet shells. The works are made by Colombian artist Federico Uribe, who grew up in the country torn by five decades of war. Death, he says, was ever-present and serves as an inspiration for his art. Colourful shotgun casings and various calibre bullets he buys in bulk from a metal recycling company are his raw materials. His works are on display at Adelson Gallery in New York. The exhibit in New York runs until the end of July, and hopes to target audiences of all walks of life.

5
To his rock fans this is how Taiwanese musician Freddy Lim usually appears thrashing around on stage with his death metal band Chthonic. But, after winning a seat in Taiwan’s parliamentary elections in January this year, Freddy switched the make-up for a suit. He’s managing to juggle both music and politics, and while collecting a Global Metal Award in London he urged the crowd to follow his lead.
I’ve always thought that rockers are the strongest, most uncool people on earth. If all the world leaders were stripped out for metallers, think of all the issues we would finally have the courage to face. So if you want to do something interesting besides music, go run for office and let’s conquer the world. Oh wait, wait, I mean let’s change the world.
Known for his controversial music, Freddy promises his new political role won’t impact his creative choices As well as being busy in office, Freddy and Chthonic are also said to be working on a new movie and EP.

KEY:
1E 2D 3B 4A 5G

Listening test: Interview with Tamara Rojo

Listen to part of a BBC interview with Spanish ballerina Tamara Rojo and match extracts 1-6 with the corresponding heading A-H. There are two headings you do not need to use.


A - A bit of a maniac
B - An idol
C - Family background
D - Fitness is essential
E - How it all started
F - My place in the world
G - Obsession for ballet
H - Sudden realization

Extract 1
All of that generation wanted their children to achieve more than they had achieved. You know, it’s a working class people wanting to make the next generation middle class, so how do you become middle class? You go to university. I mean, my generation and the generation after me are probably the most educated generation in Spain because all of our parents wanted us to achieve what they couldn’t, which is go to university, learn languages, have a career like a doctor or a… something that feels like you’re better off than we are.
Extract 2
For my father it was an article that came out in The Times. I happened to be at the cover of The Times and one of his colleagues at work said, oh you must be very proud. And something changed. He suddenly thought, my god, I’m blind, you know, she’s really quite special, and achieved so much that from them on it was completely the opposite. He read everything about ballet, knows more about ballet history than I do. It’s completely different now.
Extract 3
I remember in the summer there was like a summer school and you could do one class, two classes. I would always do all of the classes. I would be there from 9am until 6pm, regardless of what they were teaching, sometimes doing the same class twice, just to be in a ballet class.
Extract 4
Everything from the costumes I’m really finicky about the costumes and how they have to fit and how that has to help my proportions, but even in class, you know, what I wear every day, it’s just a leotard but it’s always the same cut of leotard, and when they stop doing those things, it’s a drama for me because I have to find something else that it’s exactly the same. So, yeah, I am quiet maniatic of things like that.
Extract 5
For me Sylvie was absolute perfection. For me was what a ballerina should be. And I have seen her dance both in videos because at the time it was really difficult without internet. She was almost like an illegal trade, you know, someone would bring a new video from Paris and it would spread through the school. I’ve seen her in videos, and I’ve seen her in a gala performance. I remember I went to ask her. There’s only two people I have ever asked for a signature, and one was her, and she was really angry because she didn’t want to be seen in a rehearsal so she bollocked me completely for being there in the first place.
Extract 6
I think people in England are not aware of how lucky you are. Artists are free to create whatever they want. That is not the case in many other countries and so I think I’ve become a liberal in that way, that Britain is such a liberal country that I would find it very hard to live elsewhere.

KEY:
1C 2H 3G 4A 5B 6F

Walking Tour Guide: Shakespeare's Globe Theatre London

Watch this short guide of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in London and say whether the statements below are true or false.

The activity is suitable for intermediate 2 students.



1 The Globe Theatre was originally built in the 16th century.
2 The plays were performed at night.
3 The cheapest seats were in the open.
4 Women were not allowed in the public.
5 The Church did not approve of theatre.
6 Umbrellas were not allowed.
7 The audience had an active part in the plays.
8 Hearing the play was more important than seeing it.
9 The Zodiac signs represent the sky or heavens.
10 The building where the theatre is burnt twice in the 16th century.

Behind me is Shakespeare's theatre, rebuilt recently but it was originally constructed in the seventeenth century. And its name is the Globe, which comes from the expression everyone in the world is an actor.
The conditions at the time when this would have been built were very different from the way actors work now. It was all done during the day because they didn't have enough money to afford candles to put on the plays at night. So there would have been far more interaction between the public and the actors. And in fact, the groundlings, which were the cheapest seats just under the open cover, they would shout at the actors and throw things at them if they didn't like the play.
At the time, as well, none of the actors were women because they weren't allowed to be in plays. And also the church was very critical of theatre. It called it the nest of the devil and it was usually just outside the city walls because it wasn't really allowed in those days. It was seen as something very popular and affordable because just as I said before, the cheapest seats could be afforded by everyone.
So this is where the groundlings stand and to come here it’s only five pounds to see a play and they say it's one of the best places even though if it rains, umbrellas aren't allowed so you're going to get wet. But they say it would have been the best place as well because the audience participated as well so you are right next to the actor's foot. You could see up his nose and if he spat down at you, as I said, there's no umbrellas allowed. So it would have been a big problem. But there's great participation because the audience can see you, the actors, everybody's involved in the play which makes kind of a difference from the typical West End play where everybody's in the dark. Here, you felt like you were really part of it.
Signs of the zodiac known as the heavens, there's a trap door in heaven as well, which is open at the moment, and you come down from heaven... it does look quite dangerous...
The Globe Theatre puts on plays mainly by Shakespeare and they're pretty authentic even down to the finest details like the original seventeenth century underwear. So its probably not that comfortable. And nowadays we go and see a play but back then the most important thing was the acoustics. It was more important that you heard the play and so wherever you sat, the more expensive seats were the ones that had the best sound.
The stage represents three different elements, the top with the Zodiac signs, it's painted blue, represents heaven or the sky. There's even a trap door you can come down from. And the stage itself represents the earth and there's a trapdoor to go underneath which represents hell.
This round shape kind of increases the sense of participation. The building itself though was hard to get permission for because remember in the seventeenth century it had burned down twice. So to make this thatched kind of roof after the Great Fire of London was pretty tough to do. It took them eight years to get permission but they finally managed to go ahead with it.
Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Not if it’s a summer's day in London.

Key:
1F 2F 3T 4F 5T 6T 7T 8T 9T 10F

10 questions for Annie Leibovitz

Some years ago Time Magazine interviewed Annie Leibovitz for their 10 questions segment.

Self-study activity:
This is a very difficult video to understand, as Annie Leibovitz gives very long answers, changes her mind in mid-sentence, doesn't seem to be very sure about how to go on at times, keep going backwards and forward.

This is a difficult video for English students at all levels, so let's concentrate on the things we can do.

Watch the interview and note down the questions Annie Leibovitz is asked.
Then, watch the video again and try to get the gist of her answers.




Hi, we’re here with Time.com and today's 10-question victim is Annie Leibovitz. Our first question is from Francesca Viola from the Bronx, New York, and she asks what, for you, is the interest in continuing to photograph celebrity portraits during a time when too many celebrities have their photographs plastered all over the place.
I don't feel like a part of that. I feel like, you know, I feel like I came in into early place, you know, when you know, working for Rolling Stone is sort of built, you know, who, who I am and I think I’ve learned at a very young age that, you know, what I did mattered.
So it must be difficult to get your models to trust you during a shoot. Who has been the most difficult to handle?
You know, it's usually not about the person that, that's the cool part of the shoot. It is usually about… it’s the weather is bad or it’s a bad hair day, bad, you know, bad hairdresser or you know, but that that being said I, it’s something, that’s difficult subjects in entertainment, in showbiz or people have been in show business for a very long time, I think they have no sense of reality, you know, it’s just, you know, like Sammy Davis Junior or even Michael Jackson, you know that, you know when they start very young everything is pretty distorted.
But hey, you're not necessarily easy to work for and would you agree with the statement? But then if you point out that he only asked because he’s trying to understand the temperament of the very successful.
I've heard that too, actually that I’m not that easy to work for. The only… the only, and you know, I've been doing this, you know for a long time and it took me a long time to learn how to work with people. You know, I came from a place where I was working by myself and working with just my camera and myself and, and, you know, as I started to use, you know, assistance, some people helping me, I couldn’t understand why I couldn't see exactly what I saw at the time I exactly saw and I would be very frustrated. It took me years to learn how to work with people and I think I’m, you know, basically a nice person and then when I work, you know, you know I, I don't know who that person is. It just, it gets, you know it just gets very… it’s all in the details, you know, I mean everything becomes, you know, very, very important so…
From Paul Vegas in Hampton, Ontario, though, which is how did you deal with the whole Miley Cyrus debacle ‘cause a lot of people thought that is another…  that your feeling should, you know, should’ve been different, so…
Well, I really do separate myself in some way, you know, when I go to work but you know, Miley, the Miley picture is a beautiful, strong, you know, simple picture. And we took all kinds of pictures that day and on and it turned out to be one of the strongest pictures. You know, I think, I think, you know it it's it's actually sort of innocent on some, on some level. But I feel like that you know she, she loved the pictures and she loved taken that picture and she was ready to take that, that picture I and it just, you know, her audience, you know, wasn't ready to take a picture, wasn't ready for that picture, and that the thing that I… it was just different. The picture, you know, it was really different of her. I, I've said this now and in another place but basically I I think that if there was any mistake made is probably that she shouldn’t pose for Vanity Fair. You know, that’s, that's my reason, take on it. But, you know, I think she got very nervous after they had that reaction and she sort of, you know, she backtracked in a lot of ways, and, and I felt bad for her. I think she really did enjoy the shoot. I still, you know, probably believe in the picture and think it was fine, you know, like taken out of context.
Gina Lexbrick, Houston, who asks, ‘You know as a fan and fellow photographer, she'd like to know what you see in that 'aha moment' that people talked about. Is it the subject, the composition, or something that's very exclusive to your eyes?
For example John and Yoko, you know, I only took a few frames, I mean, you knew it was good. I mean it was… you haven't seen anything like it before and it was beautiful and it had form and strength and it was simple and it told the story. If surely something is not working, you know, it just doesn't feel, you know, great. It just… and and and over the years I've learned to just say ‘Okay, we just move on’ you know, it’s just trying to… it doesn't get better, keep, keep, you know, when you're trying to work on something and I rather just come back to it, come back another day.
Have you ever been so frustrated with the photo shoot that you shut it down completely?
No, if anything,  if something goes wrong with the photoshoot, you know, it’s my fault. I, I really feel it's it's up to me, is my responsibility I'm supposed to make this thing work, you know, like you know. And there's like a lot of psychology involved in it and I, you know, you have to, you know, make it work, you know, whatever is going wrong. If I don't get a good picture I don't blame my subject, I blame me.

Talking point: Art and culture

This week's talking point deals with art and culture. Before getting together with the members of your conversation group, go over the questions below so that ideas flow more easily when you meet up with your friends and you can work out vocabulary problems beforehand.

What areas of the Arts do you enjoy? Choose from these items:
photography - theatre - film - visual arts – painting - sketches - illustration - jazz – sculpture -  literature - dance - music - ballet - contemporary art - drawing - opera - graphic art
Are the Arts important?

Are you good at drawing or painting?
If so, how did you learn? If not, would you like to learn to paint or draw well?
Who are your favourite artists? Why do you like their work?
Why do you think some people want to become artists? Is it easy to make a living as an artist? Why (not)?
Talk about a recent exhibition or museum you went  to.
Do you like graffiti? Do you think graffiti is an art form or vandalism?

How often do you go to the theatre? Do you like watching plays? Why (not)?
What was the last play or dance show you saw? What did you think of it?
Have you ever taken part in a play or dance show?
If so, what was it? Did it go well? If not, would you like to take part in one? Why (not)?

Do you like classical music and opera?
If not, why not? If so, when do you listen to it?
Who are your favourite artists and composers?
Do you think it is true to say that classical music and opera are more popular with older people?
If so, why do you think this is?

To gain further insight into the topic of graffiti or street art you can watch the two videos below.

Cirque du Soleil to learn English

The Cirque du Soleil webpage can be an interesting place to develop our English.

Click on the video section of the site and you will have the opportunity to watch and listen to some of the members of Cirque du Soleil explaining the ins and outs of their job.

You also have the opportunity to practise your reading skills if you read all the information on the site.

Speakout Upper-intermediate: The Arts

What areas of the Arts do you enjoy?
Tell us about a recent exhibition or performance you went to.
Do you think the Arts are important?

These are the questions that people answers in a new installment of Speakout, Longman. Watch the podcast and note down the speakers' answers.



Now it's over to you. If possible, get together with an English-speaking person and answer the same questions about yourself.

You can read the transcript here.