A visit to a West-End theatre – exercise 2 – key and notes
I’ve got a suggestion for those going to West-End theatres: "Spend a small fortune 1. You’ll hate every minute of it."
Last week my wife and I went to see Piaf at the Vaudeville Theatre on the Strand in London. Enticed 2 by the rave reviews 3 we forked out 4 just under £100 for two tickets. As it happens, we thought the play was embarrassingly 5 bad: shockingly two-dimensional acting 6 and puerile dialogue 7. But that’s by the by 8; you take a gamble 9 every time you see a film or a play. What disgusted us was the sheer gall 10 of the producers, whose entire business model seems to be based on the strategy of ripping off 11 the customer.
Vocabulary and notes
a small fortune – informal – a large amount of money
entice – verb – attract by offering pleasure or advantage. They were enticed into the restaurant by the interesting menu / by the special offer.
rave reviews – enthusiastic reviews – rave is an informal adjective
fork out – informal verb – to pay money for sth, especially reluctantly
embarrassingly – did you remember the double ‘r’ and double ‘s’?
two-dimensional – superficial, unrealistic
puerile – adj – childishly silly and trivial
dialogue – Did you spell this right?
by the by – incidental / incidentally
gamble – verb – 1) bet, play games of chance for money 2) take risky action in the hope of a desired result
gamble – noun – 1) an act of gambling 2) a risky undertaking or enterprise
the sheer gall – the pure / absolute nerve / the bold and impudent behaviour or attitude
to rip someone off – verb, informal – cheat sb especially financially. Eg "I was ripped off in the market – someone cheated me / overcharged me in the market."
a rip-off – noun, informal – is an article or service that is greatly overpriced
When we arrived, 15 minutes before curtain-up 12, the doors to the auditorium 13 were closed, so that we were forced to stand in the tiny and increasingly crushed foyer 14. But there was a get-out option 15: every few minutes the announcement went up that the bars were open. I’d have to be a cynic to suggest that the crush 16 was deliberate, to boost 17 bar profits for a play without an interval; so that is indeed what I suggest.
Once inside 18, things were even worse as we walked into a sauna with zero air circulation. The smell of sweat 19 and stale air 20 wafted 21 over us like a reverse form of perfume. My wife described the toilets as being designed for adults with 12in waists and no more than 4ft tall.
Our seats seemed not to have been re-covered since the theatre opened in 1870; we were effectively sitting on benches. My inside leg 22 is 29in. I am less than 5ft 9in tall. Even I had to sit with my knees pushed hard against the seat in front. So when we chose to leave after 45 minutes we created an enormous stir 23, as the entire row had to perform 24 acrobatics to let us out.
Theatre vocabulary: Did you spell: curtain-up, auditorium and foyer correctly?
a get-out option – a means of avoiding sth. Eg The trainfares are always more expensive on Fridays than on other days of the week – so your get-out option could be to catch a train on Thursday.
We sometimes just say ‘a get-out‘ (informal) meaning a way of avoiding sth. Eg "I didn’t want to go to the office party, so as a get-out I said I was ill."
a crush – noun – 1) a crowd of people pressed closely together. Eg There was a dreadful crush in the Underground today. 2) A crush is a drink made from the juice of pressed fruit – eg a raspberry crush. 3) A crush is also informal for an infatuation – He has a bit of a crush on his teacher.
boost – verb – to help to increase or improve
Once inside – here once is a conjuction, meaning as soon as, when. Eg Once at the station = As soon as I / He etc was at the station…. I / He etc
sweat – noun – perspiration
stale – adj – no longer fresh or pleasant
waft – verb – pass / blow gently or easily through the air. Notice the ‘a‘ in the spelling, even though the sound is an ‘o’.
inside leg – the length of a person’s leg or trouser leg from crotch to ankle, sometimes given with the outside leg. Eg My inside leg is / measures / I have an inside-leg measurement of …
stir – noun – disturbance
perform – did you remember both ‘r’s? Sometimes people forget the first ‘r’.
I object in principle 25 to the idea of subsidised theatre 26, but the National Theatre in London and the Royal Exchange in Manchester – the two I know best – are delightful 27 places to visit. It is no wonder 28 that they are consistently packed 29. I have, however, yet 30 to visit a West-End theatre – and my wife and I are addicted 31 to theatre – which is anything other than unpleasant 32. Actors and directors are constantly berating 33 us for not supporting serious theatre. Has it not occurred 34 to them that this might be connected to the fact that we have a more comfortable time in the most average of cinemas?
object to – disapprove of / oppose
in principle – this means in theory; Perhaps he actually meant to write "I object on principle" – i.e. It is my belief that it is a bad idea to subside theatre.
Subsidised theatre – the National Theatre in London and the Royal Exchange in Manchester both receive subsidies from arts organisations
delightful – adj – Did you just write one ‘l’? (Other adjectival examples of this rule: beautiful / hopeful / wonderful / unhelpful; Nouns: A handful, pocketful, cupful of)
It is no wonder – it is not surprising
packed – full / crowded
I have, however, yet to visit … – I have never so far visited …..
which is anything other than unpleasant – which is not unpleasant
berate – verb – for + noun / + verb ……ing – criticise angrily
occurred – Did you get the double ‘c’ and ‘r’?
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