Rendering 8

The article published on the website www.telegraph.co.uk on 7 March 2013, is headlined “Bruce Norris: 'I think weare doomed’. The article is written by Jasper Rees. He describes Bruce’s opinion about the situation with the theatre.

The author makes special emphasize on the fact that uncompromising American playwright Bruce Norris has the super-rich in his sights as his latest work prepares to open at London’s Royal Court. They’re changing the guard at the Royal Court Theatre. For his final act after six years in charge, Dominic Cooke has returned to the American playwright whose work he introduced to these shores upon becoming artistic director. A new play by Bruce Norris can mean only one thing. Theatre-goers should start quaking in their Louboutins as he prepares to give them another bloody nose.

The author also quotes the words of Dominic: Don’t, however, expect an Enron-style broadside against recent events on Wall Street and in the City. “You can’t write an interesting play about what happened in the past five years, because it’s so mundane. Ultimately, you have to write about human beings rather than about how computers work. I guess I’m writing about why people think the way they do, feel the way they do, about money and status. And why it is important that you want your child to grow up and not just succeed, but exceed others. That kind of structural need to ensure the status of future generations is almost a species problem and one that really can’t be addressed until we evolve.”

Not that Norris has any faith in mankind’s ability to evolve. His theory is that we’ve never really left the cave – “Of course not. We’ve decorated the cave” – and that the amoral law of the free market “is the law that we obeyed when we had hair all over the majority of our bodies and hunted and gathered”. And in plays that sucker audiences as laughs make way for gasps, Norris has taken it upon himself to point this out.

The author notices that even the pleasure of lecturing a captive audience for two hours has its drawbacks. And I absolutely agree with his opinion. 

Pleasure Reading Part I

Elizabeth Gilbert

Eat. Pray. Love

Chapters 1-18

Elizabeth Gilbert was in Italy. She came here for pleasure. There she made the acquaintance of her language-exchange twins: Giovanni and Dario. Gilbert flashed back to three years ago to tell the events that had catapulted her out of her marriage and into this journey across the world.  She  had a divorce with her husband and fell into depression. Meanwhile, she fell in love with David.  But relationship with this man was just a silly addiction. The relationship with David became a vortex of insecure addiction and withdrawal.  The only good thing according their relationship was the fact that she started learning Italian. David also introduced Liz to an Indian Guru to help her to find her own spirit.

For the purposes of changing everything in her life Liz decided to travel to  Italy, India and Indonesia—four months in each place.  She was going to find pleasure in Italy, devotion in India, and Balance in Indonesia.

In Italy she visited a lot of restaurants and tasted different Italian dishes such as pasta, pizza and some others and learned Italian.

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The article published on the website www.telegraph.co.uk on 14 Feb 2013, is headlined “Helen Mirren: My living portrait of the Queen”. The article is written by By Sarah Cromptonand. In this article   Actress Helen Mirren, director Stephen Daldry and writer Peter Morgan explain why they are putting Queen Elizabeth II on stage in their new play, The Audience.

The author also makes special emphasize on  the fact that yet ever since she played the title role in The Queen – the 2006 film directed by Stephen Frears and written by Peter Morgan – the two have become muddled in people’s minds, making the Queen seem slightly more beautiful than she is and Mirren rather more regal. Then the author goes to the aims. The aim is, first and foremost, to give audiences a good night out. But there is a serious purpose beneath these imagined conversations between a monarch and her subjects. “As soon as you see the Queen and the prime minister, it somehow goes to the core of what it is to be one of us,” he says. “It’s a play about being British and how our country is put together.” Daldry adds, “And the nature of the constitutional monarchy. What exactly is the relationship between state and crown and how has that been negotiated down the years. It’s fascinating.” On stage, she does not portray the Queen at just one time of her life, but back into her youth. It means she has to age both down and up with the help of wigs, costumes and subtle shifts in diction. “Her voice has changed so hugely that if I can somehow access that young voice, that does so much,” says Mirren. It is, she adds with a wry smile, “easier to get older than younger, unfortunately.”

The author notices that the actress is understandably wary of being too closely identified with the Queen. In person, she is absolutely nothing like either the monarch – or her own slightly glacial public persona. The beauty and elegance are there, but she has a sharp wit, direct opinions, and a mischievous humour: she prods Daldry in the ribs when he fails to say how much he was looking forward to working with her; she roars with laughter when Morgan teases her about taking a chauffeur-driven car to work while imagining the Queen separated from the general public.

Unfortunately, the author of the article doesn’t express his own opinion about this role of Helen Mirren. To my mind it is very hard to play the Queen. It is rather hard to sit very straight, folding and unfolding hands from a resting position. 

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The article published on the website www.telegraph.co.ukon  on February  26, 2012, is headlined “A Chorus Line: behindthe scenes”. The article is written by a By Sally Williams and reports us about Sally Williams who tells auditions about the classic show. Rachel Ensor, 26, decided the best preparation was false eyelashes, her mother’s belt and a pair of Hunter wellies. Her job was to stand out and since she was going to be on stage with rows of other dancers, the eyelashes would make her eyes look very big.

The author gives us some information about A Chorus Line. It is a musical about dancers auditioning for spots in the backing ensemble of an unnamed show. The action begins with 27 people on a bare stage being put through their paces by Zach, the tough-minded director/choreographer. It ends two hours later with the dancers ruthlessly pared back to the chosen eight.

The author also makes special emphasize on the actors anв dancers of the group. What’s clear is all human shapes are here. Some have been taught 'posture’ and 'line’ and stand in first position even when relaxed. Others are wearing high-top trainers and have never pliéd at the barre. Jennifer Yaxley, 24, spent the past year at sea on a cruise ship as the dance captain on the Silver Whisper. Jed Perez, 21, recently graduated from the Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance. The outfit he has chosen is on the skimpy side. Fifty dancers at a time line up on stage and take it in turns to do their best. Those who aren’t eliminated are then asked to do a simple routine, 'to see whether they can take instruction and hold a routine,’ Goucher says. By the end of the day 700 hopefuls have been whittled down to 30. These included Rachel Ensor, but not Jed Perez: eliminated after the second round. 'It would be silly to say I wasn’t disappointed,’ he says, his early optimism now gone.

The article is concluded by the words of  Bob Avian:'The show is about the anonymous kid in the chorus, the guy who works on the assembly line, the clerk in the store. They are everyone. It’s not bigger than life: it is life.’ Unfortunately, the author of the article doesn’t express his own opinion about A Chorus line. To my mind all the dancers are very talented and their dances are worth looking.

Rendering 5 (Theatre)

The article published on the website BBC News on August 6, 2012, is headlined “National Theatre adapts Mark Haddon's Curious Incident”. The article is written by a BBC journalist Kev Geoghegan and reports us about the fact that The National Theatre has produced the first stage adaptation of Mark Haddon's best-selling novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.

It’s an open secret that A mysterious tale of a murdered dog, narrated by an introspective 15-year-old maths genius with a form of autism, the 2003 book The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is not exactly an easy sell to theatre audiences. The author quotes the words of book's author Mark Haddon. "About two and a half years ago, we realised that we were getting a lot of requests for stage adaptations including, bizarrely, musical adaptations of the book."Some seemed to work, some were obviously rubbish and some were just fishing. We realised we were in a position to sit down and see who would we like to do it."

The author also makes special emphasize on the actors of the play. Stephens brought on board Marianne Elliott, director of the National's multi-award winning adaptation of War Horse.Luke Treadaway, who - alongside twin brother Harry is one of the UK's most exciting young actors - takes on the central role of Christopher Boone with Spooks actress Nicola Walker as mum Judy and Paul Ritter as his father Ed.The cast also includes veteran actress Una Stubbs as Christopher's elderly neighbour Mrs Alexander and Niamh Cusack as his teacher.

The sparse set, by renowned designer Bunny Christie, takes on its own character in the play. Seemingly a series of simple geometric squares, it pulses with energy, boosted by lighting and projections of numbers and stars, reflecting Christopher's fascination with mathematics and order.Unfortunately, the author of the article doesn’t express his own opinion about this play. To my mind it is a very unusual play mainly because it is rather difficult to show.

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The article published on the website BBC News on February 1, 2013, is headlined “Previously unseen Vincent Rattray paintings onshow in Dundee”. The article is written by a BBC reporter and tells about a collection of previously unseen paintings by the artist Vincent Rattray are to go on show for the first time.

It’s an open secret that it's a great honor to put many of these paintings on show for the first time. The author quotes the words of Exhibition curator Clare Brennan. She said it was an overwhelming task to sort through such a large body of work. There were a great many paintings in his studio when he died, and he had also gifted painting to family members over the years. When he passed away he left a prolific body of work which was then divided between family members. When we started speaking to the family we realised the vast numbers he had painted. It was quite overwhelming.

Unfortunately, the author of the article doesn’t express his own opinion about the situation. To my mind it’s rather interesting to see the works which have not been exhibited anywhere before.

Ind.Rendering Ch.51-58

After their marriage Strickland and Ata went to live to the forest. The following 3 years were very happy to Strickland. They lived alone and spoke with anyone. Ata did not bother him and silently brought up their child up.

Strickland died because of leprosy. When he knew about his illness for the first time he wanted to go to the forest but Ata stopped him. With time, Strickland became blind. He continued to work. He drew magnum opus, which he painted on the walls. It was the work of his life, however he said Ata to fire their house after his death.

The narrator returned to London and met Mrs. Strickland again. After the death of her sister she received her heritage and became a secured woman. 

Ind. Reading Ch. 41-50

Strickland shows to the narrator his pictures. They seemed to him ugly, but they suggested without disclosing a secret of momentous significance. They were strangely tantalizing. They gave him an emotion that he could not analyze. Next day the narrator saw Strickland off for Amsterdam.

The narrator went to Tahiti where Strickland spent his last years. There the narrator met Captain Nicholas, who knew Strickland. They made one another’s acquaintance during the better part of the winter following the narrator’s last meeting with Strickland in Paris. They lived together in the Asile de Nuit. He worked on the steamer and then started to work on a ship, raiding to Australia.

On Tahiti, he worked as overseer on the plantation. He continued painting but no one regarded him as a talented painter and was interesting at him at all. Strickland had taken up a native woman.

Film Review "Séraphine"

I’ve recently watched the film under the title “Seraphine”.  So, I should say that this film amazed me from the first minutes. Seraphene, a middle-aged housekeeper made her live by washing clothes, working additionally in the shop and  cleaning houses of rich people. When she saved necessary sum of money, she went and bought colours and wrote different pictures. For the first time people laughed at her works, however, one day a famous painter arrived, who recognized her talent and bought the picture.  He began encouraging her for painting. But then she was put into a lunatic asylum and eventually stops painting. We are then told that she died in 1942 and that her art became famous and respected. So, why this film is so interesting to me? To tell you the truth, I have not watched autobiographical films earlier. I thought that they all are boring to me. However, this one amazed me. It was really interesting to see that not only rich people could have a talent in the sphere of art.

Ind.Reading Ch.30-40

Stroeve went to fetch his finds from the studio. He tried to take walking along the street which Blanche must pass through, however, she was adamant to him. The author once met Strickland with Blanche and she did not look unhappy. Strove knew then about their meeting and asked the author to write Blanche for him and say that Stroeve would do everything for her. Suddenly, it turned out that Blanche had a quarrel with Strickland and tried to commit suicide. She was very weak and didn’t want to see anybody and finally she died. Sroeve had a very hard time, because of the death of his wife and decided to move to Holland. He told the author, that he had seen Strickland and even proposed him to go with him but Charles had not accepted. Charles presented Strove Blanche’s portrait instead.

When author met Strickland again, he suddenly understood that he couldn’t hate Charles, despite the fact that he was terrible person. 

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The article published on the website of the newspaper “The Daily Californian” on January 31, 2013, is headlined “Timeless Dutch painting displayed at de Young Museum”. The article is written by Addy Bhasin and reports about arrival the famous picture to the Young museum. She has captivated viewers for years with her exotic headdress, pictorial elegance and penetrating eyes, and now Johannes Vermeer’s “Girl with a Pearl Earring” is finally accessible to an American audience. The exhibit, “Girl with a Pearl Earring: Dutch Paintings from the Mauritshuis,” is a carefully selected group of 17th century Dutch paintings originally from the Netherlands’s Royal Picture Gallery Mauritshuis, which is currently undergoing a major renovation.

It’s an open secret that a wide audience usually call this picture “Dutch Mona Lisa”.  What sets this portrait apart from others is the compelling expression of the girl. Her eyes immediately silence you — something that is apparent only in her presence. The gallery space before the “Girl” is loud and boisterous, but as museum-goers enter the last room to see her, they are quiet, as if in a divine trance. She is small, but she is captivating; the aura of tranquility surrounding the portrait can be felt.

Analyzing the picture, the author emphasize how splendidly preserved the painting is. Recent renovations have been applied to it including varnishing and retouching to remove cracks in the paint. The result is a brilliant revealing of the original incandescent palette: bright blues and rich yellows.

The author draws a conclusion that, “Girl with a Pearl Earring” is certainly a good reason to make a trip to the de Young Museum in the coming weeks; other pieces should not be missed. An impressive collection of Rembrandt van Rijn’s portraits, sketches and etchings can be viewed in “Rembrandt’s Century,” a display that one can gain entry to with a ticket for the “Girl with a Pearl Earring” exhibition.

As for me, I found this article interesting. I have never heard about this unusual picture and hope that one day I will be able to see it. It was interesting to know also that Tracy Chevalier had written a historical novel, also entitled Girl with a Pearl Earring (1999), fictionalizing the circumstances of the painting's creation.