B) What can you say about the significance of the event described above for the history of Russian and world theatre?

X. a) Read Sir Laurence Olivier's answers given by him in a newspaper interview:

Question: How has television affected the theatre?

Answer: Well, its popularity means that millions of people take drama for granted. With hours and hours every week, the viewer can have a bellyful of drama. If you're go­ing to attract a man and his wife away from their TV set on a winter's night, and hold them to a play in a theatre, you've got to grip them and keep them gripped.

Now, you do have certain advantages in the theatre. The telly is perfect for the things that have been specially built for it. But the TV screen cannot give you the peculiar condition of the theatre, where we are allowed to get back to life-size people in relation.

Q.: Is there any particular hobby-horse that you ride in your work as actor and director?

A.: I rely greatly on rhythm. I think that is one thing I un­derstand — the exploitation of rhythm, change of speed of speech, change of time, change of expression, change of pace in crossing the stage. Keep the audience surprised, shout when they're not expecting it, keep them on their toes — change from minute to minute.

What is the main problem of the actor? It is to keep the audience awake.

O.: How true is it that an actor should identify with a role?

A.: I don't know. I can only speak for myself. And in my case it's not 'should', it's 'must'. I just do. I can't help it. In my case I feel I am who I am playing. And I think, though I speak only from my own experience, that the actor must identify to some extent with his part.

In "Othello" the passage from the handkerchief scene through to flinging the money in Emilia's face is, pound by pound, the heaviest burden I know that has been laid upon me yet by a dramatist.

And Macbeth. Do you know what is the first thing to learn about playing Macbeth? To get through the performance with­out losing your voice. (From Moscow News, 1969, No 10, Fragments)

b) Try your hand at teaching:

A. Preparation. Think of interesting questions on Sir Lau­rence Olivier's interview.

B. Work in class. Make your friends answer your ques­tions.