Theatre, cinema and museums.

Cinema and TV films have become an important part in our life. We like going to the theatre too. But we can do it very rarely, because there is no theatre in our town.

Movies are truly the art of our time. Nowadays there are quite a lot of interesting films among which we can find westerns, horror films, hits, comedies, science fiction films, thrillers, romance films and many others.

Personally, I am fond of modern cinematography. Nowadays films are skillfully made and contain a lot of special effects. They attract people's attention with absorbing plots, stunning visual and sound effects, exciting scenes and complicated scripts. One of the latest inventions is 3-D films. To my mind, it is amazing to look at objects which seem to have length, depth and height. Besides, modern movies have become easily accessible.

The theatre has existed since 2000 ВС. Greek theatres were huge, open-air structures that were able to seat thousands of viewers. Nowadays there are many types of theatres: a comedy theatre, a drama theatre, a concert hall, a musical theatre, an opera and ballet house, a dance theatre and others. Some theatres are famous all over the world such as the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow or la Scala in Milan. Personally, I am sure that the theatre is not likely to disappear. I am a real theatre-goer. To my mind, a good play stirs spectators1 imagination, makes them smile and cry, fills them with joy and excitement, makes them forget about dull reality and carries them away to a fantastic country. The theatre is a small world with its own rules, its own life and feelings. Going to the theatre is always an exciting event for me. But nowadays a lot of people prefer watching a movie to going to the theatre. Some of them even say that the theatre will not last long. Firstly, a lot of people prefer to watch TV sitting in a comfortable armchair at home. Secondly, tickets for a good play are rather expensive. Finally, they should be bought beforehand and one will have to stand in a queue for a long time. But I believe that those people who say that they don't care about the theatre have never seen a good play. To conclude, I think that the theatre will exist as long as people love art and enjoy a special fascinating atmosphere that reigns in the theatre.

A museum is a stock of the world’s masterpieces, it is the place, where you can enrich knowledge, you can look at the achievements of mankind, you can satisfy your aesthetic taste. Museums give the possibility to be always in touch with the past and every time discover something new for yourself. Besides, museums play an important role in the life of any nation. A museum is just the right place to find out lots of interesting things about history, traditions and habits of different peoples. One may find in museums papers, photos, books, scripts, works of art, personal things of famous people etc. All this helps us to better understand historical events, scientific discoveries, character and deeds of well-known personalities. I think museums somehow effect the formation of personality, his outlook. Every educated person is sure to understand the great significance of museums in our life, especially nowadays, when after the humdrum of everyday life you may go to your favourite museum, relax there with your body and soul and acquire inner harmony and balance. I am a regular museum-goer. In fact I visited no less than 20 museums. Among them: the Louver, the National Gallery, the Shakespeare House in Stratford-on Avon, the Oxford story exhibition, Museum of Reading, Madam Tussaud’s Exhibition, the Tretyakov Gallery and others. We can hardly find a town in our country without its «Fine Arts» Museum.

A visit to the museum

I live in a small town and there are no big galleries and museums in it. But in the nearest city there is a good Natural History Museum. And now I'd like to tell you a few words about my visit to this museum.

Last year our history teacher took us on an excursion there. First we listened to the lecture on the history of the region which was very interesting. Then a guide showed us the exposition of the museum. We walked through its halls looking at different stands with exhibits. There were ancient vases and coins, dishes and bowls, tools and arms.

The guide told us about the origin and the age of the exibits and answered our questions. The girls asked questions about national costumes and dishes and the boys were interested in arms.

The next halls were even more interesting. There we saw live animals and birds, lizards and snakes. It was a small zoo. There was also an aquarium of different fish. The collection of minerals was interesting too.

We also saw many exhibits devoted to the Great Patriotic war. We saw letters, photos and drawings of the defenders of our region.

I liked my visit to the museum because I learned very much interesting information about the history and nature of my region.

My visit to the theatre

To begin with I*d like to say that the theatre is a great means of promoting culture among people. It*s often called « the Temple of Art » because it educates, relaxes, entertains and shows us how wonderful the world around us is. There is a great variety of theatres in Moscow and the most difficult things for the theatre - goers is to decide which theatre to go to. Some theatres are more popular with the public than others that*s why it*s almost impossible to get tickets when a good play is on. If you managed to get tickets, you will enjoy the performance from the very beginning to the end. I*ll never forget my first visit to the Ballshoi Opera House. My friend and I wanted to see the famous ballet the Swan Lake by P.E. Chaikovsky, the great Russian composer. We bought the tickets in advance. It was an evening performance and we came half an hour before the show. We bought a play bill and find out what the cast was. We were glad to know that the leading parts were acted by the talented young dancers. Than my friend and I took our seats in stalls not far from the stage. Though it wasn*t the first night but there was a full audience at the theatre. Soon the lights went down and the curtain went up. As soon as the music started the public cheered enthusiastically and began to applaud. From the very first minute I was deeply impressed by everything I saw on the stage and followed the play with the great interest. The setting and dancing were exelent. The customs were fine and the scenery and the music were brilliant. The ballet seemed to me as the beautiful fairy tale and the atmosfere was really magical. I couldn*t take my eyes off the stage. After the first act we went to look over the theatre. We saw boxes, the orchestra pit, the dress – circle and the gallery. There were many portraits of opera – singers and the ballet dancers on the walls of the foyer. I was especially charmed by the « Small Swans* dance ». When the curtain fell of the end of the performance there was a storm of applause. The dancers were presented with flowers. The performance was a great success with the public. In a word my first visit to the Ballshoi Opera House gave me unforgettable impressions!

My last visit to the cinema.

Last Sunday I got an opportunity to visit the Ansal Cinema where Chak de India was being screened. I, along with my friends, made a plan to see this super hit movie of famous Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan. We reached the cinema hall at 10.30. I was crazy to see this much talked about movie. When we saw the poster outside the cinema hall, my craze grew all the more intense. The poster showed Shah Rukh Khan as a referee. I have been a great fan of him. It rarely happens that I miss any of his movies. I first purchased four tickets and entered into the cinema hall. The entire hall was packed to its full capacity. When we entered the hall, the newsreel was being shown. Soon the movie started. I with my friends sat in the second last row. The movie from the very beginning to the end was highly inspiring and thought-provoking. The encouraging lively role of coach of Indian women hockey team was appreciable. It appeared natural and real. The movie has a message of promoting equality in society. Through this movie the director has tried to bridge the gender gap in our society. He has tried to show that girls are not lagging behind in any sphere of life. They can do as well as the boys can. Through this movie he has tried to expose the attitude of our society towards a girl. A girl is underestimated in comparison to a boy. Our society has the attitude that a girl can never stand before the boys in terms of capability, intelligence and expertise. In the movie, Shah Rukh is the coach of the girls hockey team.

He works hard with his team. He always encourages his team to take up the challenge and struggle till the end to beat the opponent. Under his supervision, there was a great improvement in the performance of the girls. When he as a coach keeps a proposal to organise a match between his team and the boys’ team, he is mocked at by his opponent at his proposal. When he insists for the same, his proposal is accepted, but is not taken seriously. When both the teams come to the ground, the girls’ team presents a big challenge. When the boys’ team could realise their folly, it was too late. The match had slipped into the hands of the girls’ team. The boys’ team barely manages to win the match by a solitary goal. The girls’ team is allowed to participate in the world hockey cup where it emerges as the champion.

Broadly speaking, Shah Rukh Khan unveils the mindset of society which despite making great progress has failed to come out of the feudal mindset. The movie has a message. It creates social awareness. Perhaps this is the cause of its being very popular.