Museums, Theatres and Entertainment in England

There are a lot of places of entertainment in England. Almost every city and large town has a museum of arts, archeology, natural history, and a theatre. In London most places of entertainment are concentrated in the West End and Soho, where you can find many concert halls, theatres, and international (Greek, Italian, Japanese) restaurants. All this information can be found in the magazine «Time Out», newspaper «Evening Standard», and many other publications.

To visit some London night clubs, such as Annabell’s or Tramp’s you need to be a member, or to go with a member, but for others, such as Stringfellow’s or Wag Club, Madam JoJo’s, and Heven, membership is not necessary. There are some large dancing halls, e.g. Hippodrome in Leicester Square, and many small ones.

London has the British Museum, with its vast collection of artistic and ethnographic material from all ove4r the world, and the Victoria and Albert Museum including extensive collections of works of fine and applied arts. London has 4000 art galleries, ranging from historic public collections to small public and commercial galleries. The national collections are housed at the National Gallery, the Tate Gallery, and the Portrait Gallery, while among the city’s many permanent collections, the Courtauld Institute Galleries can boast many famous names including many of the most important Impressionist and Post-Impressionist works. For those in search of the avant-garde, the Saatchi Gallery is a must; also the Serpantine Gallery continues to draw crowds to its Kensington Gardens setting with innovative contemporary exhibitions.

But what are London theatres now? They are a bit of everything. Theatreland lies between Covent Garden and Haymarket. This is where most of London’s major theatres cluster. The Covent Garden Theatre is famous for opera and ballet performances. The best English singers, ballerinas and ballet dancers are playing there. The National Theatre shows drama. Some theatres put on modern plays and at others you can sometimes enjoy good musicals, folk songs or concerts of «pop» music. The Aldwych Theatre is famous for its dramatic performances.

In provincial towns the system is different. They have a repertory theatre which changes its play about every three weeks, whether it is successful or not. The National and the Royal Shakespeare Theatre (which is situated in Stratford-on-Avon, the place where William Shakespeare was born), also present three or four plays in rotation for several weeks. There is always a full house there, but the government has to support this type of theatre financially.

There is a system of «Club» theatres where you can see both well-known and financially risky experimental plays. A performance is produced by professionals and amateurs for one or two weeks and any profit from this goes to pay for the next production. Money problem is not important since the actors are paid little or nothing.

Numerous festivals are held all over Great Britain. The most famous is the Edinburgh International Festival which was established in 1947 and is an annual event.

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