MR. A. A bath, please. Is it free of charge?
MAID. No, sir. You have to pay extra for the bath. Shall I make it ready now?
MR. A. No. In an hour’s time, please. And now send the laundress.
MAID. Directly, sir.
LAUNDRESS. What can I do for you, sir?
MR. A. Have these things washed, please.
LAUNDRESS. Have you made a list, sir?
MR. A. Yes, here it is. Check it, please.
LAUNDRESS. Yes, sir.
MR. A. This suit has to be dry-cleaned. Mind there is a spot on the trousers. Have it removed, please.
LAUNDRESS. Yes, sir.
MR. A. Have you got an express service here? LAUNDRESS. Yes, sir, but you will be charged extra in that case.
MR. A. It doesn’t matter. I should like to have them ready by tomorrow.
LAUNDRESS. Yes, sir. Is that all?
MR. A. Yes. Don’t disappoint me. LAUNDRESS. Rest assured, sir. Goodbye.
XL Rest and Recreation
1. THEATRE
After a Visit to the Theatre
MOTHER. Did you enjoy yourself, Ann?
ANN. Oh, yes, mama. The opera was splendid, especially the music. I was so deeply impressed by it that I can hardly put into words what I think of it.
MOTHER. And who’s the composer, I can’t quite recollect?
ANN. Verdi, Guiseppe Verdi, mama. His music expresses such deep humanity that it simply carries one away.
MOTHER. If I am not mistaken, the music for “Aida” was also written by him?
ANN. Yes, but in “Othello” the music is much richer. There is power and delicacy and marvellous beauty in it. The voice parts are essentially melodious. Indeed this work is a monument of genius.
MOTHER. And was the rendering good?
ANN. Oh, yes, the cast was excellent except —.
MOTHER. Except whom?
ANN. Well, I didn’t altogether like — now, what’s her name I can’t remember. Oh, yes, Vera M.
MOTHER. Vera M.? I’ve never heard of her before. What was her part?
ANN. She played Desdemona. I think she falls short in her Desdemona.
MOTHER. What makes you think so?
ANN. Well, there was a sort of lack of feeling in her acting; she had such a feeble voice that she was hardly heard.
MOTHER. Who performed the role of Othello?
ANN. Victor N. He gives a very convincing and moving performance as Othello, I should say.
MOTHER. Oh, yes, N.’s acting is generally praised.
ANN. Yes. His play is so natural that one begins to feel for him as in real life.
MOTHER. They had a full house, I suppose?
ANN. Up to the very doors. You should go with Daddy to hear it, mama. I know you’ll enjoy it.
MOTHER. I think we should. It’s a long time since I was at the theatre ...
2. CINEMA
a) Realist Tradition
The Eisenstein tradition is acknowledged the world over as one of the greatest in film making. It is actually felt in almost all the works of present-day film producers, many of whom studied under Eisenstein.
Producers like Gerasimov, Alexandrov, Yutkevich, Pyryev and others are the custodians of this tradition of realism.
The first prize-winning film at the first Moscow festival, “And Quiet Flows the Don”, based on Mikhail Sholokhov’s famous novel, is a striking example of this tradition.
It was produced by S. Gerasimov, who was awarded the festival’s first prize for personal work.
The Soviet producers in selecting their stars for a film make it a point of looking for people who are really like their literary prototypes, not only in external appearance, but inwardly, spiritually.
In choosing the actors for “And Quiet Flows the Don” great importance was attached to the ability to abandon theatrical convention and to act in, what cinema people call, the actual setting — to live on horseback, to master the cossack’s way of speaking, mannerisms, his humour.
Almost all the work on the film was done in the Don country in the actual setting described in the novel, with the cooperation of the local Cossacks, and the result has been to bring the very breath of the Cossack country to the screen, with the breathtaking beauty of the open-air scenes and the sunsests on the steppes.
The film “The Idiot”, which is a screen version of Dostoevsky’s novel under the same title, may serve as another example of this tradition of realism.
All his life Dostoevsky felt a keen concern at the fate of men humiliated by the power of money, and this feeling emerges in all his works, including the novel “The Idiot”. That is why Pyryev, the producer of the film, in his approach to the novel took up as the principal theme the task of disclosing the shameful power of money over the human soul. Thus the story and the idea of the novel have been correctly interpreted and the leading characters represented without distortion.
b) Going to the Cinema
K. Have you been to a cinema lately?
M. Well, let me think. Oh, yes, I saw “ ” weeks ago.
К. I haven’t seen it. Is it any good?
M. I really couldn’t say it was up to much. The plot is so much tangled up that I couldn’t make out who’s who in the picture.
K. Wouldn’t you like to see something now?
M. I’d love to, but a really nice picture. Is there anything decent on anywhere?
К. I was told that “ ” is a very nice film.
M. Is it of our production?
K. No, it’s an English talkie dubbed in Russian.
M. It’s a pity that it is dubbed. I like to hear the English language, you know. Just for the sake of practice.
K. So do I. Would you care to see that film?
M. All right. Where is it going on?
K. They have it at the Hermitage. Would you like to go there?
M. I should indeed.
(At the cinema.)
M. Now, would you believe it! We’ll have to queue for the tickets.
K. I’ll jump it.
M. In no case. You forget that you are with a lady, and besides, isn’t it a shame to ... jump a queue?
К. I beg your pardon. I was anxious to get tickets for the next show, you know.
M. Why, wouldn’t we be able to get them?
K. Not for the next. They are letting out now.
M. All the better. We might go for a walk then.
K. That’s a good idea. We’ll have almost two hours on our hands.
M. It’s your turn now, isn’t it?
K. Well, here are the tickets, Row 10, Seats 11 and 12.
M. These are good seats. I hate sitting far from the screen.
K. So do I. Well? What about -.
M. Yes, let’s go.
3. AT A CONCERT
ANN. What good seats we have got! We are lucky, aren’t we?
MARY. We are, indeed. What are the highlights of tonight’s programme, do you know?
ANN. Well, it’s a mixed programme, but the crowning interest of the concert will be in the second part.
MARY. Say, Ann, there goes the usher. Get a programme from him, will you?
ANN. Well, here it is. Let’s see what is on. Now, didn’t I tell you?
MARY. Tell me what?
ANN. That the most interesting part of the concert will be the second.
MARY. You did say something to that effect, but could you let me have a peep at the programme?
ANN. Why, yes! The second part will be a violin recital, see?
MARY. I do. How fortunate we are. We are going to hear Eugenie