'Theatre' by W.S. Maugham. Chapters 1-2

Task I

Complacency - A feeling of  self-satisfaction
Three times running - taking place three times
Filthy - very dirty
Supercilious - having or showing arrogant superiority to and disdain of those one views as unworthy
Military bearing - the high level in military sphere
Natural flamboyance - natural brightness
Stupendous - amazingly large or great; huge
Staggered - very surprised and shocked at sth you are told or at sth that happens
Natural homage - special respect; esteem
Entanglement - something that entangles, confuses
Concubinage - the relationship between persons who are cohabiting without the benefit of marriage
Languorous - lacking energy, spirit, liveliness or vitality
Flippant rejoinde -  frivolous answer
To risk smth -  expose to a chance of loss or damage
A quick study - to learn by heart very quickly

Task II

Literary allusions:
 William Shakespeare - was an English poet, playwright and actor, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language. This allusion is used to create the atmosphere of theatre.

Artistic allusions:
 Sarah Siddons - a well-known actress of the 18th century who became famous for her role as Shakespeare's Lady Macbeth. It is used to show the world of theater.

  John Philip Kemble - an English actor.  He played a huge number of parts, including a large number of Shakespearean characters.

 Pierre Corneille - a French tragedian who was one of the three great seventeenth-century French dramatists, along with Molière and Racine. The author involves the reader in the world of acting.

 Historical allusions:
 Sir Francis Robert Benson – a British actor-manager. He founded his own company in 1883 and produced all but two of Shakespeare's plays. From the first he devoted himself largely to the production of Shakespeare's plays.

Task III

Julia Lambert was a very attractive and beautiful woman of 46 with big brown eyes and very nice delightful "warm, ready" smile. "She wasn’t a brilliant conversationalist, but her eyes were so bright, her manner so intelligent". What is more important, she knew that she was beautiful and used it. She was self-confident and independent. She was really a born actress and the fate gave her a great opportunity to develop her talent. Her clothes, made only in Paris, were very luxury. Moreover, we can say that she was meant to be an actress. In her adolescence, she met Jane Taitbout, who taught her all actor's things. Also we got to know that she had  family. Her husband was Michael Gosselyn, the director of the theatre, where Julia worked. They had a grown-up child. But still theatre was more important in her life, that's why her credo was to act on stage and in real life.

Michael Gosselyn was a very handsome man of 52. Let me quote: 'He had a very good figure, a great mass of curling chestnut hair and large deep blue eyes, a straight nose and small ears'. He used to be an actor. He played Romeo at Cambridge. He was the best-looking actor on the English stage, though his skills weren't so good. And now he was a director in the theatre, where his wife was working. The man adored his wife, Julia, her skills and ability to play on stage.

Task IV Summary

Julia Lambert, a well-known actress, came to visit her husband in the office, where was a new account at their theater . They were going to have a lunch, and invited a young man too. As it turned out, he was Julia's fan. Julia was so pleased that gave him her photo. Then she started to remember her past.