Arts and culture in Great Britain

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Arts and culture in Great Britain

Introduction

The culture of the United Kingdom refers to the patterns of human activity and symbolism associated with the British people and the United Kingdom. It is informed by the UK's history as a developed island country, monarchy, imperial power and, particularly, as consisting of four countries-England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales-which each have their own preserved and distinctive customs and symbolism.

As a direct result of the British Empire, British cultural influence (such as the English language) can be observed in the language and culture of a geographically wide assortment of countries such as Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India, Pakistan, South Africa, the United States, and the British overseas territories. These states are sometimes collectively known as the Anglosphere. As well as the British influence on its empire, the empire also influenced British culture, particularly British cuisine. Innovations and movements within the wider-culture of Europe have also changed the United Kingdom; Humanism, Protestantism, and representative democracy are borrowed from broader Western culture.

The Industrial Revolution, with its origins in the UK, brought about major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, and transportation, and had a profound effect on the socio-economic and cultural conditions of the world. Popular culture of the United Kingdom has impacted upon the world in the form of the British invasion, Britpop and British television broadcasting. British literature and British poetry, particularly that of William Shakespeare, is revered across the world.

The social structure of Britain has played a central cultural role throughout the history of British society. As a result of the history of the formation of the United Kingdom, the cultures of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are diverse and have varying degrees of overlap and distinctiveness.

Artisitic and cultural life in the country is very rich. It passed main stages in its development. During the reign of Saxon king Alfred much attention was paid to the translation and commentaries on Latin works. It flowered during the Elisabethan age (the reign of Elisabeth I), when William Shakespeare lived. The empire, which was very powerful under Queen Victoria saw another cultural and artistic hey-day as a result of industrialization and the expansion of international trade.

World war II interrupted the development of culture. But immigrants who arrived from all patrs of the Commonwealth since 1945 also brought their culture and habits. There are buildings of all styles and periods, a great number of museums and galleries display precious and interesting finds from all parts of the world and from all stages in the development of nature, man and arts. Napoleon said that the British are a nation of shopkeepers; he could have said that they are a nation of collectors.

Language

The United Kingdom has no official language. English is the main language and the de facto official language, spoken monolingually by an estimated 95 % of the UK population.

However, individual countries within the UK have frameworks for the promotion of their indigenous languages. In Wales, English and Welsh are both widely used by officialdom, and Irish and Ulster Scots enjoy limited use alongside English in Northern Ireland, mainly in publicly commissioned translations. Additionally, the Western Isles council area of Scotland has a policy to promote Scottish Gaelic.

Under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, which is not legally enforceable, the UK Government has committed itself to the promotion of certain linguistic traditions. Welsh, Scottish Gaelic and Cornish are to be developed in Wales, Scotland and Cornwall respectively. Other native languages afforded such protection include Irish in Northern Ireland, Scots in Scotland and Northern Ireland, where it is known in official parlance as "Ulster Scots" or "Ullans" but in the speech of users simply as "Scotch", Broad Scots, and British Sign Language.

Literature

The earliest existing native literature of the territory of the modern United Kingdom was written in the Celtic languages of the isles. The Welsh literary tradition stretches from the 6th century. Irish poetry also represents a more or less unbroken tradition from the 6th century to the present day, with the Ulster Cycle being of particular relevance to Northern Ireland.

Anglo-Saxon literature includes Beowulf, a national epic, but literature in Latin predominated among educated elites. After the Norman Conquest Anglo-Norman literature brought continental influences to the isles.

English literature emerged as a recognisable entity in the late 14th century, with the rise and spread of the London dialect of Middle English. Geoffrey Chaucer is the first great identifiable individual in English literature: his Canterbury Tales remains a popular 14th-century work which readers still enjoy today.

Following the introduction of the printing press into England by William Caxton in 1476, the Elizabethan era saw a great flourishing of literature, especially in the fields of poetry and drama. From this period, poet and playwright William Shakespeare stands out as arguably the most famous writer in the world.

The English novel became a popular form in the 18th century, with Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe (1719), Samuel Richardson's Pamela (1740) and Henry Fielding's Tom Jones (1745).

After a period of decline, the poetry of Robert Burns revived interest in vernacular literature, the rhyming weavers of Ulster being influenced by literature from Scotland.

The following two centuries continued a huge outpouring of literary production. In the early 19th century, the Romantic period showed a flowering of poetry comparable with the Renaissance two hundred years earlier, with such poets as William Blake, William Wordsworth, John Keats, and Lord Byron. The Victorian period was the golden age of the realistic English novel, represented by Jane Austen, the Brontл sisters (Charlotte, Emily and Anne), Charles Dickens, William Thackeray, George Eliot, Lord Alfred Tennyson and Thomas Hardy.

World War I gave rise to British war poets and writers such as Wilfred Owen, Siegfried Sassoon, Robert Graves and Rupert Brooke who wrote (often paradoxically), of their expectations of war, and/or their experiences in the trench.

The Celtic Revival stimulated new appreciation of traditional Irish literature, however, with the independence of the Irish Free State, Irish literature came to be seen as more clearly separate from the strains of British literature. The Scottish Renaissance of the early 20th century brought modernism to Scottish literature as well as an interest in new forms in the literatures of Scottish Gaelic and Scots.

The English novel developed in the 20th century into much greater variety and was greatly enriched by immigrant writers. It remains today the dominant English literary form.

Other well-known novelists include Arthur Conan Doyle, D.H. Lawrence, George Orwell, Salman Rushdie, Mary Shelley, J. R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Virginia Woolf, Ian Fleming and J.K. Rowling.

Important poets include Elizabeth Barrett Browning, T.S. Eliot, Ted Hughes, Philip Larkin, John Milton, Alfred Tennyson, Rudyard Kipling, Alexander Pope, and Dylan Thomas.

Arts

Theatres. The United Kingdom has a vibrant tradition of theatre. Theatre was introduced from Europe to what is now the United Kingdom by the Romans and auditoriums were constructed across the country for this purpose.

By the medieval period theatre had developed with the mummers' plays, a form of early street theatre associated with the Morris dance, concentrating on themes such as Saint George and the Dragon and Robin Hood. These were folk tales re-telling old stories, and the actors travelled from town to town performing these for their audiences in return for money and hospitality. The medieval mystery plays and morality plays, which dealt with Christian themes, were performed at religious festivals.

The center of theatrical activity is London, where it is concentrated mainly in West End. Theatres are very much the same as anywhere else. You will find opera, comedy, dramas, variety. The performances start at about 8 p.m. and finish at about 11. seats are expensive. The best seats are those in the stalls, the circle and the upper circle. Then comes the pit and the last of all the gallery. The plays are magnificently staged- costumes, dresses, scenery, everything being done on the most lavish scale. Some of the most famous theatres are Royal opera house, Royal Shakespeare theatre, her Majesty theatre and others.

Her Majesty's Theatre is a West End theatre, located in the Haymarket, in the City of Westminster, London. The present building was designed by Charles J. Phipps and was constructed in 1897 for actor-manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree, who established the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art at the theatre. In the early decades of the 20th century, Tree produced spectacular productions of Shakespeare and other classical works, and the theatre hosted premiиres by major playwrights such as George Bernard Shaw, J.M. Synge, Noel Coward and J.B. Priestley. The theatre was established by architect and playwright John Vanbrugh,

The name of the theatre changes with the gender of the monarch. It first became the Queen's Theatre in 1705, the King's Theatre in 1714 on the accession of George I. Most recently, the theatre was known as His Majesty's Theatre from 1901 to 1952, and it became Her Majesty's on the accession of Elizabeth II. The theatre's capacity is 1,216 seats, and the building was Grade II listed by English Heritage in January 1970. Really Useful Group Theatres has owned the theatre since 2000.

The Theatre Royal Haymarket or Haymarket Theatre or the Little Theatre is a West End theatre in The Haymarket in the City of Westminster which dates back to 1720, making it the third-oldest London playhouse still in use. Samuel Foote acquired the lease in 1747, and in 1766 he gained a royal patent to play legitimate drama (meaning spoken drama, as opposed to opera, concerts or plays with music) in the summer months. The original building was a little further north in the same street. It has been at its current location since 1821, when it was redesigned by John Nash. It is a Grade I listed building, with a seating capacity of 888. The freehold of the theatre is owned by the Crown Estate.

The Haymarket has been the site of a couple of significant innovations in theatre. In 1873, it was the venue for the first scheduled matinйe performance, establishing a custom soon followed in theatres everywhere. Six years later, its auditorium was reconstructed, and the stage was enclosed in the first use of the picture frame proscenium.

Its managers have included Benjamin Nottingham Webster, John Baldwin Buckstone, Squire Bancroft, Cyril Maude, Herbert Beerbohm Tree, and John Sleeper Clarke, brother-in-law of John Wilkes Booth, who quit America after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Famous actors who dйbuted at the theatre included Robert William Elliston (1774-1831) and John Liston (1776-1846).

The Royal Shakespeare Theatre is a large national theatre owned by the Royal Shakespeare Company dedicated to the British playwright and poet William Shakespeare, and is located in his birthplace of Stratford-upon-Avon, in the English Midlands. It is an excellent modern building of red brick, was opened in 1932. The theatre now is one of the most comfortable and best equipped in the world, with its own workshops, library, picture gallery and restaurant. The whole season the theatre gives only Shakespeare's plays- "Romeo and Juliet", "Twelth night", "Hamlet" and others.

Edinburgh is home to a large number of museums and libraries, many of which are national institutions. These include the Museum of Scotland, the Royal Museum, the National Library of Scotland, National War Museum of Scotland, the Museum of Edinburgh, Museum of Childhood and the Royal Society of Edinburgh.

The Edinburgh Festival Theatre is a performing arts venue located on Nicolson Street in Edinburgh Scotland used primarily for performances of opera and ballet, large-scale musical events, and touring groups. After its most recent renovation in 1994, it seats 1,915. It is one of the major venues of the annual summer Edinburgh International Festival and is the year-round venue for the Scottish Opera and the Scottish Ballet.

The present theatre's location is Edinburgh's longest continuous theatre site, for there has been a theatre in that location since 1830. From being Dunedin Hall, the Royal Amphitheatre, Alhambra Music Hall, the Queen's Theatre and Newsome's Circus, the site became the Empire Palace Theatre, the first of the famous Moss Empires' chain, opening on 7 November 1892. Designed by the great British theatre architect, Frank Matcham, (who built the London Coliseum, among others) its dйcor was lavish, with elephants with Nubian riders, nymphs and cherubs in abundance on the plasterwork, and it seated 3000 people on four levels.

The King's Theatre was opened in 1906 and stands on a prominent site on Leven Street in Edinburgh. It is one of Scotland's historic and most important theatres. It plays a vital role in today's theatre industry as much as it has done in its 100 years of service to Edinburgh theatre patrons.

Wales Millennium Centre which also has a nickname locally as The Armadillo, is a centre for the performing arts located in the Cardiff Bay area of Cardiff, Wales. It was opened during the weekend of the 26-28 November 2004 and has hosted performances of opera, ballet, dance, comedy and musicals. The 37,000 square meter (398,000 square foot) building currently comprises two theatres and a smaller hall, shops, bars and restaurants, and seven resident Welsh arts organizations. The total area of the site covers 4.7 acres (1.9 hectares).

The main theatre, the Donald Gordon Theatre, holds 1,897 people and the second theatre, the Weston Studio Theatre, has a maximum capacity of 250 people. The Urdd Hall holds 153 people and the seating is retractable when not in use. By the autumn of 2008 the building will also incorporate the BBC Hoddinott Hall, which will hold 350 people, and will be home to the BBC National Orchestra of Wales.

The New Theatre is one of the principal theatres in Cardiff, capital city of Wales, and celebrated its centenary in 2006. It is located in Cardiff city centre on Park Place, close to Cathays Park.

The theatre has a capacity of 1,570, and hosts a number of touring productions including Musical theatre, plays and children's shows and also presents an annual Christmas pantomime.

Cinemas. London is full of cinemas and cinema clubs, some of them showing a large number of continental films. Cinema-going is a regular habit for a considerable number of people in London; the number of cinema-goers is larger than that of theatre-goers. The cinema in Britain is more entertainment than the arts. If you want to know which films are on, there are many publications to help you. Any daily newspaper on sale of the middle of the day will give you a shot list of films and shows. Some cinemas show films in the afternoon, early evening and late evening; others have continued programs from 2 p.m till late at night.

Museums. There are around 2,500 museums and galleries in Britain, so you'll never be short of an opportunity to indulge your passion for history and culture. Often located in cutting-edge centers and buildings there has never been a better time to explore them as part of your trip to Britain.

Everywhere you turn, there are new museums or galleries open. This, in many ways, can be put down to Britain's continuing commitment to make sense of and recognize its great history and cultural talent, and at the same time making it available to discover. Here's a look at some of Britain's leading cities and their leading museums and galleries. You can choose a city below: Birmingham, Cardiff, Edinburch, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Newcastle-Gateshead.

Visiting London's museums and galleries can be an experience for the senses as much as for the brain and London has some of the best places to stimulate both. London is home to some of the most interesting museums in Britain, and indeed the world. There are so many excellent museums and galleries in London, it's hard to know where to start. One of the famous is the British Museum. It is light grey building like Greek temple. It was founded in 1753 with the collection of books and antiquities donated by sir Hans Sloane. The collection expanded in 1757 when George II presented the museum with Royal library a collection of books gathered by the kings and queens of ENGLAND since Tudor times. Among the antiquities are the Elgin Marbles, Greek sculptures from the Parthenon in Athens brought by Lord Elgin in the 19^th century. The stone bears inscriptions in Egyptian and Greek, which enables scholars to decipher Egyptian hierogliphic script. It also contains a collection of gold and silverware of the Renaissance Period.

Natural History Museum. This exciting museum has to be one of the finest museums of nature in the world. Highlights include the ongoing `Nature Live' events, where you can discover more about the work of the museum's curators and researchers. Other events include `Jurassic Ark' (October - December 2007), where you can take the Jurassic Ark trail, gathering clues and discovering which animals lurked in the shadow of the dinosaurs. Don't also forget that entry is free to permanent collections at the Natural History Museum (www.nhm.ac.uk/).

The Museum of British transport. This museum in the south of London tells the story of public transport in the country. The first bus service in London was started in 1829. The bus was drawn by 3 horses. The first double-decker bus built in 1851, but upper deck didn't have a roof until 1930. The first passenger railway in England- and in the world- was the Liverpool and Manchester Railway. In 1829 the company offered the prize of 500 pounds for the best steam train. The prize was won by George Stephenson with his famous train the "Rocket".

The Victoria and Albert Museum is a museum o fine and applied arts of all countries. The general division of arts into 2 groups is based on the principle of the useful arts and beautiful arts. It exhibits arrange from arms and armor to water color and woodwork. Among the museum's treasures are Raphael's cartoons depicting scenes from New Testament, a collection of English, French and Italian Furniture includes the 16^th century bed which could sleep 8 people.

The Science Museum. See, touch and experience the major scientific advances of the last 300 years at the Science Museum (www.sciencemuseum.org.uk), the largest museum of its kind in the world with over 40 galleries, and 2,000 hands on exhibits. You can step into the future in the innovative Welcome Wing dedicated to contemporary science and technology. Change your sex and age in 30 seconds, and create your own identity profile to store on your own website.

The Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh, Scotland, is a building which, together with the adjacent Royal Museum, comprises the National Museum of Scotland. It is dedicated to the history, people and culture of Scotland. The museum is on Chambers Street, in central Edinburgh. It is part of the National Museums of Scotland. Admission is free.

Opened in 1998, incorporating collections from the National Museum of Antiquities of Scotland and Scottish items from the Royal Museum, the museum possesses a distinctive look. cultural britain literature museum

National Gallery. Located on the north side of Trafalgar Square, you could spend all day exploring this world-class gallery (www.nationalgallery.org.uk). Among thousands of inspirational treasures, you'll find works by Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Rembrandt, Gainsborough, Turner, Renoir, Cezanne and Van Gogh, as well as special exhibitions, lectures, video and audio-visual programs, guided tours and holiday events for children and adults. An interesting fact is that in 1777 one of the greatest private collections of pictures was offered for sale. Some of the memebers of Parliament suggested building a special gallery for it near the British museum. But this suggestion wasn't supported in the House of Commons and wonderful pictures were brought to Russia. They are in the Gallery of Hermitage in St. Petersburg. The paintings in the National Gallery belong to the public and entrance to see them is free. The Gallery was founded in 1824 with only 38 paintings, but it didn't acquire its home until 1838. The site in Trafalgar Square was chosen for its central location, accessible to both the rich of West London and the poorer communities of the East End.

National Portrait Gallery. Just round the corner from the National Gallery, the National Portrait Gallery (www.npg.org.uk) houses portraits in all mediums, from oil and watercolor to sculpture and pencil, depicting famous and infamous British men and women from the Tudors to the present day. Lectures and tours are held, and holiday programs are arranged for children. There is also a state of the art lecture theatre, an IT gallery and a roof top restaurant with stunning views.

Tate Modern. Tate Modern (www.tate.org.uk/modern/default.htm) is Britain's national museum of modern art. Housed in the former Bankside Power Station, on the banks of the River Thames, the gallery displays the world famous Tate collection of international modern and contemporary art, including major works by Matisse, Picasso and Rothko and contemporary work by artists such as Matthew Barney, Chris Ofili and Gerhard Richter.

The Kelvingrove Art Gallery is Glasgow and Scotland's premier museum and art gallery it is one of Europe's great civic art collections. Since its refurbishment the museum is the most popular free to enter visitor attraction in Scotland, and the most visited museum in the United Kingdom outside London. It is located on Argyle Street, in the West End of the city, on the banks of the River Kelvin (opposite the architecturally similar Kelvin Hall, which was built in matching style some years later, after the previous hall had been destroyed by fire). It is adjacent to Kelvingrove Park and is situated immediately beneath the main campus of the University of Glasgow on Gilmorehill.

Music. Composers William Byrd, Thomas Tallis, John Taverner, John Blow, Henry Purcell, Edward Elgar, Arthur Sullivan, William Walton, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Benjamin Britten and Michael Tippett have made major contributions to British music, and are known internationally. Living composers include John Tavener, Harrison Birtwistle, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Oliver Knussen, John Rutter, Joby Talbot, David Arnold and James MacMillan.

The United Kingdom also supports a number of major orchestras including the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Philharmonia, the London Symphony Orchestra and the London Philharmonic Orchestra. London is one of the world's major centers for classical music: it holds several important concert halls and is also home to the Royal Opera House, one of the world's leading opera houses. British traditional music has also been very influential abroad. The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in the London district of Covent Garden. The large building, often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", is the home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet and the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House.

The current building is the third theatre on the site. The fine building of the Opera House was opened in 1858, its "father " and "grandfather" that were burnt down in 1808 and 1856, stood at the very place. The inside of the Opera house is in the shape of a horseshoe. The faзade, foyer and auditorium date from 1858, but almost every other element of the present complex dates from an extensive reconstruction in the 1990s. The Royal Opera House seats 2,268 people and consists of four tiers of boxes and balconies and the amphitheatre gallery. The proscenium is 12.20 m wide and 14.80 m high. At the House you can get the best of everything- a first - rate orchestra, famous conductors and singers.

The Glasgow Royal Concert Hall is an arts venue in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. The concert hall is operated by Glasgow's Concert Halls, which also runs Glasgow's City Halls and Old Fruitmarket.

The UK was one of the two main countries in the development of rock music, and has provided bands including The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, The Who, Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath, Queen, Elton John, David Bowie, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Deep Purple, Status Quo, The Smiths, Sex Pistols, The Clash, Manic Street Preachers, Stereophonics, Duran Duran, The Jam, Muse, Placebo, The Cure, Depeche Mode, Jamiroquai, Oasis, Blur, Radiohead, Snow Patrol and Coldplay. It has provided inspiration for many modern bands today, including Kaiser Chiefs, Bloc Party, Babyshambles, Editors, Arctic Monkeys and Franz Ferdinand. Since then it has also pioneered various forms of electronic dance music including acid house, drum and bass and trip hop, all of which were in whole or part developed in the United Kingdom. Acclaimed British dance acts include Underworld, Orbital, Massive Attack, The KLF, The Prodigy, Basement Jaxx, The Chemical Brothers, Groove Armada, Aphex Twin and Portishead.

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