Dan: Hello, I'm Dan.
Alice: And I'm Alice.
Dan: And this is 6 Minute English! Today we're talking about going to the
theatre. Alice, are you a big fan of the theatre?
Alice: Yes, I am. I try to go as often as I can.
Dan: Well, today we're talking about a new development that might make
your theatre experience even better. One of London's biggest theatre
companies, the Ambassador Theatre Group, is replacing all 40,000 of
its seats with ones that will apparently make the theatre experience
more comfortable, more enjoyable, and make you less likely to fidget.
Alice: Ah, chairs that make you less likely to fidget. To fidget means to make
small movements – it’s a bit annoying. So I suppose if the chairs are
more comfortable, you're less likely to fidget to find a good position.
Dan: Exactly. The new seats will hopefully give the theatre-goer more
support during the play. Most of London's theatres were built in the
Victorian era, so the seats are quite old. And that leads us to today's
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question, Alice. The Theatre Royal in Covent Garden is London's oldest
existing theatre. But when did it originally open? Was it:
a) 1621
b) 1663
c) 1692
Alice: Oh, I’m not sure. I’ll guess 1663.
Dan: OK, as always, we'll find out if you're right at the end of the programme.
But first let's hear from the BBC's Arts Correspondent David Sillito and
Ian Moore, who works for the chair design company NuBax Seats. Here
they are explaining why theatre seats in London might make you fidget.
David Sillito says that most seats force us to slump and don't let the
spine take the weight. Could you explain what he means here, Alice?
Alice: OK, to slump in this context means to sit heavily with a curved spine, to
take the weight means to support something, or hold up the weight.
Dan: Also listen out for how the seats affect your muscles and your head.
David Sillito, BBC Arts Correspondent
The theatre fidget; that endless search for a comfortable position, is, it's
claimed, all because most seats force us to slump and don't allow the bones of
the spine to take the weight.
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Ian Moore, Seating Consultant with NuBax Seats
As your muscles get tired and your head becomes even heavier, there's a limit
to how far you'll let your head drop, so you'll move and look for a bone to bear
the weight.
Dan: Your muscles get tired as you sit in the seats and your head becomes
even heavier, so you move around in your seat to find a bone that will
bear the weight.
Alice: To bear the weight – it means the same as to take the weight, and
these new chairs will support you better then, Dan?
Dan: Exactly. The new chairs have been ergonomically designed. So they're
specifically designed to suit the human body as it sits through a whole
play. In fact they're based on sports car seats, and are meant to reduce
backache and muscle fatigue.
Alice: Fatigue means tiredness or weakness, usually because of too much
work or exercise. So muscle fatigue is when your muscles have been
working too hard and have become weak. Ergonomics, as you
mentioned there, is the study of equipment design, particularly designs
that improve posture and safety.
Dan: So here's David Sillito again, trying out the new seats at the Fortune
Theatre in London. He says it makes you sit bolt upright.
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Alice: Bolt upright. It makes you sit very vertically and straight!
Dan: He says that sitting bolt upright will stop fidgeting and sleepiness. What
other advantages does the new seat give?
David Sillito, BBC Arts Correspondent
So this is the new seat; it keeps you bolt upright, which it's claimed will stop
fidgeting and sleepiness. The slumped spine goes up; the bottom goes back,
and so more legroom.
Alice: So the new seat will give you more legroom. Legroom is the space for
your legs in front of your seat, particularly in a theatre, cinema or on an
aeroplane. The equivalent space for your arms is called elbowroom.
Dan: And Elbowroom can also refer to space generally; you might say
there's not much elbowroom in a small flat, for example.
Alice: So when can people start experiencing these new theatre seats then,
Dan?
Dan: Well they've already been installed at the Fortune Theatre in Covent
Garden, and the Ambassador Theatre Group says it intends to fit new
seats in all 39 of its venues in the future.
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Alice: So a more comfortable theatre experience for everyone!
Dan: Exactly! Right, it's almost the end of the programme, so back to today's
question: I asked you, Alice, when London's oldest theatre, the Theatre
Royal, opened?
Alice: And I went for the middle one, 1663.
Dan: Yeah, you are right with 1663!
Alice: Oh, just a guess!
Dan: But it's an odd story. The original theatre was built in 1663 but it’s been
rebuilt several times since then. It burnt down in 1672, just nine years
after it opened. The second theatre was demolished in 1794 to make
space for a larger theatre, and that building was destroyed by a fire in
1809. And the current building was built in 1812. So it’s London's oldest
theatre, but there have been several buildings there.
Alice: Ah!
Dan: So Alice, before we go, could we hear some of the words and phrases
we've heard in today's programme?
Alice: Sure, we had:
To fidget
Slump
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To take the weight
To bear the weight
Ergonomic
Fatigue
Bolt upright
Legroom
Elbowroom
Dan: Thanks, Alice. I hope you've enjoyed today's programme and you'll join
us again for more 6 Minute English next time.
