Review para preparar el examen de Cambridge CAE, nivel C1, theatre play

Review para preparar el examen de Cambridge CAE, nivel C1, theatre play

Seguimos completando nuestra sección de writings para preparar exámenes oficiales y siempre gracias a la generosidad de nuestros seguidores, que se abren a la idea de querer compartir todo su saber con los seguidores de la Web del Inglés. Dar las gracias, lo primero de todo. Y lo segundo, nuestro review de hoy, es obra y además «obra de arte» de Gloria, que prepara su examen de Cambridge CAE. Después de leerlo podréis comprobar vosotros mismos por qué digo «obra de arte». Vamos allá 🙂

I am student of Saint George’s School and I would like to comment on the play we attended when we went on a field trip last Wednesday. That day we saw “Essences” and I must confess that, at first, I thought it would be like watching paint dry, in summary, the typical tedious and soporific performance which is given to us with the aim of wasting some school time. However, having never heard of that play before and as I do not like judging a book by its cover, I decided to give it a shot and I approached it with a sense of suspicion, not knowing exactly what to expect. Soon, nevertheless, all my preconceived thoughts faded away and I could enjoy seeing a polished performance characterised by its startling originality which made a lasting impression on me, a mixture of comedy and tragedy which really lived up to my expectations.

To begin with, I should like to briefly tell you some pieces of information about this play called “Essences” in order to give you a rough idea of what we saw there. “Essences” was directed by Paul Valerie and it is, in broad terms, a love story. It tells the narration of a boy called Peter and his relationship with his sister, both set off an amazing chain of events. In addition to this, it also deals with happiness and sadness, as well as with other interesting topics such as youth and dreams. The story takes place in the bustling city of London, which evokes a magical atmosphere. It is based on the classic novel with the same title written by Jeremy Fletcher.

From my most genuine point of view, it was an astonishing and stunning performance from its gentle introduction to its gripping ending which, by the way, is an unanticipated shocking twist in the tail that keeps you on the edge of your seat. All the characters are believable, as well as well-crafted and its detailed and realistic descriptions draw you into its fantastic and marvellous world. Moreover, the plot is very well-written and there is a lot of action, which makes it fairly dynamic. Nonetheless, what I liked most about this play are is its dialogues, which are snappy and witty and that, cleverly, reveals the convoluted feelings that are hidden beneath each character’s elegant veneer. If the play had a some weakness it could be that it was perhaps quite confusing at the beginning. But that was, for me, my only slight niggle.

In conclusion, if I were to have had to sum up “Essences” in a few words, I would say that it is a dazzling display of talent. Contrary to what is stated by the most carping critics who state “Essences”, allegedly, because of its lack of similarity with to the book and who spread that they are very let down by, what as they call say, it is a clichéd story, I fully believe that it is a riveting play and, personally, I thoroughly think that it is by far and away one of the best performances I have seen for a long time which surely is going to raise the bar for others.

NOTAS: 

Como decía antes, me parece una verdadera obra de arte para un nivel C1 y para una persona cuya lengua materna no es el inglés. Se ve aquí un gran dominio del nivel gramatical y semántico, pero sin lugar a dudas, hay un gran nivel de escritura, donde todo está estructurado y cohesionado, con oraciones largas y complejas, que hacen que este review dé gusto leer. Enhorabuena a su escritora. A continuación os hago una lista de los aspectos positivos que le dan tanto nivel al review.

GRAMMAR

1. Verbos con preposición: comment + on, heard + of.
2. Past simple combinado con el condicional: I thought it would be.
3. Passive: is given to us, written by, is based on.
4. Participle clauses: having never heard of
5. Phrasal verbs: faded away, draw you into, let down.
6. Relative clauses: … the bustling city of London, which evokes…, … a lot of action, which makes it…, … its dialogues, which are snappy…, etc.
7. Adverbs: cleverly, fairly, allegedly.

CONNECTORS

1. Nevertheless, in order to, in addition to this, nonetheless, contrary to, to begin with, in broad terms, moreover, etc.

VOCABULARY

1. went on a field trip, watching paint dry, tedious, soporific, give it a shot, polished, startling, made a lasting impression on me, lived up to my expectations, give you a rough idea of,  bustling city, astonishing, stunning, gripping ending, unanticipated shocking twist in the tail,  keeps you on the edge of your seat,  well-crafted, snappy, witty, my only slight niggle, dazzling display of talent,  carping critics, by far and away, raise the bar.

Como veis, el dominio semántico es muy elevado. Se ha utilizado un gran número de adjetivos para describir la theatre play, lo cual es muy recomendable cuando escribimos un review, además de tratarse de adjetivos de nivel C, porque no es lo mismo utilizar el adjetivo «good», que aprendemos en nivel elementary, que utilizar «stunning» por ejemplo. Vemos también frases hechas que describen el nivel de gusto de la persona que ve la obra de teatro, como por ejemplo «made a lasting impression on me», «lived up to my expectations» y «keeps you on the edge of your seat». La autora de este review ha querido mencionar algo negativo, lo cual es aconsejable, no sólo mencionar lo positivo, sino también los aspectos negativos, y para ello utiliza otra expresión muy buena, «my only slight niggle». En fin, hablando de obras de teatro, qué mejor manera de definir este review que con la palabra «espectáculo», en el buen sentido de la palabra.

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