Daniel Radcliffe, the boy actor who immortalized Harry Potter in four movies, has taken on a daring and daunting new role. In a part world’s apart from the onscreen boy wizard, he is set to shed his cloak and scarves for nothing but his birthday suit in his London stage debut, scheduled for early 2007. The 17-year-old, multimillionaire has been cast in the controversial drama Equus. He’ll play a psychologically disturbed youth who inexplicably maims and blinds horses and then rides them naked for sexual thrills. It is a huge departure for Radcliffe but one his publicist Vanessa Davies said he is relishing: “It is an extraordinary play, and he's very much looking forward to the role. He is maturing as an actor and beginning to take on new and challenging roles.” Potter cohort Richard Griffiths, who played Harry’s uncle, will also star in the play as the youth’s psychologist.

Equus was penned by playwright Peter Shaffer, whose works include Amadeus - the life story of Mozart. It is the second time the play will hit London theaters, following its sensational initial onstage outing in 1973. After rave reviews in London, it moved to Broadway, where it ran for 1,200 performances. Anthony Hopkins, star of Silence of the Lambs and Hannibal, helped make it one of the most successful plays in New York theater history. It gained further international acclaim in 1977, when screen legend Richard Burton starred in the Hollywood version. The latest production of Equus will be directed by Thea Sharrock of the Gate fringe theatre in Notting Hill, west London. Radcliffe, meanwhile, recently wrapped up the shooting of December Boys, an Australian film about four orphans up for adoption in the 1960s. He finishes work on the fifth Harry Potter film later this year.

WARM-UPS

1. CHILD ACTOR: With your partner(s), imagine you are multimillionaire child actors. Talk about acting, your daily life, your friends, what you spend your money on, etc.  When you have finished, find a new partner and describe what you talked about.

2. CHAT: In pairs / groups, decide which of these topics or words from the article are most interesting and which are most boring.

Harry Potter / roles / wizards / scarves / controversial dramas / horses / psychologists / plays / theaters / debuts / Broadway / screen legends / orphans

Have a chat about the topics you liked. For more conversation, change topics and partners frequently.

3. EARLY SUCCESS: With your partner(s), talk about what life might be like  to be at the top of these professions at the age of 17. Think of three disadvantages for each. Do you know of any real life examples? Change partner(s) and share your disadvantages.

Actor Golf player Chess champion Business person

Singer 100-meter sprinter Gamer Chef

4. QUICK DEBATE: Students A believe Daniel Radcliffe should not take on his new role in the play Equus. Students B believe Daniel Radcliffe is making a good move. Debate this with your partners. Change partners often.

5. OPINIONS: With your partner(s), talk about the following opinions on the theater. Change partners and share your findings.

1. The theater is only for rich and intelligent people.
2. The theater is much more entertaining than movies.
3. Governments should spend a lot of money to make sure the theater survives.
4. The theater in my country is an important cultural asset.
5. Theater actors are more skilled than Hollywood actors.
6. The theater can tell stories and get across messages that movies never could.
7. You have to be very brave to get on the stage and act.
8. Any Hollywood actor can also do well on the stage.

6. HARRY POTTER: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with boy wizard Harry Potter. Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.

BEFORE READING / LISTENING

1. TRUE / FALSE: Look at the article’s headline and guess whether these sentences are true (T) or false (F):

a.	The next Harry Potter movie will contain scenes of nudity.	T / F
b.	The actor who plays Harry Potter will wear a suit on his 17th birthday.	T / F
c.	The actor will star in a play about a boy who has a fetish for horses.	T / F
d.	Harry Potter’s real life uncle wants to become a youth psychologist.	T / F
e.	The Harry potter star will appear in another play about Mozart.	T / F
f.	The play in which the star will appear received great reviews in 1973.	T / F
g.	The Harry Potter star grew up as an orphan in Australia.	T / F
h.	Filming on the fifth Harry Potter movie will finish later this year.	T / F

2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article:

a.	daunting	injures
b.	shed	colleague
c.	maims	filming
d.	relishing	glowing
e.	cohort	remove
f.	penned	alternative
g.	rave	written
h.	acclaim	scary
i.	fringe	praise
j.	shooting	savoring

3. PHRASE MATCH: Match the following phrases from the article (sometimes more than one combination is possible):

a.	the boy actor who	on new and challenging roles
b.	a part world’s	for adoption in the 1960s
c.	shed his cloak and scarves for	acclaim in 1977
d.	It is a huge	apart from the onscreen boy wizard
e.	beginning to take	hit London theaters
f.	Equus was penned	immortalized Harry Potter
g.	the second time the play will	by playwright Peter Shaffer
h.	It gained further international	departure for Radcliffe
i.	wrapped up	nothing but his birthday suit
j.	…about four orphans up	the shooting of December Boys

WHILE READING / LISTENING

GAP FILL: Put the words in the column on the right into the gaps in the text.

Harry Potter star in new naked role

Daniel Radcliffe, the boy actor who __________ Harry Potter in four movies, has taken on a daring and __________ new role. In a part world’s apart from the onscreen boy wizard, he is set to shed his cloak and scarves for __________ but his birthday suit in his London stage debut, scheduled for early 2007. The 17-year-old, multimillionaire has been __________ in the controversial drama Equus. He’ll play a psychologically disturbed youth who __________ maims and blinds horses and then rides them naked for sexual thrills. It is a huge __________ for Radcliffe but one his publicist Vanessa Davies said he is relishing: “It is an extraordinary play, and he's very much looking forward to the role. He is __________ as an actor and beginning to take on new and challenging roles.” Potter __________ Richard Griffiths, who played Harry’s uncle, will also star in the play as the youth’s psychologist.		cast maturing nothing immortalized departure inexplicably cohort daunting
Equus was penned by playwright Peter Shaffer, whose __________ include Amadeus - the life story of Mozart. It is the second time the play will hit London theaters, following its sensational initial onstage __________ in 1973. After rave __________ in London, it moved to Broadway, where it __________ for 1,200 performances. Anthony Hopkins, star of Silence of the Lambs and Hannibal, helped make it one of the most successful plays in New York theater history. It gained further international __________ in 1977, when screen legend Richard Burton starred in the Hollywood version. The latest production of Equus will be directed by Thea Sharrock of the Gate __________ theatre in Notting Hill, west London. Radcliffe, meanwhile, recently wrapped up the __________ of December Boys, an Australian film about four orphans up for __________ in the 1960s. He finishes work on the fifth Harry Potter film later this year.		ran shooting reviews fringe works adoption acclaim outing

LISTENING

Listen and fill in the spaces.

Harry Potter star in new naked role

Daniel Radcliffe, the boy actor who immortalized Harry Potter in four movies, has taken on a daring and __________ new role. In a part __________ __________ from the onscreen boy wizard, he is set to shed his cloak and scarves for nothing but his birthday suit in his London stage debut, scheduled for early 2007. The 17-year-old, multimillionaire has been __________ in the controversial drama Equus. He’ll play a psychologically disturbed youth who __________ maims and blinds horses and then rides them naked for sexual thrills. It is a huge departure for Radcliffe but one his publicist Vanessa Davies said he is __________: “It is an extraordinary play, and he's very much looking forward to the role. He is maturing as an actor and beginning to take on new and challenging roles.” Potter __________ Richard Griffiths, who played Harry’s uncle, will also star in the play as the youth’s psychologist.

Equus was __________ by playwright Peter Shaffer, whose works include Amadeus - the life story of Mozart. It is the second time the play will hit London theaters, following its sensational initial onstage __________ in 1973. After __________ reviews in London, it moved to Broadway, where it __________ 1,200 performances. Anthony Hopkins, star of Silence of the Lambs and Hannibal, helped make it one of the most successful plays in New York theater history. It gained further international __________ in 1977, when screen legend Richard Burton starred in the Hollywood version. The latest production of Equus will be directed by Thea Sharrock of the Gate __________ theatre in Notting Hill, west London. Radcliffe, meanwhile, recently __________ up the shooting of December Boys, an Australian film about four orphans __________ adoption in the 1960s. He finishes work on the fifth Harry Potter film later this year.

AFTER READING / LISTENING

1. WORD SEARCH: Look in your dictionaries / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … for the words ‘naked’ and ‘role’.

• Share your findings with your partners.
• Make questions using the words you found.
• Ask your partner / group your questions.

2. ARTICLE QUESTIONS: Look back at the article and write down some questions you would like to ask the class about the text.

• Share your questions with other classmates / groups.
• Ask your partner / group your questions.

3. GAP FILL: In pairs / groups, compare your answers to this exercise. Check your answers. Talk about the words from the activity. Were they new, interesting, worth learning…?

4. VOCABULARY: Circle any words you do not understand. In groups, pool unknown words and use dictionaries to find their meanings.

5. STUDENT “HARRY POTTER” SURVEY: In pairs / groups, write down questions about Daniel Radcliffe and the Harry Potter movies.

• Ask other classmates your questions and note down their answers.
• Go back to your original partner / group and compare your findings.
• Make mini-presentations to other groups on your findings.

6. TEST EACH OTHER: Look at the words below. With your partner, try to recall exactly how these were used in the text:

apart suit cast thrills forward cohort

penned initial ran acclaim fringe wrapped

DISCUSSION

STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

1. Did the headline make you want to read the article?
2. What do you think of Harry Potter?
3. Which do you think is best, the book, the movie or the play?
4. What do you think of Daniel Radcliffe’s new role?
5. Would you like to change places with Daniel Radcliffe?
6. Would you like to go and see the play Equus?
7. How lucky do you think Daniel Radcliffe is?
8. Are you interested in fringe theater?
9. What do you think of the word “birthday suit”?
10. What kind of life would be a world apart from your own?

STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

1. Did you like reading this article?
2. What do you think about what you read?
3. Do you think it is wrong for there to be nudity in theater plays?
4. Would you prefer to be a movie actor or an actor on stage?
5. What do you think are the differences between onscreen and onstage acting?
6. What kind of theater is there in your country?
7. What do you think life would be like to be a multimillionaire at the age of 17?
8. Do you think London’s theater or New York’s Broadway puts on the best theatrical productions?
9. Do you relish taking on new and challenging roles?
10. Did you like this discussion?

AFTER DISCUSSION: Join another partner / group and tell them what you talked about.

1. What was the most interesting thing you heard?
2. Was there a question you didn’t like?
3. Was there something you totally disagreed with?
4. What did you like talking about?
5. Which was the most difficult question?

SPEAKING

You are a playwright. With your playwright partners, decide on the plot of a new play. You must use the following words (preferably in this order). Write ideas for the plot next to each word. Decide on a name for the play.

	Ideas
Cloak
Scarf
Birthday suit
Multimillionaire
Psychologically disturbed youth
Horses
Psychologist
Mozart
Broadway
1977
Shooting
Orphans

• Change partners and exchange your plots. Decide which is the best plot. Talk about which actors you think would be best to play the parts in your plays.
• Rehearse the plays and put them on for the rest of the class.

HOMEWORK

1. VOCABULARY EXTENSION: Choose several of the words from the text. Use a dictionary or Google’s search field (or another search engine) to build up more associations / collocations of each word.

2. INTERNET: Search the Internet and find information on the play Equus and the playwright Peter Shaffer. Talk about what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.

3. POSTER: Make a poster about Harry Potter – the books, the movies and its international success. Show your poster to your classmates in the next lesson.

4. LETTER: Write a letter to Daniel Radcliffe. Tell him what you think of his new role. Give him advice on what he should do from now. Ask him three questions. Read your letter to your classmates in the next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions. Which letter did you like best and why?

ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE:

a. F

b. F

c. T

d. F

e. F

f. T

g. F

h. F

SYNONYM MATCH:

a.	daunting	scary
b.	shed	remove
c.	maims	injures
d.	relishing	savoring
e.	cohort	colleague
f.	penned	written
g.	rave	glowing
h.	acclaim	praise
i.	fringe	alternative
j.	shooting	filming

PHRASE MATCH:

a.	the boy actor who	immortalized Harry Potter
b.	a part world’s	apart from the onscreen boy wizard
c.	shed his cloak and scarves for	nothing but his birthday suit
d.	It is a huge	departure for Radcliffe
e.	beginning to take	on new and challenging roles
f.	Equus was penned	by playwright Peter Shaffer
g.	the second time the play will	hit London theaters
h.	It gained further international	acclaim in 1977
i.	wrapped up	the shooting of December Boys
j.	…about four orphans up	for adoption in the 1960s

GAP FILL:

Harry Potter star in new naked role

Daniel Radcliffe, the boy actor who immortalized Harry Potter in four movies, has taken on a daring and daunting new role. In a part world’s apart from the onscreen boy wizard, he is set to shed his cloak and scarves for nothing but his birthday suit in his London stage debut, scheduled for early 2007. The 17-year-old, multimillionaire has been cast in the controversial drama Equus. He’ll play a psychologically disturbed youth who inexplicably maims and blinds horses and then rides them naked for sexual thrills. It is a huge departure for Radcliffe but one his publicist Vanessa Davies said he is relishing: “It is an extraordinary play, and he's very much looking forward to the role. He is maturing as an actor and beginning to take on new and challenging roles.” Potter cohort Richard Griffiths, who played Harry’s uncle, will also star in the play as the youth’s psychologist.

Equus was penned by playwright Peter Shaffer, whose works include Amadeus - the life story of Mozart. It is the second time the play will hit London theaters, following its sensational initial onstage outing in 1973. After rave reviews in London, it moved to Broadway, where it ran for 1,200 performances. Anthony Hopkins, star of Silence of the Lambs and Hannibal, helped make it one of the most successful plays in New York theater history. It gained further international acclaim in 1977, when screen legend Richard Burton starred in the Hollywood version. The latest production of Equus will be directed by Thea Sharrock of the Gate fringe theatre in Notting Hill, west London. Radcliffe, meanwhile, recently wrapped up the shooting of December Boys, an Australian film about four orphans up for adoption in the 1960s. He finishes work on the fifth Harry Potter film later this year.

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