Ejercicio Texto 1 - Pregunta 2 · Inglés PAU Extremadura Ordinaria 2025

Text 1: 'Malkovich go home': Actor's play sparks a riot in Bulgaria

In a career on stage and screen spanning almost 50 years, John Malkovich has been honoured with many awards and recognitions. But the Hollywood star did not expect his production of George Bernard Shaw's celebrated play Arms and the Man to provoke fury and violence when it was staged in Bulgaria.

The play, set during the Serbo-Bulgarian war of 1885 and being staged in the Ivan Vazov National Theatre in the Bulgarian capital, Sofia, has so enraged nationalists in the country that they have called on the production to be shut down and for Malkovich, 70, its director, to be kicked out of the country.

The riots during last week's premiere were so bad that Vasil Vasilev, general manager of theatre, said he feared for his life. "Everything happened within a split second," he said. "The moment I went out they pushed me and from then on, I only saw disgusting scenes, spitting, insults. They said they were going to kill me and I just felt fear, I'm not going to lie."

The protesters claim the production is an insult to Bulgaria and accused Malkovich of ridiculing the country's history and its citizens. The rioters held up banners that read: "Malkovich, go home!"

The play is meant to be a humorous take on the Serbo-Bulgarian conflict, exploring the absurdity of war while exposing the flaws of heroic adulation and militarism. It is a "charming, light, kind of anti-war" comedy that Malkovich had already staged on Broadway in 1985.

For the pro-Russian, ultra-nationalist Vazrazhdane party, the third-largest force in parliament, "not only is the play mediocre" but the production also had "totally inadequate staging." Bulgaria's conservative writers' union, SBP, said "such works" had no place in the country, criticising what it perceived as the "mockery of the thousands of soldiers who fell at the front for the freedom and reunification of the country."

But those who managed to get in to see the play, called it "fun." Nikolay Hristov, a 66-year-old architect who saw the comedy with his wife on Friday, said there was "nothing anti-Bulgarian" about it, it was "more about love, lies, and misunderstood honour."

Source: The Times (adapted). November 2024.

2. Answer 2 of the following 3 questions with one or two sentences. Use your own words as far as possible. Marks: 2 points (1 point per correct answer).

A.

What do protesters want?

B.

What happened during the premiere, according to Vasilev?

C.

What are the main topics of the play?