Read the following passage.
A. On the night of 13 July 1953, the Stratford Festival opened its first season with Richard III, directed by Tyrone Guthrie. The star Alec Guinness played the title role, and the performance took place on an open stage under a giant canvas tent. The season's second production, All's Well That Ends Well, opened the following night with Irene Worth as Helena. Both plays met with critical acclaim, and the initial four-week run was extended to six weeks. The young company included William Hutt and Douglas Rain, who later became major figures in Canadian culture.
B. In 1951, Stratford businessman Tom Patterson formed a committee to explore an annual drama festival in his hometown on the Avon River, about 177 kilometres west of Toronto. His main aim was to save Stratford's failing economy. On 22 January 1952, City Council gave him $125 to seek artistic advice in New York. He could not reach Laurence Olivier there, but theatre pioneer Dora Mavor Moore put him in touch with Guthrie, who became the first artistic director. In May 1953 the project almost ran out of money. Contractor Oliver Gaffney kept his men working until late donations saved it.
C. Guthrie wanted to present Shakespeare on a stage that brought actors and audience close together, as in Shakespeare's own time. The designer Tanya Moiseiwitsch drew on the Elizabethan apron stage as well as ancient Greek amphitheatres and Roman arenas. Her stage is a platform that pushes out into the audience, with a balcony, trap-doors, nine acting levels and eight major entrances. Two passages known as vomitoria run diagonally from the stage into tunnels under the auditorium. The theatre seats more than 1,800 people on three sides of the stage, yet no spectator is more than 19.8 metres away.
D. The tent housed the stage for four seasons, and a permanent Festival Theatre, with a circular floor plan and a roof that echoes the tent, opened in 1957. The festival bought the Avon Theatre in 1963 and in 1971 began leasing a space by the river that later became the Tom Patterson Theatre. In 2002 it added the Studio Theatre, with seating for 260. A new 600-seat Tom Patterson Theatre opened in 2022 after pandemic delays. The 2024 season attracted 430,000 people, and another 46,000 streamed productions online. The first season lasted six weeks, but the 2026 season runs from 21 April to 1 November across four stages.
E. Not given in any of the above paragraphs.
Decide which paragraph, A to D, has the information given in each statement below. Select E if the information is not given in any of the paragraphs.
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Correct Answer: D
Why this is correct: Look at Paragraph D. In 2002 the festival added the Studio Theatre, with seating for 260. The year 2002 is early in the 2000s, and 260 is two hundred and sixty.
Passage Reference: In 2002 it added the Studio Theatre, with seating for 260.
Tips: Two paragraphs give seat numbers. Match the small number and the year to the right building.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Paragraph A is about the opening nights in 1953. It names plays and actors, not a new building.
- B: Paragraph B covers Tom Patterson's plan and the money problems before the first season. No theatre building is added there.
- C: Paragraph C gives a seat count too, but it is more than 1,800 for the main theatre. That is not a small space.
- E: The Studio Theatre and its 260 seats are in Paragraph D, along with the year 2002.
Correct Answer: C
Passage Reference: The designer Tanya Moiseiwitsch drew on the Elizabethan apron stage as well as ancient Greek amphitheatres and Roman arenas.
Why this is correct: The clue is in Paragraph C. Tanya Moiseiwitsch drew on ancient Greek amphitheatres and Roman arenas. Those are old places where people watched performances.
Tips: Look for the names Greek and Roman. Only one paragraph uses them.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Paragraph A mentions an open stage under a tent on the first night. It does not say where the idea for it came from.
- B: Paragraph B tells how Patterson found Guthrie. The form of the stage never comes up there.
- D: Paragraph D describes the roof and floor plan of the Festival Theatre. Greek and Roman models are not mentioned.
- E: Tanya Moiseiwitsch and her Greek and Roman models are named in Paragraph C.
Correct Answer: D
Passage Reference: The 2024 season attracted 430,000 people, and another 46,000 streamed productions online.
Why this is correct: Check the numbers in Paragraph D. The 2024 season attracted 430,000 people. That number is four hundred and thirty thousand.
Tips: Paragraph C also counts people. Ask whether the number is seats or visitors in one year.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Paragraph A tells you critics praised the first plays. It gives no count of the people who came.
- B: Paragraph B gives money figures, such as the $125 from City Council. It does not give attendance.
- C: In Paragraph C, the main theatre holds more than 1,800 people. That is the size of one room, not a yearly total.
- E: The 2024 attendance figure of 430,000 appears in Paragraph D, next to the number who watched online.
Correct Answer: B
Passage Reference: On 22 January 1952, City Council gave him $125 to seek artistic advice in New York.
Why this is correct: Look at Paragraph B. City Council gave Patterson $125 to seek artistic advice in New York. The council is the local officials, and $125 is a small sum.
Tips: This is about a small sum from local officials. Check how much Patterson got and what it was for in New York.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Paragraph A starts with the first night in 1953. Patterson and money from officials do not appear there.
- C: Paragraph C is about Guthrie's wishes for the stage and its design. No payment is mentioned.
- D: Paragraph D names the Tom Patterson Theatre, but it is about buildings and seasons. It says nothing about a grant from the council.
- E: The $125 from City Council and the trip for advice in New York are both in Paragraph B.
Correct Answer: C
Passage Reference: The theatre seats more than 1,800 people on three sides of the stage, yet no spectator is more than 19.8 metres away.
Why this is correct: Paragraph C gives the distance. No spectator is more than 19.8 metres from the stage. A spectator is a person watching, and 19.8 is about twenty.
Tips: Think about where the audience sits. Check the greatest distance given, and whether it is about twenty metres.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Paragraph A says the first plays were on an open stage in a tent. It gives no distance to the seats.
- B: Paragraph B gives one distance, about 177 kilometres to Toronto. That is about the town's location, not the seats.
- D: Paragraph D lists seat numbers for several theatres. It does not say how far the seats are from the stage.
- E: Paragraph C ends with the 19.8 metre limit for every spectator.
Correct Answer: E
Passage Reference: Contractor Oliver Gaffney kept his men working until late donations saved it.
Why this is correct: Paragraph B tells you the project almost ran out of money in May 1953. Late donations saved it. The text never says who gave the money or who paid for the tent.
Tips: When a statement names who paid, look for that group in the text. Farmers never appear.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Paragraph A describes the giant canvas tent on the first night. It does not say who bought it.
- B: You might pick Paragraph B because it mentions donations. However, it names no farmers and does not link the money to the tent.
- C: Paragraph C explains the design of the stage. Nobody pays for anything in it.
- D: Paragraph D says the tent was used for four seasons. It does not say where the money for it came from.
Correct Answer: C
Passage Reference: Two passages known as vomitoria run diagonally from the stage into tunnels under the auditorium.
Why this is correct: Look at Paragraph C. Two passages called vomitoria run from the stage into tunnels under the auditorium. The auditorium is where the audience sits, so these routes go under the seats.
Tips: Look for two angled routes from the stage. Check where they lead and what is above them.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Paragraph A places the first stage under a tent. It does not describe any way on or off the stage.
- B: Paragraph B follows Patterson's search for a director. Tunnels and entrances are not part of it.
- D: Paragraph D talks about new buildings and seating numbers. It does not explain how actors move around.
- E: Paragraph C describes the tunnels under the auditorium, where the vomitoria lead.
Correct Answer: A
Passage Reference: Both plays met with critical acclaim, and the initial four-week run was extended to six weeks.
Why this is correct: Read Paragraph A again. Both plays met with critical acclaim, which means reviewers liked them. The run was first set at four weeks and grew to six, so it was two weeks longer.
Tips: Paragraph D has six weeks too. Look for the paragraph that shows the change from four.
Why the other options are wrong:
- B: Paragraph B ends in May 1953, before the first show. It says nothing about reviews or a longer run.
- C: Paragraph C explains why Guthrie wanted an open stage. Critics and the length of the run are not there.
- D: Paragraph D also says the first season lasted six weeks. It does not say the run was first set at four weeks or that reviewers liked it.
- E: The good reviews and the longer run both appear in Paragraph A.
Correct Answer: E
Passage Reference: The season's second production, All's Well That Ends Well, opened the following night with Irene Worth as Helena.
Why this is correct: Paragraph A names both plays of the first season, and critics liked both. It never says which play sold more tickets.
Tips: A comparison needs numbers for both things. Check whether the text gives them.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Be careful here. Paragraph A tells you which play opened first, but opening first is not the same as selling more tickets.
- B: Paragraph B covers the plans and money troubles before opening. It gives no audience numbers.
- C: Paragraph C gives the size of the main theatre today. It does not compare the two first plays.
- D: Paragraph D reports attendance for 2024, not 1953. It says nothing about either play.
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