Q 01/05

Which Shakespeare tragedy won't actors name inside a theatre, calling it 'the Scottish play'?

A) Hamlet

B) King Lear

C) Macbeth

D) Othello

Answer · why

C) Macbeth

Macbeth is said to carry a curse with its own cleansing ritual: the offender must leave the theatre, turn three times, spit over the left shoulder and...

Q 02/05

What is the lone bulb left burning on an empty stage overnight called, a habit some trace to gas-lit theatres?

A) Ghost light

B) Night light

C) Pilot light

D) Safety light

Answer · why

A) Ghost light

A ghost light has a practical job as well as a spooky one: it stops anyone crossing a pitch-dark theatre from falling into the orchestra pit. One theo...

Q 03/05

Which Agatha Christie whodunnit opened in the West End in 1952 and asks audiences to keep its twist secret?

A) Spider's Web

B) The Mousetrap

C) The Unexpected Guest

D) The Hollow

Answer · why

B) The Mousetrap

The Mousetrap is by far the world's longest-running play, and Christie gave its rights to her grandson Mathew Prichard as a birthday present.

Q 04/05

Which Greek is credited as the first person to act a character on stage rather than speak as himself?

A) Arion

B) Phrynichus

C) Pratinas

D) Thespis

Answer · why

D) Thespis

Thespis is why actors are called thespians, yet the fragments once credited to him are thought to be forgeries, some probably by Heraclides of Pontus.

Q 05/05

What set the original Globe Theatre's thatched roof ablaze in 1613, during a performance of Henry VIII?

A) A dropped lantern

B) A lightning strike

C) A tobacco pipe

D) A stage cannon

Answer · why

D) A stage cannon

A stage cannon fired during the play set the thatch alight; by one surviving account the only casualty was a man whose burning breeches were put out w...