By Dr Oliver Tearle The plot of Sophocles’ great tragedy Oedipus the King (sometimes known as Oedipus Rex or Oedipus Tyrannos) has long been admired. In his Poetics, Aristotle held it up as the exemplary Greek tragedy. Samuel Taylor Coleridge called it one of the three perfect plots in all […]
Fun facts about Shakespeare’s play 1. Contrary to popular belief, the ‘merchant of Venice’ in the title of Shakespeare’s play isn’t Shylock. In the popular consciousness – i.e. among those who are aware that Shakespeare’s play contains a character named Shylock but who haven’t read or seen the play – […]
Interesting trivia about the world of the theatre We thought it was about time we offered some of our favourite curious facts about plays and drama, so what follows are twenty of the funniest or most fascinating nuggets from the theatre. So if you’ve taken your seat, we’ll dim the […]
Facts about Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, aka Molière 1. Molière died shortly after collapsing on stage during one of his own plays. Molière’s play Le malade imaginaire, known in English as The Imaginary Invalid or, alternatively, The Hypochondriac, was first staged in February 1673. Molière acted in the production, taking the lead role of Argan (the hypochondriac of the […]
Curious trivia about Shakespeare’s classic play 1. The first known piece of criticism of the play was an entry in the diary of Samuel Pepys. Pepys, who saw A Midsummer Night’s Dream performed in 1662, recorded in his famous diary that the play was ‘the most insipid ridiculous play that […]