Top 10 theater facts

Shakespeare's characters. William Herschel, Englishman, discoverer of Uranus and its major moons, was very patriotic for naming. He originally named Uranus as "George Star" to honour king of England, but the name was changed later.

Pyotr Tchaikovsky. Swan Lake is a ballet composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875–76. Despite its initial failure, it is now one of the most popular of all ballets. The scenario, initially in two acts, was fashioned from Russian and German folk tales and tells the story of Odette, a princess turned into a swan by an evil sorcerer's curse.

Pulcinella is a classical character that originated in commedia dell'arte of the 17th century and became a stock character in Neapolitan puppetry. Pulcinella's versatility in status and attitude has captivated audiences worldwide and kept the character popular in countless forms since his introduction to commedia dell'arte by Silvio Fiorillo in 1620.

He never shows up. In Waiting for Godot, two characters, Vladimir and Estragon, wait endlessly and in vain for the arrival of someone named Godot.

Richard III. This famous phrase originally occurred in Act-V, Scene-IV of William Shakespeare’s play, Richard III. Here, King Richard III yells out loudly this famous phrase, “A horse, a horse! My kingdom for a horse!” In the middle of a battle, his horse is killed, while the king wanders to find it in the battlefield for hours, killing everything coming his way with fatalistic rage.

Kabuki actor. Rice powder is used to create the white base for the characteristic stage makeup called kumadori. The red color of the kumadori indicates positive traits; blue or black, villainy; green, the supernatural; and purple, nobility.

Men only. Kabuki was born in 1603 as ensemble dance and drama performed by women. Soon it was called called prostitute-singing and dancing. Eventually, women's Kabuki was banned in 1629 for being too erotic, and Kabuki switched to adult male actors.

In Epidaurus. The Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus is considered to be the most perfect ancient Greek theatre with regard to acoustics and aesthetics. It hosted music, singing and dramatic games that were included in the worship of Asclepius. Today, the monument attracts a large number of visitors and is used for the performance of ancient drama plays.

Richard Burbage was a lead actor of The Lord Chamberlain's Men, a playing company for whom William Shakespeare wrote for most of his career. He played most of the lead roles, including Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth.

Killed his father and married his mother. Oedipus was a mythical Greek king of Thebes. A tragic hero in Greek mythology, Oedipus accidentally fulfilled a prophecy that he would end up killing his father and marrying his mother, thereby bringing disaster to his city and family.