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All Right on the Night Trivia Quiz

Theatre people say that, no matter what goes wrong in rehearsal, it'll be "all right on the night" the show opens. But plenty of things go wrong around theatres, as these literary works demonstrate all too well.

A multiple-choice quiz by SBH. Estimated time: 5 mins.

Author
SBH

Time
5 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
361,231

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Tough

Avg Score
5 / 10

Plays
308

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. In John Irving's "A Prayer for Owen Meany", the title character plays important parts in two different plays. Can you name one of these two parts? Hint

The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come in "A Christmas Carol"

Joseph in the Nativity pageant

Santa in "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer"

The narrator in "The Night Before Christmas"

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Question 2 of 10

2. In "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, the narrator, Scout, appears in a school production dressed as which of the following? Hint

A turkey

A ham

A dairy cow

A cheese

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Question 3 of 10

3. In which of Jane Austen's novels do the young people decide to act out a play titled "Lovers' Vows"? Hint

Sense and Sensibility

Mansfield Park

Northanger Abbey

Persuasion

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Question 4 of 10

4. What is the name of the opera singer who charms the usually immovable Sherlock Holmes in the story "A Scandal in Bohemia"? Hint

Violet Smith

Irene Adler

Helen Stonor

Emma Albani

5. What very famous theatrical character has the audacity to think he or she can tell the actors he's hired how to do their job, with the lines "Speak the speech I pray you as I pronounced it to you, trippingly on the tongue"? Hint

Estragon in "Waiting for Godot"

Masha in "Three Sisters"

Nora in "The Doll's House"

Hamlet in "Hamlet"

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Question 6 of 10

6. Which character, whose name is the title of a book by Charles Dickens, encounters the Infant Phenomenon when he meets up with a travelling theatrical troupe? Hint

Nicholas Nickleby

Martin Chuzzlewit

Oliver Twist

Barnaby Rudge

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Question 7 of 10

7. Margaret Drabble's second novel, published in 1964, concerns the pregnant and disillusioned wife of an actor who spends a summer hanging about rather unhappily with him as he performs in a summer repertory season. Which famous British theatre figure's name appears in the title of the book? Hint

Laurence Olivier

Binkie Beaumont

David Garrick

Geoffrey Kendall

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Question 8 of 10

8. Which beloved literary bear, created by Michael Bond, dashes backstage at the intermission of a London play to complain about the way the lead actor, Sir Sealy Bloom, is treating his female co-star? Hint

Winnie-the-Pooh

Paddington Bear

Rupert the Bear

Little Bear

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Question 9 of 10

9. In which of the Flavia de Luce mysteries by Alan Bradley does a performer meet his end right in the middle of his performance to the entire village? Hint

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag

A Red Herring Without Mustard

I Am Half-Sick of Shadows

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Question 10 of 10

10. In perhaps the most mixed-up of all the plays ever performed by literary characters, Peter Quince's adaptation of the tale of Pyramus and Thisbe, which role is portrayed by Nick Bottom the Weaver? Hint

Pyramus

The lion

Thisbe

The donkey

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. In John Irving's "A Prayer for Owen Meany", the title character plays important parts in two different plays. Can you name one of these two parts?

Answer: The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come in "A Christmas Carol"

Owen also plays Jesus in the Nativity play. He seems to have some sort of premonition of his own death while he's onstage, causing him to faint during a performance.

2. In "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, the narrator, Scout, appears in a school production dressed as which of the following?

Answer: A ham

She is meant to be representing one of the products of Maycomb County. It's hard for little Scout to see out of her costume, which presents some challenges when she finds she has to walk home in the dark wearing it. Luckily her brother Jem - and a mysterious protector - are there to look out for her.

3. In which of Jane Austen's novels do the young people decide to act out a play titled "Lovers' Vows"?

Answer: Mansfield Park

Fanny Price, her relatives the Bertrams, and their friends the Crawfords embark on these ambitious home theatricals. However, Fanny is anxious because she sees that the play's mature themes are liable to encourage inappropriate behaviour among the young cast members.

4. What is the name of the opera singer who charms the usually immovable Sherlock Holmes in the story "A Scandal in Bohemia"?

Answer: Irene Adler

Originally published by Sir Arthur Conan Doyale in "The Strand" magazine, the story is collected in the first of the Sherlock Holmes anthologies, "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes". Helen Stonor is a character in "The Adventure of the Speckled Band", while Violet Smith appears in "The Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist". Emma Albani was a Canadian opera singer of international renown who has sometimes been put forth as a possible inspiration for the character of Irene Adler.

Answer: Hamlet in "Hamlet"

Shakespeare's Hamlet gives the actors quite a lot of advice, and most of it's pretty good. The Prince of Denmark is hoping that the play-within-a-play will out his uncle as a murderer, or (as he puts it, rather better), "The play's the thing. Wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king."

6. Which character, whose name is the title of a book by Charles Dickens, encounters the Infant Phenomenon when he meets up with a travelling theatrical troupe?

Answer: Nicholas Nickleby

The Infant Phenomenon's real name is Ninetta Crummles, and she is the daughter of the company manager. However, Dickens suggests quite often that she is not by any means an infant by the time Nicholas encounters her.

Answer: David Garrick

"The Garrick Year" is named for David Garrick (1717-1779), who is famous for acting, directing and producing theatre. Emma, the narrator of the story, does not have much fun during her time away from her home in London, as she's not especially fond of the theatrical scene.

Answer: Paddington Bear

In "A Bear Called Paddington", the first of the Paddington books, Paddington looks as though he's going to disrupt the play, but when Sir Sealy Bloom notices that he's quite an intelligent bear, he ends up being quite useful to the company in the second half of the show.

9. In which of the Flavia de Luce mysteries by Alan Bradley does a performer meet his end right in the middle of his performance to the entire village?

Answer: The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag

The performer in question is a travelling puppeteer who's presenting his own version of "Jack and the Beanstalk" to an enraptured crowd. Unfortunately, instead of the puppet giant tumbling onto the stage, dead, at the climax, it's the puppeteer.

Answer: Pyramus

In William Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream", Bottom's head is magically transformed into a donkey's head during rehearsals, but he was originally supposed to play the part of the romantic hero Pyramus.

Source: Author SBH

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor looney_tunes before going online.
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