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Quiz about Theatrica Obscura I Moden British Drama

Theatrica Obscura I: Moden British Drama Quiz

A survey of 20th Century British theater, from common knowledge to more obscure.

A multiple-choice quiz by Yehuda101. Estimated time: 5 mins.

Author
Yehuda101

Time
5 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
290,976

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Tough

Avg Score
6 / 10

Plays
736

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. Sarah Kane is regarded as one of the most important voices of the 1990s. She was one of the pioneers of the "In-Yer-Face" theatre movement that occurred in Britain. Though her plays are marked by her excessive use of violence, one of her later plays featured no (discernible) action and had characters called only "A" "B" "C" and "M". Which of her five plays does this describe? Hint

Blasted

Crave

Cleansed

4:48 Psychosis

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Question 2 of 10

2. In Edward Bond's socialist "Lear", a metaphorical revision of Shakespeare famous play, expectations about characters are often shattered. Which character is named Cordelia? Hint

King Lear's daughter

The Boy's Wife

The Carpenter's Wife

King Lear's concubine

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Question 3 of 10

3. Which playwright developed a theatrical theory known as the Theatre of Catastrophe? Hint

Antonin Artaud

Howard Barker

Michael Bond

Sarah Kane

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Question 4 of 10

4. Though most known for his supernatural examinations of Irish culture, which Conor McPherson play features no supernatural elements and combines the intertwining tales of three men in an Irish town, culminating in a robbery that will change all of their lives? Hint

The Good Thief

Rum and Vodka

St. Nicholas

This Lime Tree Bower

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Question 5 of 10

5. In Harold Pinter's "The Dumb Waiter," two hitmen wait for an assignment in a room. In the twist ending, who is supposed to be killed? Hint

Gus is supposed to kill Ben

It is never revealed.

Ben and Gus are supposed to kill one another

Ben is supposed to kill Gus

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Question 6 of 10

6. Phillip Ridley wrote all the following plays except: Hint

Ghost From a Perfect Place

The Pitchfork Disney

Mercury Fur

Butterfly Kiss

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Question 7 of 10

7. Which Martin McDonagh play won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Play in 2004? Hint

The Pillowman

The Lieutenant of Inishmore

The Cripple of Inishmaan

The Mamaturk Rifleman

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Question 8 of 10

8. A certain theater in the UK is considered a home for many of the most aggressive playwrights. Here premiered Sarah Kane's posthumous "4:48 Psychosis," "Blasted," and works by David Hare and Caryl Churchill. Which theater is it? Hint

Theatre de Complicite

The National Theater

The Royal Court

Circle in the Square

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Question 9 of 10

9. As one critic described this 1997 play, "...of the many four-letter words, 'love' is undoubtedly the most brutal." An intertwining tale of four people, a disaffected doctor, a photographer, a young stripper, and a writer all searching for a connection that they can never quite find. It is, of course, "Closer," which was later turned into a movie. Who wrote it? Hint

Phillip Ridley

Patrick Marber

Caryl Churchill

Michael Bond

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Question 10 of 10

10. Who is credited with coining the term "in-yer-face" to categorize the aesthetic of certain plays in the late 1980s and 1990s that featured excessive violence, harsh language, and graphic sexuality? Hint

Martin Esslin

Ben Brantley

Robert Brustein

Aleks Sierz

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

Answer: Crave

First performed in 1998, this play marked a distinct change from Kane's earlier plays, "Blasted," "Phaedra's Love," and "Cleansed." Featuring characters identified only by letter and essentially no stage directions, some critics claim that Kane was finding a more mature, more Beckett-ian voice. Though only one act, the play examines Kane's familiar themes of love, war, and depression.

It premiered at the Traverse Theater in Edinburgh, and has been performed all over the world, including London, Madrid, Berlin, Washington, D.C. and New York City.

2. In Edward Bond's socialist "Lear", a metaphorical revision of Shakespeare famous play, expectations about characters are often shattered. Which character is named Cordelia?

Answer: The Boy's Wife

Dreamlike and highly symbolic, "Lear" is Edward Bond's attempt at a socialist take on William Shakespeare (a theme he explored further in "Bingo", a play which featured Shakespeare as a character). Bond once again examines violence as a necessary means to an end in human existence.

It is noted for its extreme use of graphic violence onstage, including a scene where knitting needles are plunged into a man's ears.

3. Which playwright developed a theatrical theory known as the Theatre of Catastrophe?

Answer: Howard Barker

Howard Barker's plays often have characters in extreme situations to examine sex, violence, and fault. Barker often attempts to shatter the "collective" thoughts of an audience through overt use of complexity, forcing them to examine the play alone. His thoughts and writings went on to influence writers like Sarah Kane. Famous plays include "Scenes from an Execution," "The Europeans," and "Gertrude--The Cry." His theories on the Theatre of Catastrophe are laid out in "Arguments for a Theatre," and "Death, The One and the Art of Theatre."

Answer: This Lime Tree Bower

McPherson is noted for his stark and powerful dialogue, which is evident in the play, structured as monologues by three different men: Joe, a young man bored with school and obsessed with his friend Damien; Frank, his brother who hatches a plan to solve all the family's financial troubles; and Ray, their sister's fiance who is a graduate student.

This play won McPherson the Evening Standard Award for "Most Promising Playwright" in 1997.

5. In Harold Pinter's "The Dumb Waiter," two hitmen wait for an assignment in a room. In the twist ending, who is supposed to be killed?

Answer: Ben is supposed to kill Gus

This play opened in 1960 on a double bill with another Pinter one-act, "The Room," and was directed by James Roose-Evans. Revivals have featured notable actors such as Lee Evans and Jason Isaacs.

6. Phillip Ridley wrote all the following plays except:

Answer: Butterfly Kiss

"Butterfly Kiss" is by Phyllis Nagy. Ridley is widely regarded as a seminal writer of the in-yer-face movement, cemented by "The Pitchfork Disney," an intense, provocative play that premiered in 1991 and pointed the way for many future writers such as Patrick Marber and Sarah Kane.

7. Which Martin McDonagh play won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Play in 2004?

Answer: The Pillowman

An exploration of the responsibility of the author as well as a gruesome reinvention of the fairy-tale, "The Pillowman" has become one of McDonagh's most produced plays. The Broadway production featured Billy Crudup as Katurian and Jeff Goldblum as Tupolski.

Answer: The Royal Court

Under the guidance of Stephen Daldry, the Court fastened a place in the annals of theater history as a home for young playwrights. A hotbed of controversy, the theater maintained its artistic goals and has earned its reputation for a forward-looking theater.

Answer: Patrick Marber

Premiering to rave reviews at the National Theater, it starred Clive Owen as Dan. It won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Play. The United States West Coast premiere featured Maggie Gyllenhaal.

Answer: Aleks Sierz

A British theater critic, Sierz wrote the first guide to this aesthetic (appropriately called "In-Yer-Face Theater"). He served as theater critic of the Tribune and has been a critic on TV and Radio.

Source: Author Yehuda101

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