Lesson T1.2.3

T1.2.3 Dramatists and alternative staging Quiz: KS3 English, Unit 1

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

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Lesson T1.2.3, Dramatists and alternative staging: 20 multiple choice questions for the KS3 English (National Curriculum), Unit 1: Reading, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. What is 'epic theatre', associated with the German dramatist Bertolt Brecht?

    • A style using songs and visible staging to make the audience think critically
    • A theatre style that removes all dialogue so that the audience understands the story through dance
    • A technique that requires the audience to sit on stage and watch the actors from the stalls
    • A form of theatre that performs only stories about ancient heroes in the open air each summer

  2. What is the 'alienation effect' in Brecht's theatre?

    • A plan to make the audience leave the theatre early by making the performance very dull
    • Techniques that remind the audience they are watching a play, so they can judge its ideas
    • A feeling of loneliness that the actors are supposed to experience during the performance
    • A stage effect in which the characters seem to disappear into the scenery at the end

  3. What is the purpose of a Greek chorus in ancient drama?

    • To announce the names of the playwright and actors at the start of each performance
    • To comment on the action, express the community's views and guide the audience's response
    • To act as the main characters in a play, with the actors providing the background music
    • To perform a comedy between the main tragedies to give the audience a light-hearted break

  4. Why might a director choose 'alternative staging' for a Shakespeare play?

    • To ensure the play is performed exactly as it was in Shakespeare's own lifetime every time
    • To offer a new interpretation, such as setting the play in a modern city to highlight its themes
    • To shorten the play so it can be performed in under twenty minutes with no interval at all
    • To remove the need for actors, using only puppets and recorded voices throughout the performance

  5. What is 'theatre in the round'?

    • A staging in which the audience sits on all sides of the stage around the performance space
    • A performance in which actors walk in a circle around the audience and never stop moving
    • A stage with a revolving floor that turns during the performance so every seat sees the actors
    • A theatre in which the stage is circular and the audience can only watch from a balcony above

  6. Which dramatist wrote 'A Doll's House', in which a woman leaves her husband and family?

    • Samuel Beckett, whose play Waiting for Godot follows two characters who wait by a tree
    • Anton Chekhov, whose play The Seagull follows a young writer's struggle with art and love
    • Henrik Ibsen, whose play A Doll's House ends with Nora leaving her husband and children
    • Oscar Wilde, whose play The Importance of Being Earnest is a comedy about mistaken identity

  7. Which dramatist wrote 'The Importance of Being Earnest', a comedy about mistaken identity?

    • Anton Chekhov, whose plays often focus on the quiet disappointments of ordinary people
    • Oscar Wilde, whose witty comedy plays with names and the identity of its characters
    • Henrik Ibsen, whose social dramas often explored the lives of women and the family home
    • Bertolt Brecht, whose epic theatre aimed to make audiences think critically about society

  8. A director stages a play in which the actors wear modern clothes but speak Shakespearean lines. What is the most likely effect?

    • The audience will become bored because modern clothes cannot be used in any theatre production
    • The audience is guaranteed to understand every word exactly as the Elizabethan audience did
    • The audience may see the play's themes as relevant to the present day, creating a new interpretation
    • The audience will believe the play was written in the twenty-first century by a new writer

  9. What is 'promenade' staging?

    • A performance in which the audience moves between different locations as the story unfolds
    • A performance in which the audience is seated in a circle and cannot move at any time
    • A parade of actors who walk along the main street of a town to advertise a show
    • A stage in which every actor remains still in a single spot for the whole performance

  10. Why might an audience respond differently to a play staged in a small studio space than in a large proscenium theatre?

    • The proscenium stage prevents any audience reaction, so responses are identical in any venue
    • The studio will always remove the need for actors, so performances take place with recordings only
    • The closeness of the space can make performance feel more intimate and immediate
    • The studio will always make the audience respond with silence, which means the actors cannot be heard

  11. Which statement best describes how a dramatist's historical context can influence a play?

    • A dramatist must always write about the same historical period, regardless of their own time
    • A dramatist's context has no effect on a play, since all plays are written in an identical way
    • A play can only reflect the historical period in which it is performed, never when it was written
    • Social and political issues of the writer's time may shape a play's themes and characters

  12. A director says that 'an interpretation' of a play is the way it is presented. What does this mean?

    • The director writes a new play that replaces the original script with completely new scenes
    • The director's choices about staging, acting and design shape how the audience understands the text
    • The director translates the play into a different language for an audience in another country
    • The director has memorised all the actors' lines so that no one needs a script on stage

  13. Which dramatist is known for the 'Theatre of the Absurd', including the play Waiting for Godot?

    • Harold Pinter, whose play The Birthday Party follows a man who is visited by two strangers
    • Tennessee Williams, whose play A Streetcar Named Desire follows a woman who visits her sister
    • Arthur Miller, whose play Death of a Salesman follows a travelling salesman and his family
    • Samuel Beckett, whose Waiting for Godot shows characters waiting for someone who never comes

  14. What is a 'monologue' in drama?

    • A list of the stage directions that tell the actors where to stand in each scene
    • A conversation between two characters in which they take turns to speak in short lines
    • A song sung by a group of actors to introduce the setting of the play to the audience
    • A long speech delivered by one character, often revealing their thoughts or telling a story

  15. What is the purpose of 'casting' a play with actors from different backgrounds?

    • It means the actors will all have to learn their lines in the same language and accent
    • It makes the play shorter, because actors from different backgrounds speak more quickly on stage
    • It can offer a fresh perspective on characters and themes, and widen who the play speaks to
    • It guarantees that the play will be performed exactly as it was written in the original text

  16. Which description best matches 'immersive theatre'?

    • Performances that are held in a library so that the audience can read the script while watching
    • Performances that are filmed in advance and shown on a cinema screen to large audiences
    • Performances in which the actors stay behind a screen and the audience only hears their voices
    • Performances that surround the audience and invite them to take part in the action

  17. A student compares two stagings of the same scene. What is the most useful question to ask?

    • Which version was performed on the warmer day, so that the costumes did not feel too heavy?
    • How many seats were available in each theatre, and whether the box office sold out on the night?
    • Which version used the lighter of the two programmes printed for the audience to read?
    • How do the staging choices change the way the audience understands the characters and the message?

  18. Which dramatist wrote Death of a Salesman about a travelling salesman and his family?

    • Tennessee Williams, who wrote A Streetcar Named Desire about a woman who visits her sister in New Orleans
    • Arthur Miller, who wrote Death of a Salesman about the struggles of a travelling salesman
    • Noel Coward, who wrote comedies such as Private Lives about the lives of the wealthy
    • Caryl Churchill, who wrote Top Girls about women's ambitions across different periods of history

  19. What does 'dramatic irony' mean?

    • When the audience knows something that a character on stage does not know
    • When actors deliberately speak in a different accent to show a character's origins
    • When a character says the opposite of what they mean in a way that the audience cannot detect
    • When a play ends with a joke that makes the whole audience laugh out loud together

  20. What is a playwright?

    • A person who designs the lighting plan for each scene in a theatre production
    • A person who sells tickets and programmes at the theatre box office on show nights
    • A person who builds the sets and paints the backdrops for a theatre company's shows
    • A person who writes plays, including the dialogue and stage directions for performance

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