World Theatre Day was created in 1961 by the International Theatre Institute. It is celebrated every year on March 27 by theatre companies around the world. Theatre groups of all kinds put on special performances and events to mark the day. The most important event is the message given by a leading figure in world theatre. The first message was given by the French poet, novelist and film maker Jean Cocteau. World Theatre Day is also an occasion for actors, playwrights and directors to celebrate the power of the performing arts and how they bring people together. It is also a good chance for artists to show the world how theatre can and does create peace between people.
Theatre is one of the oldest performing arts. It dates back thousands of years. It has its roots in story telling and evolved into acting and the stage. The word ‘theatre’ comes from the Greek ‘theatron’, which means "the seeing place". Theatre forms a rich part of every culture, from ancient Greek tragedies and Japanese Kabuki, to Indian Sanskrit epics and the medieval world of Islamic puppet theatre. Today theatre is enjoyed by millions of theatre-goers around the world. People have a huge choice of dramas, musicals and comedy theatre. They can enjoy watching the top actors on Broadway or London’s West End, or simply watch their local amateur dramatics production.
Sources: http://www.wikipedia.org/ and assorted sites.
Finally, Let's watch an animated version of "A Midsummer Night's Dream". It is a comedy written by William Shakespeare in 1595/96. It portrays the events surrounding the marriage of Theseus, the Duke of Athens, to Hippolyta, the former queen of the Amazons. These include the adventures of four young Athenian lovers and a group of six amateur actors (the mechanicals) who are controlled and manipulated by the fairies who inhabit the forest in which most of the play is set. The play is one of Shakespeare's most popular works for the stage and is widely performed across the world.
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