2. The word ‘tragedy’ comes from a Greek expression meaning ‘goat song’…

3. …and ‘theatre’ comes from a Greek verb meaning ‘to behold’.

4. Ancient Greek audiences stamped their feet rather than clapping their hands to applaud.

5. World Theatre Day has been held on March 27 every year since 1962 when it was the opening day of the “Theatre of Nations” season in Paris.

6. The longest continuous dramatic performance was 23 hr 33 min 54 sec achieved by the 27 O’Clock Players in New Jersey, USA, on July 27, 2010.

7. They performed The Bald Soprano by Eugene Ionescu, a play written in a continuous loop and said to be totally pointless and plotless.

8. According to Aristotle, the plot is the most important feature of a dramatic performance.

9. Walt Disney World, Florida, has a record 1.2 million costumes in its theatrical wardrobes.

10. The oldest play still in existence is The Persians by Aeschylus, written in 472 BC.

Take a look at some of the photographs in my Pinterest collection of the world’s most beautiful theaters.

Click on any photograph to see it enlarged

Roman Theater of Palmyra in the Syrian Desert. The incomplete theater dates back to the 2nd century

Teatro Olympico (Olympic Theater), in Vicenza, Italy. The oldest surviving enclosed theater in the world, built in the 16th century

The Alexandrinsky Theater in St. Petersburg, Russia,

The Paris Opera House

Palacio de Las Bellas Artes, in Mexico City

Palau de la Música Catalana, Barcelona

The National Grand Theater of China, Beijing

Belasco Theater, Broadway, New York City