Much Ado About Shakespeare Quiz / Test | Logic Puzzles

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Information you need to know: The Quizzical Shakespeare Company put on four of Shakespeare's plays recently, with each one featuring an erroneous appearance by a famous character from another play. Using the clues below, identify in which order the four plays were performed, along with the name of both the erroneous character and the actor who portrayed them. If you've got a pen and paper handy then using the 'grid' method may help you solve the puzzle. The four plays were 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', 'Hamlet', 'Julius Caesar' and 'The Merry Wives of Windsor'. The four erroneous characters were Iago, Juliet Capulet, King Lear and King Richard III. The four embarrassed actors were Dean James, Douglas Kirk, Oliver Laurence and Tracey Spencer. Clues: 1. In Shakespeare's time, female characters were played by male actors dressed up as women. However, the Quizzical Shakespeare Company actually has female actors available so it was Tracey Spencer who portrayed Juliet Capulet. 2. When King Richard III uttered the famous line "A horse, a horse! My kingdom for a horse!" he was probably surprised when the only offering put forward was a donkey-headed Nick Bottom - apparently he'd wandered into the performance of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'. 3. Dean James portrayed one of Shakespeare's eponymous kings. Unfortunately neither 'Richard III' nor 'King Lear' were on the Quizzical Shakespeare Company's programme. 4. Douglas Kirk's character almost got away unnoticed as he slipped in with the crowd of characters waiting to stab Julius Caesar in the play of the same name - it was only the lack of a toga that gave the game away. 5. Oliver Laurence joined the Quizzical Shakespeare Company after all of the following had already taken place: the production of 'The Merry Wives of Windsor', the appearance of the evil villain Iago and the performance of the play featuring Dean James. 6. 'Hamlet' was the first of the four plays to be staged. 7. Dean James's play was performed before Tracey Spencer's, but not directly so. And now the questions begin: Who played the evil villain Iago?

Answer: Douglas Kirk

Iago wasn't played by either Tracey Spencer (clue 1) or Dean James (clue 3). Clue 5 stated that Oliver Laurence didn't join the company until after Iago's appearance, so it must have been Douglas Kirk.

Kirk Douglas is an American actor, an honorary Academy Award winner and star of films such as 'The Bad and the Beautiful', 'Lust for Life' and 'Spartacus' - he isn't known as a Shakespearean actor though.

2. In what play did Tracey Spencer portray one of Shakespeare's most famous female tragic heroines, Juliet Capulet?

Answer: The Merry Wives of Windsor

Tracey Spencer can't have been in 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' because that play included King Richard III (clue 2) or in 'Julius Caesar', as that featured Douglas Kirk (clue 4). 'Hamlet' was the first play performed (clue 6) and therefore can't have featured Spencer as clue 7 clearly states that her play was staged after that featuring Dean James. Therefore she was in 'The Merry Wives of Windsor'.

'The Merry Wives of Windsor' was published in 1602, but probably written several years earlier. It does feature a character from another play - Sir John Falstaff, who also appears in both parts of 'Henry IV' - but not Juliet Capulet of 'Romeo and Juliet' fame.

Spencer Tracy was an American actor who was nominated for nine Best Actor Oscars (one posthumously) and won two of them (for 'Captains Courageous' in 1938 and 'Boys Town' in 1939).

3. Which of the four plays was the last to be performed by the Quizzical Shakespeare Company?

Answer: A Midsummer Night's Dream

'Hamlet' was the first play performed (clue 6), so that can be easily ruled out. Clue 5 states that 'The Merry Wives of Windsor' was performed before Oliver Laurence joined the company, so it can't have been the last play either. 'Julius Caesar' can also be ruled out because it featured Douglas Kirk (clue 4) who played Iago (question 1) who wasn't in the last play (clue 5).

'A Midsummer Night's Dream' is one of Shakespeare's 'comedies' and is believed to have been written in the 1590s. In it, the weaver, Nick Bottom, suffered the ignominy of having his head turned into that of a donkey by the mischievous fairy, Puck - although there was a brief upside as the queen of the fairies, Titania, fell in love with him despite the equine addition.

4. Dean James portrayed King Lear. True or False?

Answer: True

Clue 3 states that Dean James played either King Richard III or King Lear. King Richard III appeared in 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' (clue 2), which was the last play performed (question 3). From clue 5 we know that Dean James wasn't in the last play (as Oliver Laurence performed later than him), so he can't have played King Richard III and the statement that he played King Lear must be true.

King Lear was the tragically flawed Shakespearean character who gave his kingdom away to his evil daughters simply because they flattered him. He paid a high price for his mistake - he was cast out by his ungrateful offspring, suffered a sad decline into senility and witnessed the death of his only honest and good daughter, Cordelia.

5. Which actor appeared in 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'?

Answer: Oliver Laurence

From clue 4 we know that Douglas Kirk appeared in 'Julius Caesar' and the answer to question 2 allows us to rule out Tracey Spencer (who was in 'The Merry Wives of Windsor'). From question 3 we also know that 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' was the last play to be performed, meaning that Dean James can be eliminated (clue 5). That leaves Oliver Laurence.

The famous actor Laurence Olivier (1907 to 1989) was a successful Shakespearean stage actor and also appeared in several film productions of the Bard's plays, including playing the title roles in 'Hamlet', 'Henry V' and 'Richard III'.

6. Which character was mistakenly included in the production of 'Hamlet'?

Answer: King Lear

King Richard III appeared in 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' (clue 2); Juliet Capulet appeared in 'The Merry Wives of Windsor' (question 2); and Iago was played by Douglas Kirk (question 1) who was in 'Julius Caesar' (clue 4). Therefore King Lear must have appeared in 'Hamlet'.

'Hamlet' is one of Shakespeare's most famous plays and one of his darkest tragedies. It contains the much quoted lines "To be, or not to be, that is the question" and "Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio" (often misquoted as "I knew him well"). Yorick is also the only Shakespearean character to appear as a skull - although ghosts are pretty common.

7. Which of the four actors was first to step out on stage into entirely the wrong play?

Answer: Dean James

The first play to be staged was 'Hamlet' (clue 6). We already know that Douglas Kirk was in 'Julius Caesar' (clue 4), Tracey Spencer was in 'The Merry Wives of Windsor' (question 2) and Oliver Laurence was in 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' (question 5). That just leaves Dean James as the only possible answer.

James Dean was a motor racing enthusiast and the star of films such as 'East of Eden' and 'Rebel Without a Cause'. He tragically died in a car accident at the age of just 24.

8. What position in the schedule was taken by the play that included a surprise appearance by Juliet Capulet?

Answer: Third

Juliet Capulet was played by Tracey Spencer (clue 1). Oliver Laurence was in the last play (questions 3 and 5) and Dean James was in the first play (question 7). Clue 7 states that James's play was performed before Spencer's "but not directly so", meaning that Spencer couldn't have been in the second play. Therefore she (and her character Juliet) must have been in the third play.

'Romeo and Juliet' is a tragic love story that has been staged countless times; adapted for ballet, opera and film; and provided the inspiration for other works such as the musical 'West Side Story'.

9. 'Julius Caesar' featured which erroneous character?

Answer: Iago

King Richard III was in 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' (clue 2), Juliet Capulet was in 'The Merry Wives of Windsor (question 2) and King Lear was in 'Hamlet' (question 6). Therefore it was Iago who made the impromptu appearance in 'Julius Caesar'.

Iago is actually from the play 'Othello' and is consistently named as one of Shakespeare's worst villains for his evil plan to revenge himself against Othello by convincing him that his wife, Desdemona, was having an affair. The whole plot resulted in Othello killing Desdemona and Iago killing his own wife, Emilia.

10. Actor Douglas Kirk was embarrassed by his appearance in the play that held which position in the Quizzical Shakespeare Company's schedule?

Answer: Second

Dean James was in the first play staged (question 7), Tracey Spencer appeared as Juliet Capulet in the third (clue 1 and question 8) and Oliver Laurence appeared in 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' that was performed last (questions 3 and 5). Therefore Douglas Kirk (of 'Julius Caesar') was in the second play.

'Julius Caesar', which was based on real events from Roman history, is not classified as one of Shakespeare's history plays, but as a tragedy. That classification isn't too surprising though when you consider that the whole play revolves around the title character's assassination on the Ides of March.

The full solution was:
First - 'Hamlet' - King Lear - Dean James
Second - 'Julius Caesar' - Iago - Douglas Kirk
Third - 'The Merry Wives of Windsor' - Juliet Capulet - Tracey Spencer
Fourth - 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' - King Richard III - Oliver Laurence

Source: Author Fifiona81

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor Tizzabelle before going online.
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Much Ado About Shakespeare Trivia Quiz

The Quizzical Shakespeare Company's latest performances caused some consternation - they'd mixed up their plays and some of the Bard's most famous characters ended up making unexpected appearances. Use some logic to work out where they went wrong...

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