extended halfway into an open court-
Actors who
played gods in
ancient Greek
plays were
sometimes
hung from a
crane so they
could “fly”
across the
stage.
In the 1600s many of William Shakespeare’s
plays were performed at the Globe
Theater in London, England. The theater
was torn down in the mid-1600s, but it was
rebuilt on almost the same spot in the 1990s.
58 Theater BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA
yard. The common people stood in the
courtyard.Wealthier members of the
audience sat in seats. During Shakespeare’s
time women did not perform in
plays. The female characters were played
by men or boys who dressed as women.
Modern Theater
In Japan in the 1600s a new form of
drama called Kabuki appeared. It
focused on singing, dancing, and mime
(movement without words). Actors in a
Kabuki play wear striking costumes and
makeup. They use elaborate gestures to
show strong emotions. Kabuki is performed
on a thrust stage. A narrow,
raised platform extends through the
audience from the stage to the back of
the theater. The actors use the platform
for dancing and for important entrances
and exits. A female dancer developed
Kabuki. But after the 1650s only men
acted in the plays.
Kabuki is related to a form of Japanese
puppet theater called Bunraku. In Bunraku
the performers move around large
dolls to act out a drama. One of the
performers chants the words of the story.
Puppet theater also has a long tradition
in many other countries, including
Indonesia, Turkey, India, and China. In
Europe puppet shows presented favorite
characters in entertaining stories.
In Europe during the 1600s many theaters
began to use the proscenium, or
arch, stage. This is the type of stage seen
in many modern theaters.
Several actors in Europe andNorth
America in the 1700s and 1800s
developed new ideas about acting. Before
then actors often read their parts as if they
were making a speech. The English actor
David Garrick developed a more natural
acting style.He delivered his lines in the
spirit of the character he was playing.
In the 1800s New York City became the
theatrical center of the United States, as
London was in England. In the 1900s
people began performing theater in a
greater variety of places.More cities and
towns around the world built new
theaters.
#More to explore
Ballet • Circus • Dance • Drama • Opera
Bunraku is a Japanese form of puppet theater.
The people who move the puppets
appear on the stage with the puppets.
A crowd watches a play being performed
at an outdoor theater in Kabul, Afghanistan.
BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Theater 59
Thimphu
Population
(2002 estimate)
45,000
Thimphu is the capital of Bhutan, a
small country in south-central Asia. The
city lies on the Raidak River in a valley
of the Himalaya Mountains. It is a small
city. It does not have the crowds and
activity that many other capitals have.
Farming is the main economic activity
in Thimphu. Farmers grow rice, corn,
and wheat around the city. Thimphu has
few industries. The leading industries
process timber and make electricity from
waterpower.
Little is known about the early history of
Thimphu. The high mountains surrounding
Bhutan long kept it separate
from the rest of the world.
For hundreds of years Bhutan had no set
capital. The center of government was
wherever the king lived. In 1962, however,
Thimphu was named the capital.
The government then began making the
city more modern.
#More to explore
Bhutan
Thistle
Thistles are prickly plants that most
people think of as weeds. But some
kinds of thistle have nice flowers, and
people grow them as garden plants. One
type of thistle is the national symbol of
Scotland.
Thistles can grow to more than 8 feet
(2.4 meters) tall. They usually have
prickly leaves. The stem and flowers can
also be prickly. The leaves usually have
ragged edges. They are green or blue
green and are sometimes covered with
fine white hairs.
Thistles have many tiny flowers growing
together in tight clusters. The flowers are
packed so closely that the clusters look
like single flowers. Most types of thistle
can grow dozens of these flower clusters
on one plant. The flowers are mostly
pink, purple, or yellow. They produce
feathery seeds that scatter in the wind.
Thistles grow mostly from seeds. Some
thistles also can grow from small pieces
of root in the soil. This makes thistles
Farm crops grow close to an old Buddhist
religious building that now houses the government
of Bhutan. In the distance is the city
of Thimphu.
60 Thimphu BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA
hard to remove from farm fields.
Thistles are also hard to get rid of
because their roots grow deep into the
soil. Also, livestock and other animals do
not eat thistles because they are so
prickly.
#More to explore
Plant • Scotland
Thorpe, Jim
Jim Thorpe was one of the greatest allaround
athletes in history. He excelled at
football, baseball, basketball, boxing,
lacrosse, swimming, and hockey.
James Francis Thorpe was born on May
28, 1888, in Indian Territory, which is
now Oklahoma. He was mostly of
Native American descent. Thorpe
attended Carlisle Indian Industrial
School in Pennsylvania. There he played
