Ancient theatre, puppets and reported commands

In Europe drama developed in ancient Greece, in Athens, roughly in the 6th–5th centuries BC. A tragedy is a serious play, often with a sad ending; a comedy is a funny play. Ancient Greek playwrights: Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides (tragedy) and Aristophanes (comedy). Only men acted and they wore masks; plays were staged in huge theatres under the open sky in front of thousands of people. Counting years: to work out how long ago a BC date was, add its number to this year’s number: 500 BC → 500 + 2026 = 2526 years ago. Puppet types: a glove puppet (worn on the hand) and a marionette (moved with strings). Uzbek traditional street puppet shows, such as “Chodir Jamol”, were played from behind a screen; in Japan’s Bunraku puppet theatre three people operate each puppet. The + adjective names a whole group: the rich = rich people, the elderly, the homeless, the talented (always plural in meaning: The homeless need shelter).