Kabuki theatre is classical Japanese dance-drama, with very stylised action, masks and heavy make-up. It dates back to the early 17th century. As in the original Shakespeare productions, all the actors are men.
In American English a curveball is a deceptive or unexpected action which poses a new challenge e.g. He threw a curveball by threatening to walk out of the meeting.
I was born into an Irish family living in London. This has left me with an Irish name, an English voice and an extra trove of words and phrases that have passed down from the Irish language.
Few will be surprised to discover that Shakespeare (transcribed Shashibiya) never visited China. Nor was his work widely known there until comparatively recently.