So the appearance this season of a number of plays that focus on historical events and public figures provokes some familiar questions.
The figures provoked a fresh row about Scotland's economic future in the runup to the general election, after the IFS forecast that Scotland's deficit would be 8.6% of GDP in the current financial year, compared to 5% for the UK, and fall slightly to 8% next year while the UK's deficit dropped faster to 4%.
Mr Malema is 33 and rarely out of the headlines here - a contradictory figure who provokes strong reactions.
The outrage that the manacled, blindfolded, jumpsuited figures first provoked has dimmed.
If there is one single historical figure who still provokes controversy, it is without doubt the Bosnian Serb who assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914.
Mashaei, whose daughter married Ahmadinejad's son, has become the most controversial political figure in Iran, provoking harsh criticism from the conservative establishment, including the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The International Olympic Committee has confirmed 271 Russian athletes will compete in the Rio Olympics, a figure that will provoke outrage from those who argued for a blanket ban in the wake of state-sponsored doping revelations.
He said he could not figure out what had provoked Mr. Persico.
A hugely controversial figure, Minelli has previously provoked criticism for allowing people with mental disorders, not just those with terminal physical conditions, to end their lives at Dignitas.
Beyond this eternal debate, however, lie two questions about contemporary Britain.Wordsmiths and biologistsFirst, who are the figures whose plain speaking provokes the most fuss?
