Just a few days ago I took a tube ride all the way Southwark, London, and crossed the Millennium Bridge to see one of London’s most famous theatres. Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre.
Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre was built in 1997 by architects Theo Crosby and John Orrell. It is a replica of the Globe Theatre that was built in 1599 by the Lord Chamberlain’s Men. The company William Shakespeare wrote for, and part owned. Sadly, the original theatre burned down on June 29th, 1613. Three years before Shakespeare’s death. The fire was caused by a piece of burning wadding from the small cannons that were used in a performance of Henry VIII landing on the Globe Theater’s thatched roof. Thankfully, there were no causalities. The original Elizabethan playhouse is where the English poet, William Shakespeare wrote and produced most of his plays. It is said that the first play that Shakespeare wrote for the Globe Theatre was Julius Caesar in the year 1599. One fact about the Globe Theatre is that when the patrons fell out of favor with Queen Elizabeth I, their landlord Giles Alleyn wanted to cancel the Lord Chamberlain’s Mens’ lease on the land and tear down the theatre. However, the Lord Chamberlain’s Men took it upon themselves to deconstruct the entire theatre in the middle of the night and transport the materials across the river Thames and reconstruct the new theatre in Southwark, London. Their great efforts are what saved the Globe Theatre.
I’ve been in London for almost a month, and I have visited Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre twice. The first time I went to the theatre I saw A Midsummer Night’s Dream. This time I saw The Comedy of Errors. The Comedy of Errors is one of William Shakespeare’s first ever plays. It is also one of his shortest plays. The Comedy of Errors tells us the story of two identical male twins who were separated at birth. Antipholus of Syracuse and his servant, Dromio of Syracuse sail to the Greek city of Ephesus. Where the twin brother, Antipholus of Ephesus lives with his wife, his wife’s sister, and his servant Dromio of Ephesus. However, Antipholus and Dromio of Syracuse don’t know this. Once Antipholus of Syracuse steps into the city, he encounters friends and acquaintances that mistake him for his twin brother, which causes chaos to ensue throughout the entire play. The townsfolk and the twins themselves do not find out that they are twins until the end of the play.
The Casting Director of The Comedy of Errors did an excellent job of casting the actors who played the twin brothers and the Dromios. Antipholus of Syracuse and Antipholus of Ephesus looked so similar that I wouldn’t have been surprised if they were related to each other. Also, for the first 20 minutes of the play, I didn’t realize that there were two Dromios. They looked almost identical, and their voices sounded the same. The only difference between the two Dromios was that the Dromio of Syracuse had a slightly thicker mustache than Dromio of Ephesus. Every actor played their character well; however, some actors didn’t let the lines hit them, and a few conversations sounded like they were just reading words off the script. Besides that, it was a wonderful production, and I would love to see it again in the future.
Theatre in London U of A 