Hello again, all!! Three days in a row of blogs. We are on a roll right now! Today, I will be discussing the incredible and harrowing experiences I had yesterday getting to see a show at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. I will start with the harrowing part because who wants to end with the bad stuff?
Kaylee, Cori, and I are basically proper Londoners now, so after our morning class, we decided to explore and go shopping before the show in the afternoon. However, while we were out, we missed a notice that the show time was not what we expected. As a result, we got back to the hotel when we were supposed to be meeting the group at St Paul’s, and we had less than an hour before show time to get on the tube and get where we needed to be. Conveniently enough, I have also been a little ill and was not feeling up to rushing through the great city of London in the coldest weather we’ve had since arrival (seriously, it was so cold yesterday).
After realizing how much time we had, Kaylee, Cori, and I rushed out of the hotel, leaving my sandwich I had just gotten on the bed of course (I forgot it in the panic). We stuck together, thankfully, and began to follow the quickest option from google maps to get to our destination. However, after boarding the train, we realized we had gotten on the WRONG TUBE!! We had a not so funny laugh about our luck of getting on the wrong tube the day we were running late, but we were thankfully able to ride it a few stops down to another station and change trains. In the end, we did make it on time, and our fearless leader, Shawn, was waiting outside to greet us with tickets. (Thank you Shawn for waiting on us and being so kind about our tardiness!!)
After a chaotic journey to the theatre, we finally made it to our seats in time to enjoy one of the best Shakespeare shows ever! Which leads me to the fun part… Much Ado About Nothing!!!
Oh my word. This production was incredible, and I have so much to say about the gorgeous stage, costumes, set, and top tier acting! I have not had the opportunity to see Shakespeare performed many times, so the experience of watching a show at the Globe may have ruined me for all future productions. Before diving into the show, I also want to talk about the theatre itself and how unbelievably powerful it is to be in that space.
The Globe Theatre is designed to almost the exact specifications of the original Globe used in Shakespeare’s day. From the outdoor setting to the thatched roof to the wooden benches for seats, everything is as historically accurate as possible. There are no seats on the ground either, allowing for audiences to stand and watch the show as the groundings did so many years ago. This makes for an incredible experience, and it gave me a greater appreciation for the power of theatre and the lengths people went to in order to make it happen hundreds of years ago. There is no AC or heater, the benches are not all that comfortable, and you can hear loud noises from outside during the show. Today, audiences can go inside to warm up, rent blankets, etcetera, but that was not an options years ago. When you consider what conditions would have been like at the time, it gives some perspective as to how much audiences loved and needed Shakespeare’s work. They would stand for hours to watch the shows, exposed to the outside elements, but still they would come. It is a testament to the importance of storytelling and escapism, no matter the time period. I personally did not stand for the show as I was too exhausted, but seeing the groundlings and watching how the actors interacted with them and the rest of the audience was fascinating and so much fun! It felt so real, and it was the closest I will likely ever come to experiencing Shakespeare as it was originally performed.
Now for the show. Long story short, it was incredible! The actors were phenomenal, and I was amazed at their ability to interact with and respond to the audience while staying in character. They were always on top of their game, and I did not find that I was taken out by the breaking the fourth wall. In fact, it felt more true to the story since Shakespeare wrote so many moments that are intended to be delivered to the crowd. I think many modern performances of Shakespeare easily become very stiff, and the freedom to feed off the audience gets lost as people treat it more seriously than Shakespeare ever intended for the work to be taken. However, these actors did not shy away from leaning into the idea of Shakespeare as entertainment rather than literature, and I loved that! I do believe that the words are deeply important in Shakespeare, and I do not want to give the impression that I do not think them worthy of merit, but Shakespeare was also intended to be fun and rowdy, and this production seemed to understand that. There was so much physical comedy, and the timing and delivery of lines was perfect!! I think this is a testament both to the actors’ skill and the director’s vision.
Lastly, I want to express how much I enjoyed getting to see a Shakespeare show performed in the original time period and setting. Many modern performances of Shakespeare’s plays are adapted to be more “relevant,” so the setting is changed or time periods and costumes are different. While this can work, I think a lot of people do it without a good enough reason, and the show loses its impact. Context can be so important to the message or events happening in a show, and it is important to consider that. I have wanted to see a Shakespeare show performed in the correct period for years, and I was so happy to have that opportunity at the Globe Theatre!! While the show was not entirely original practices (there was a set, and there wouldn’t have been in Shakespeare’s day), I loved it and could still envision how it might have looked in the past. The set was beautiful but minimal, and the stage columns were still used often which gave me some perspective as to how actors in the past would have been able to hide and create a scene without scenery.
In short, Shakespeare rocks, I love the Globe, and don’t go see an outdoor show in cold weather if you have a choice. But yes, I would still do it again. 😉
Theatre in London U of A 