The Globe Theatre was beautiful and such a fun and interesting experience. It is the only building left in London with a thatched roof, and that alone sets it aside from other theatres as far as historical background goes. It was smaller than I expected, but I didn’t mind because I felt that it gave the whole experience a more wholesome and intimate feel. In the giftshop, I bought a box set of three mini books, one being a complete collection of Shakespeare plays, the second being love poems, and the third being Shakespearean insults.
Much Ado About Nothing, has for a long time, been my favorite Shakespeare play. I love the witty characters and the miscommunication trope represented within the play. Seeing Shakespeare plays on stage done by well trained actors will change your outlook on Shakespeare completely. There is so much that is missed when just reading the script. Since the language is a bit difficult to understand at first, it’s easy to quit early in a script. But watching it on a stage was magical.
I truly think we got the best experience that they offered by standing as groundlings. We had a perfectly unobstructed view and could hear and understand the actors perfectly clearly. It was such a joyful but also bittersweet feeling to think back at all the people who have stood in these very spots before us to have such a similar experience.
The stage had a gorgeous painted roof, and had such a simple set of just a few orange trees and a couple of buckets of oranges. It was simple and easy but added so much to the show and helped put the audience into a more enveloped state within the play. I made eye contact with many of the actors and loved when they made the choices to interact with the audience.
All in all, this is one of my favorite things we have done so far. Cheers!
Theatre in London U of A 