Yesterday, we took a trip to the Globe Theatre, which is an exact replica of the theatre that Shakespeare’s plays were performed in during the Elizabethan years. This was so exciting for me! The Heavens were intricately decorated with blue and gold angelic designs, and the open stage was ornamented with giant, gold orange trees. It was a spectacular spectacle, and I caught myself doing a 360-degree turn multiple times just to take it all in.
I and a group of fellow theatre-goers thought it best suited to play as Groundlings for the performance of “Much Ado About Nothing.” I was a little scared because my feet were already hurting, but the experience was so worth it that I had no means to complain. It was a lot warmer than the outside was because there were so many bodies around, and we got close spots to the stage. It was quite a lovely experience feeling so immersed in the story with the actors. Because the theatre is so tight-knit, especially in the pit, the actors made it their mission to be interactive and break the fourth wall, so the audience became another character in the story. I noticed there were several actors who made eye contact with our group and delivered lines to us, which made us very nervous but excited.
The actors were truly fantastic and brought this story to life. Amalia Vitale, playing Beatrice, had me keeling over in laughter until my cheeks hurt. Her quirky, spunky, and witty nature made her a crowd favorite. Yet, her entrancing relationship with Benedick, played by Ekow Quartey, showed how dynamic of an actor she was. The scene where they were confessing their love to each other was unlike anything I had seen before and did Shakespeare’s delicious language justice.
Another standout actor was John Lightbody, who played Leonato, a goofy, drunken, and passionate father. Again, the dynamics of his acting made him feel so loveable and terrifying at the same time. I would both hate and love to be his daughter. He was also the actor who delivered the most lines to me which trapped me into the story even more.
Watching a show in this theatre made my little theatre kid heart palpitate. Being in the same space that appreciators of the arts watched theatre in during the 16th/17th centuries just reminded me how long people have enjoyed this craft. Of course, during that time, they didn’t have to try to hear the actors over the soaring of airplanes, which was something that took me out of my Elizabethan fantasy. Being a Groundling, I could hear the actors perfectly and thought that they all used diction, enunciation and education on Shakespearean text to communicate the message to audiences.
I can’t lie, when I found out that we were going to be studying, “Much Ado about Nothing,” I wasn’t the most excited. It used to be one of my least favorite Shakespeare plays, just because the plot didn’t excite me and confused me when I read it. Oh boy, was I proved wrong. I fell in love with the passion the characters had during the performance, which communicated Shakespeare’s intentions of showing the complicated nature of love. Miscommunication and deception were prevalent throughout this show, as well as stubbornness. I liked, (and hated), how stubborn Beatrice and Benedick were to confess their feelings for one another, but this trait only made their final uniting all the more endearing.
Overall, I would say that watching Shakespeare being performed in a professional setting changed my perspective on how his text can be presented and left me eager to see more. I was never confused and only anxious to see what would happen next. That was truly Much Ado about EVERYTHING!
Love you Shakespeare,
xoxo Groundling Girl
Theatre in London U of A 