Seeeing Romeo and Juliet at the Globe Theatre was such a great and unique experience. There’s truly something special aboutl about standing inside the Globe Theatre, knowing you’re in a replica of the very place where Shakespeare’s plays were performed over 400 years ago. I loved how the theatre looked, having the huge stage, and the open ceiling to light the light in. Although my feet and legs hurt pretty bad fro standing the whole tome; it was such a unique experience to be super close to the stage and interacting with the actors.
Seeing Romeo and Juliet here wasn’t just watching a play, it felt like stepping into a the past during Shakespeares time. The energy of the space is entirely different from the quiet, cushioned experience of a traditional theater in contemporary America. At the Globe, everything feels more immediate, more alive. People laugh loudly, cheer, react actively through the performances. It’s almost like the audience becomes part of the performance, which is just as they would have in Shakespeare’s day.
What struck me the most was how the production embraced this interactions with the eaudince. The actors played directly to the crowd, making eye contact and sometimes even speaking lines right to audience members. One of my favoirte interactions was when it Mercutio either did or was super close to kissing he women in the audience. This level of engagement is rare in modern American productions, where the fourth wall is usually firmly in place and not typically broken. At the Globe, they tend ot interact more with the aundicne and making it feel like your apart of the play.
Today’s productions at the Globe used modern western-style costumes, props, and staging choices to make Shakespeare’s stories feel fresh and relevant. Our Romeo and Juliet included some contemporary design elements and music that clearly weren’t from the 1600s—but instead of clashing, they made the themes of love, violence, and youthful passion feel all the more urgent. In contrast, performances in Shakespeare’s time would have featured all-male casts, elaborate costumes, and no artificial lighting, only daylight.
Being in that space, watching Romeo and Juliet with a western twist unfold as the sun blazed in the open area. The Globe theatre had one of the best adaptations of Romeo and Juliet I have ever seen. It was so captivating, and my favorite thing was how Romeo acted and reacted when others were speaking. He was so captivating and stayed in character the whole time, which made everything so much more interesting. It reminded me that his stories weren’t meant to be distant literature; they were made to be felt and experienced by the audience. I believe they did a great job portraying that.
Theatre in London U of A 