TravelValue: England: London, England: Shakespeare Globe Theatre review

Should you think that the Shakespeare Globe in London is of interest only to Shakespeare scholars or fans of the Elizabethan theatre, you would not be farthest from the truth. Coming from St. Paul’s Cathedral and walking on the dinosaur-like Millennium Bridge, the Globe strikes the observer for its peculiar “Tudor” aspect. [photo of Globe from above?]

The modern complex is a reconstruction of the Elizabethan Globe Theater, built in 1599 by the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, Shakespeare’s playing company. After a fire destroyed it in 1613, a second Globe was built on the same site, but obliged to close in 1642. What we see today is a reconstruction – called “Shakespeare’s Globe” – that opened in 1997 thanks to the vision and the passion of an American actor, Sam Wanamaker. The modern Globe stands in the London Borough of Southwark, on the south bank of the Thames, about 750 feet (230 m) from the site of the original theatre, marked today by a large plaque on the wall of what looks like a big parking lot surrounded by Georgian townhouses. [photo of plaque and site]

Tickets for the exhibition and tour are available at the admission desk and there is no danger of not getting in, because the tours depart every 30 minutes. The tickets are rather expensive, however, so it is advisable to book in advance online and get a good deal.

We booked the day before and were punctually on the site at 12:00PM. Our guide, a charming and knowledgeable elderly lady, led us outside and then into the Globe proper, that is an open playhouse with no heating – so don’t forget to bundle up and bring an umbrella if you decide to go in winter as we did. [photo of outside the door]

We entered the open ground at stage level – the space where the “groundlings,” the audience who got the cheapest tickets in Elizabethan time, stood for the whole length of the play – and were invited to sit down on some rows of seats in the low galleries, from where we could afford a nice view of the stage. Our guide explained that the modern reconstruction is based on the careful research of descriptions, maps, drawings, sketches, plans, and remains of Tudor and Elizabethan similar buildings. The Globe is as faithful a replica of the original theater as possible and it is actually quite realistic: it is built entirely of English oak with mortise and tenon joints; the seats are wooden benches; there is a thrust stage projecting in a large circular yard (where the above mentioned “groundlings” stood) and surrounded by galleries, and a thatched roof with all the necessary protection against fire. [photos of stage, yard and galleries]

After some more general information about the conventions and the structure of Elizabethan open playhouses, we were allowed to go near the stage with the proviso that we could absolutely in no case climb on it because “the stage is reserved for professional actors and theater workers only and must be kept in proper condition at all times.” Our guide provided more interesting information about the stage and its decoration and gave us some time for pictures. She then led us on the first floor gallery, from where the view was really breathtaking. [photos of stage and from the upper level]

Unfortunately, I have no idea about what she said during this last part of the tour, for three reasons: first, a family of French tourists whose toddler screamed the whole time “like an oysterwife” while his parents were busy taking pictures; second, another tour that entered the yard below us and whose guide (unlike ours) was possessed of a stentorian voice; third, a herd of school children, who entered the yard from the opposite side of the above mentioned tour, and who ran on the stage – yes, the same stage we were sternly forbidden to tread upon – yelling, laughing, calling each other, jumping and touching everything they could, and completely ignoring the futile attempts of their teachers to keep them under control. [photo of kids on stage, I have one]

While I personally don’t see the point in bringing toddlers to museums, because they don’t understand what they are seeing and will certainly not remember the visit – I know that there is little guides can do when parents don’t know how to raise their children. However, the Globe administration might certainly work on the tours schedule and allow more time between visits, in order to avoid the overlapping of voices and guarantee that all the paying visitors can enjoy every single part of the tour.

It is also a mystery why a numerous group of loud school children should be allowed to jump on the stage and run freely on it…

The tour ended at the Gift Shop, that is rather small but well furnished with books and several gadgets (mugs, bags, Oyster Card protectors, ceramics, keyrings, etc). On the left side of the gift shop is the entrance to the Wanamaker Playhouse, an indoor theatre not open to the public at the time of our visit. If you keep your ticket, you can leave and then go back for the exhibition about Shakespeare and the Elizabethan theater. There you can see costumes and props, as well as several pictures illustrating the building of the Globe and its inauguration by Prince Andrew.

[photos of the entrance of the Wanamaker and the exhibition]

Overall, the Globe is definitely worth a visit, whether you like Shakespeare or not. There are no plays in winter, for obvious reasons, but if possible you should also try and watch a summer production in what is today the closest thing to Shakespeare’s theatre. I would have given this site 10 bombs, but had to make a detraction of two because of the unfortunate overlapping of tours that seriously affected my enjoyment and comprehension of the second part of our visit.

One Bomb Equates To:

Translation for Civilians: "Fucked Up Beyond All Repair"

Two Bombs Equates To:

Translation for Civilians: "Tits Up"

Three Bombs Equates To:

Translation for Civilians: "Situation Normal, All Fucked Up"

Four Bombs Equates To:

Translation for Civilians: "Bend Over, Here It Comes Again"

Five Bombs Equates To:

Translation for Civilians: "Continue Mission"

Six Bombs Equates To:

Translation for Civilians: "Good To Go"

Seven Bombs Equates To:

Translation for Civilians: "Shits & Grins"

Eight Bombs Equates To:

Translation for Civilians: "What-The-Fuck ... Over!"

Nine Bombs Equates To:

Translation for Civilians: "U.S. Marine Response To A Verbal Greeting Or As An Expression Of Enthusiasm"

Ten Bombs Equates To:

Translation for Civilians:

HOOAH!: "Phonetic spelling of the acronym HUA, which stands for 'Heard Understood Acknowledged.' Originally used by the British in the late 1800's in Afghanistan. More recently adopted by the United States Army to indicate an affirmative or a pleased response." - Urban Dictionary

"The Department of Military Science and Leadership, University of Tennessee claim HOOAH 'refers to or means anything except no' ... Regardless of its meaning ... the term is an expression of high morale, confidence, motivation and spirit." - WarChronicle.com

"The U.S. Air Force stole 'HOOAH' from the Army because we were part of the Army until 1947 and rather than waste a bunch of time coming up with something new and unique like "ROO-YAH" or "HAL-A-LOO-YAH", we said 'screw it, let's go with HOOAH' ... thanks Army ... HOOAH!" - CombatCritic

TravelValue: England

Tuesday, January 30, 2018

London, England: Shakespeare Globe Theatre review

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