Day 20 and 21: Shakespeare’s Globe Theater

What better way to celebrate our first night in London than by going to the rebuilt Shakespeare’s Globe theater and watching his play, “Henry V”?   Shakespeare performed at the old Globe theater, which burned down in 1613, was rebuilt, and then later demolished in 1644.  The modern version was built in 1997 and continues to show Shakespeare in the same manner the English saw the plays 400 years ago.

The stage with the “groundlings” standing around it and the more refined nobility sitting in the balconies surrounding the stage.

Dad and I opted to be “groundlings” – the standing-room only section around the stage (the attendants will make sure that you stand throughout the play).  The rates are very affordable (about $7, which is about 1/10th of what we paid for ballet tickets in Russia) so long as you don’t mind standing the entire time and if you feel lucky about the weather (thankfully it didn’t rain on us).  Apparently this stipulation isn’t too clear to some of the other tourists in the area… but if you want the luxury of sitting then you’ve gotta shell out a bit more than that.  Seating is on hardwood benches (you can rent cushions and backrests for a fee).

I have to say that seeing Shakespeare in the new Globe was an amazing experience.  Even if you aren’t a big theater/Shakespeare type of a person, you should see it.  For one, most of my Shakespeare experience in the past came from public education, where everyone is dragged through the book, trying to recite old English lines without any sort of visual context to go along with it.  I rather enjoyed Othello and Hamlet myself, but it’s hard to really be engaged just by reading it (and besides, when you drag out the reading over the course of several weeks with other competing classes and in-depth analyses, it’s difficult to just enjoy the story).

The Globe at night.	Even for the groundlings, it was pretty packed.

In contrast, seeing Shakespeare was a much better experience – even if you don’t understand exactly what it means to bite your thumb at someone, since it’s all being acted out on stage it’s easy to pick up the intent behind the lines.  Of course, they’re also professional actors which helps convey the emotion, sarcasm, etc. throughout the play.  In the Globe the actors also interact with the audience – at times processing through the audience to get to the stage, at other times talking to the audience as if they were say the crowd trying to crown Richard III, etc.  They even include occasional song and dance routines which I presume is how they did it back in the day as well.

We ended up going back the following night to see Richard III – both plays I’d never read before (nor had much of an interest in reading) but they were both great experiences. For a couple extra pounds you can buy programs which explain some of the backstory behind the play to give it more historical context and they make good souvenirs as well.

Finally, to top it off, on the second night when we saw Richard III, I ran into two college classmates completely by chance.  Sarah and Jordan were on their way back to Med School after doing some summer research in Africa and in their layover in London they decided to go out and try to see a play.

Seeing Shakespeare in the Globe was the highlight of my time in England and one of the highlights of the entire trip. I highly recommend it for anyone traveling to London.