A rowdy audience throws words and food at the players. Actors play into the unruly crowd. From moments of chaos to moments of pure drama, this is not your high school’s Shakespeare. If you think you’ve got an idea of what Shakespearean London was like, prepare to relearn your lines. You and your students will have a chance to study Shakespeare and bring his plays to life in the theater’s hands-on workshops facilitated by the Globe Education Practitioners.
The Globe Education Practitioners will give you a “behind the scenes” look at the world’s most famous playwright and what went on in his playhouse in the 1600s. Shakespeare’s Globe, a replica built in 1997, is a mere 700 feet from the site of the original Globe Theatre, and both overlook the waters of the Thames. Grab seats in the stands for a bird’s-eye view, or be a “groundling” and occupy the standing room in the pit directly in front of the stage, once costing just a penny in Elizabethan London.
Every detail at Shakespeare’s Globe is geared toward authenticity, transporting you to 16th century London. Costumes are hand-sewn with historically accurate fabrics such as silk and velvet. All the music is played live on period instruments like the lute and viol. Unlike contemporary theater, all plays at the Globe are performed during daylight, which means that while you’re watching the actors, they can also watch you. Imagine Shakespeare and his Blackfriars acting brethren scanning the crowd to aim an off-script line at a talkative audience member. They needed to be careful, though; the “groundlings” were known to give as good as they got from those on stage.
To make use of all possible daylight, the Globe features an open-air ceiling (so there’s enough sun to see even on the foggiest day). That means when it rains in London, it pours on actors and audiences alike. Thankfully, this replica doesn’t turn into a soggy mud-pit like the 17th century original. See the plays as Shakespeare himself intended. So dust off your thees, thous, and thys, and get ready for a theater experience you’ll never forget.
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