An Evening at the Globe

From my first visit to the Globe Theatre on a high school trip to England I’ve always been fascinated by it. On that trip, we got to go for a tour and spend sometime on stage (which as a theatre student was a huge thrill to me!) learning about what theatre was like in Shakespeare’s time and getting a history of the of theatre. The Globe thrived until 1613, when a cannon ignited the thatched roof  during a performance of Henry VIII, burning the building to the ground in under two hours. A new Globe was built and Shakespeare continued to perform many of his works until 1642 when the building closed under Puritan Law. No longer in use, the second Globe was demolished in 1644. The third and current Globe was finally opened in 1997, after tireless hours of fundraising and research conducted by the Shakespeare Globe Trust.

While I learned a lot about the Globe on that first trip, I was disappointed that we didn’t get to see a show. So this time, when my friend surprised me with tickets to the Globe I was super excited! We went to see the world premiere of Anne Bolelyn. (Good job I was currently reading The Other Boleyn Girl!)

For £5, you can get ‘groundling’ tickets and stand in front of the stage just like the peasants would have in Shakespeare’s day. Apart from having sore legs by the end of the show, these are the best ‘seats’ in the house. You are up close and personal with the actors- they even come out to greet you before the show starts! Being that close to the stage allows you to really get a feel for what it must have been like back in the 1600s- at least until a plane flew over the open air theatre, bringing us right back to present day!The Globe has such a great atmosphere about it and the show tonight was excellent. A great mix of history and humour with some really talented actors in the company.  If you are heading to London and have £5 in your pocket I highly recommend being a ‘groundling’ for an evening at the Globe!