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Shakespeare in the Globe
May. 16th, 2007 05:58 pm(theatre, not newsaper)
I went to see "Othello" this afternoon.
http://www.shakespeares-globe.org/theatre/annualtheatreseason/othello/
I left after intermission (the interval) because I knew what was going to happen and didn't want
to see it. The intermission was fun, though, so I waited until it was over to leave. I went as
a groundling (ie a holder of a cheap ticket, which entitles you a couple of square feet in the "yard" to stand). There were a few other people my age or older standing, but most of the yard was filled with teenagers, many of whom were speaking German or French to each other. I wonder how much of the dialogue they could get. Maybe at least they weren't distracted by the fact that Shakespeare is full of cliches and overused turns of phrase ;-)
As soon as the play stopped and the musicians took the stage, almost all the teens sat down on the floor (which unfortunately is concrete, and hard on one's feet. I presume the original was mud) and pulled out food, making it like a massive picnic. I had been leaning against a wall but moved forward to be closer to the music, still standing.
I hadn't really expected to feel it as a period experience - one is surrounded by people wearing modern clothing and there are fire exit signs and such. Still, it's possible to get a feel for how it was, and to think that in many ways how it was is better than how it is. I was a little irritated by the rustle of nylon rain gear going on and off and on as the weather kept changing (it's a wooden O, as the chorus said in Henry V, and the middle part has no roof) but the rain absolutely belongs, and no roof means the daytime performances are entirely in natural light. The actors were wearing Elizabethan clothes but there were women playing women, which didn't happen in London until 1660. I was not bothered by that. The thing that jerked one into modern times most was aircraft - first planes and then a hovering helicopter, which drew one's eye and made the actors almost impossible to hear.
Other fun thing - after I got back to the room, I watched an old episode of "Poirot." The murder took place at Holborn, which is maybe a 5 minute walk from where I sat watching it.
Entertainment of a sort.
I went to see "Othello" this afternoon.
http://www.shakespeares-globe.org/theatre/annualtheatreseason/othello/
I left after intermission (the interval) because I knew what was going to happen and didn't want
to see it. The intermission was fun, though, so I waited until it was over to leave. I went as
a groundling (ie a holder of a cheap ticket, which entitles you a couple of square feet in the "yard" to stand). There were a few other people my age or older standing, but most of the yard was filled with teenagers, many of whom were speaking German or French to each other. I wonder how much of the dialogue they could get. Maybe at least they weren't distracted by the fact that Shakespeare is full of cliches and overused turns of phrase ;-)
As soon as the play stopped and the musicians took the stage, almost all the teens sat down on the floor (which unfortunately is concrete, and hard on one's feet. I presume the original was mud) and pulled out food, making it like a massive picnic. I had been leaning against a wall but moved forward to be closer to the music, still standing.
I hadn't really expected to feel it as a period experience - one is surrounded by people wearing modern clothing and there are fire exit signs and such. Still, it's possible to get a feel for how it was, and to think that in many ways how it was is better than how it is. I was a little irritated by the rustle of nylon rain gear going on and off and on as the weather kept changing (it's a wooden O, as the chorus said in Henry V, and the middle part has no roof) but the rain absolutely belongs, and no roof means the daytime performances are entirely in natural light. The actors were wearing Elizabethan clothes but there were women playing women, which didn't happen in London until 1660. I was not bothered by that. The thing that jerked one into modern times most was aircraft - first planes and then a hovering helicopter, which drew one's eye and made the actors almost impossible to hear.
Other fun thing - after I got back to the room, I watched an old episode of "Poirot." The murder took place at Holborn, which is maybe a 5 minute walk from where I sat watching it.
Entertainment of a sort.
