Shakespeare's Globe

7/12/2011


I just had the opportunity to do something that people have done since 1599....I saw a play at The Globe.


Just a little history for ya folks, but it's not the 'real' Globe.  It burned to the ground in 1613 (it was made of wood) rebuilt and opened again in1614 then closed again in 1642.  In 1997 it was rebuilt again 230 meters or so from the original site.


We paid £5 for standing tickets and were able to be the first few people in the queue.  This enabled us to stand (yes, stand) on the very front of the stage.  I have NEVER experienced theatre like this before.


We saw Doctor Faustus which was not written by Shakespeare, but rather one of his contemporaries Christopher Marlowe.  It was written in the time of Shakespeare and is one of the few to have survived.


I discovered as we waited in the queue, that Arthur Darvill, Rory on Doctor Who, was playing the part of Mephistopheles.  This news only made me more excited for the play to begin.


The cast was fabulous.  The minstrels were wonderful.  (There was live music and the band members wore period costumes.)  The audience, me included, was spat on with spit takes, drenched with water, and hit with costumes as they swung them in your face.  It was incredible!  They ended the whole thing with a dance number!


We did sit on the ground during intermission for a bit.  BUT, the standing is well worth it!


After the show, we went to the pub that is attached to the Globe.  There I was able to get an autograph and picture with Mr. Rory -- Arthur Darvill!


It's just another one of those 'once in a lifetime experiences' that seem to be happening on this trip!  I don't want them to stop!