The Globe Theatre

One of the most historically important gifts in London is the Globe Theatre, a space still in use that housed so many original Shakespearian productions.  Today the space has remained the same in design, but has been updated for today's standards but is still true to the original use of the space: meaning a couple hundred people standing in front of the stage while the actors move through you and play to you.  I would argue that my $5 ticket was the best place in the house compared to the $40 tickets to sit.

The first production I saw was The Merry Wives of Windsor, a production rarely produced due it's seemingly Brechtian style and almost soap-opera-like quality, meaning that there are several storied happening at once, and we as the audience are able to look at the story subjectively rather than emotionally, (unlike the rest of Shakespeare).  The Show itself was written in response to Queen Elizabeth's request to create a show revolving around the timeless character Flastaff, who was in Henry IV part 1 and part 2.  The character, universally loved by everyone is not the same person in this play, but rather the same character: a large bellied drunken fool who also happens to be the wisest and generally knows more about life than anyone else in the show.  Here Falstaff attempts to woo two wives of Windsor to go to bed with him.  This never happens of course, as the wives outwit him in his attempt, but the production says much about class distinction and has much to say about societal issues even today.  The production was fairly organic in terms of costume, but very loud in style; the style being almost sitcom in nature which became problematic.  Some actors played too much into a character which sacrificed the honesty of their performance, while others rejected the style thus lacking connection to the other actors.  Perhaps not the best Shakespeare I've seen, but it was the experience that made it unforgettable.  The stage had a runway that ran circularly from stage left to stage right which encased about a hundred audience members who were quite literally were in the middle of everything.  It was very similar to my Rose and the Rime days where two pits were in the middle of the performance space so the people could be in the middle of all the action.

The second production was Timon of Athens, a production done even less than The Merry Wives of Windsor.  This production was unforgettable because of the immense talent of the actors and the concept of the show.  There was a spider web that stretched from the top of the stage in the open air theatre to the back rooftop of the audience.  The actors would crawl on harnesses and drop through holes into the audience to #1 make entrances and #2 to scare the crap out of us.  The message of the play was quite clear from the beginning: you cannot buy friendship, and the entire second act consisted of Timon rolling and defecating in a pile of dirt as his status of ruler became the status of a penniless street rat.  Very moving, very beautiful, and very brilliant.

The Globe, like many of the the other theaters in London is subsidized, meaning it receives financial support from the government to produce it's high valued productions.