The One with the Shakespeare Play
When in London, it seems like the obvious choice to go and see a Shakespeare play at the Globe theatre.
However, in the two years that I lived there never did I manage to see one—possibly because the tickets for the standing option were always sold out fast (£8 as opposed to £25 or more for seated).
But this time I was quick and managed to get tickets to go see Titus Andronicus.
Now, this is not my favourite Shakespeare play, but I knew I had to give it a chance just to get a glimpse of what it might have been like back in the day for people going to see theatre.
The gorgeous, hand-painted ceiling
What I did not know, was that during the winter months the plays were moved to the building right beside the Globe, the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse.
Not a big deal—but I was looking forward to seeing what it would be like to have an exposed ceiling to the outside; where it was more like a tiny football stadium rather than your traditional building with heating.
And boy, was it heated. There were so many candles, I counted close to 100. With 6 chandeliers and candles lit throughout the room, we were quite literally sweating on the edge of our seats. Well, for those who had seats.
The candles lowering and raising during the play
The seating plan was like a horseshoe shape around the small stage with 2 different levels. I had tickets for the last row on the top which did provide a limited view of the stage so sometimes it was not clear what was happening in the first half.
However, in the second half, I sat down in a row that was empty—asking the door person if that was okay and she said yes! It was much more comfortable and I had a much better view of the stage.
You could lean your head over the railing as well, and in that way, could see the entire stage. Just had to make sure not to drop anything!
You can buy drinks outside, there are two small bars, and bring them inside which was nice. They were a tad overpriced, but what can you do? I had a cool-looking cider that was crafted just for the Playhouse.
My delicious and fit-for-the-theatre cider that was provided by the Swan next door
During the show there was a 15 minute interval, so you could go out and grab a bit of fresh air or another drink.
I sat down with my friend for a bit, as at that point we did not know that we were going to get to sit down—the standing does get to you after a while! It can be hard to be comfortable and also pay attention to what is normally already a difficult thing to follow—the Shakespearean way of speaking.
Inside of the candlelit Sam Wanamaker Playhouse
It was all quite exciting as the interpretation was vastly different than anything I could have ever expected.
All of the actors were women, and they were all wearing different coloured jumpsuits. If you know much about Shakespeare, you know that the plays in those days were mostly all men including the parts that were supposed to be women.
So it was cool to see this idea turn on it’s head and have an all-female cast playing mostly male roles (apart from Lavinia).
There was also a super catchy song in the beginning and end which offered some comedic relief from an otherwise disturbing tragedy.
In this song the cast members address the audience directly, including us for a moment in the soon-to-be horror.
We deserved a blood bath, and murder is what we were going to get! Also some cannibalism. Delicious!
Have you ever been to Shakespeare’s Globe theatre? What was it like in the warmer months when you were basically outside thanks to the open roof? I’d love to know!
All the best,
Christina
