Shakespeare's London

We took the tube to Blackfriars Station today, so we could get to the South Bank. We passed St. Paul's Cathedral, crossed the Millennium Bridge, and made our way to the Globe Theatre, Shakespeare's beloved theatre.




(Millennium Bridge over the River Thames and St. Paul's Cathedral)




(St. Paul's Cathedral)
Our tour guide for our tour of the Globe was very knowledgeable and undeniably passionate about his subject. Rabia and I reckoned that he was an actor in addition to being a tour guide because he had THE best British accent and spoke very properly.
He started the tour by speaking about London in Shakespeare's time (late 16th, early 17th century). I was surprised to learn that London used to only be one square mile stretching from Fleet Street to the Tower of London. Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament were not even considered to be in the city of London, but rather in the neighboring Westminster. Theatre was banned in the city of London, but allowed in other cities like Westminster (which eventually established the West End for theatre). Westminster is now part of the Greater London area as is the South Bank area across the River Thames.
I also learned that the immediate area around the Globe used to be full of brothels. Shakespeare's characters reference the local brothels in a couple of his plays, even though the plays do not take place in London. After much speculation, scholars realized that this was because his plays were written for a local audience who would appreciate the reference, much like American movies tend to reference pop culture today. In doing this, Shakespeare found another way to comment on society and human nature. I found this quite interesting.
I love the outside of the Globe, but the inside is far superior. Rows of seats encircle the stage and the standing area in front of the stage. There is a balcony for musicians to play (and no..it is not meant to be Juliet's famous balcony in Romeo and Juliet) and beautiful designs decorating the back wall behind the stage.








(Interior of the Globe)
In 1599, when the Globe was built, Shakespeare began to write his plays specifically for the Globe stage. For example, in his tragedy King Lear, Shakespeare wrote stage directions and actions that work beautifully in the theatre. The theatre's design allows for cool special effects; for instance, in Shakespeare's time, when a play called for thunder (eg. The thunderstorm in King Lear) men would roll a cannon ball under the stage to mimic the sounds of thunder. Of course, because the Globe is an open air theatre there was always a chance that real thunder could add to the drama of the play. Luckily for us, it was a nice day and the sun was shining down on the Globe.
When our tour guide took us inside the Globe, we had to be very quiet because there was a rehearsal for Coriolanus - IN JAPANESE. It was quite a rare opportunity.
The play is being performed in Japanese because this summer the Globe Theatre is doing a series called "Globe to Globe: 37 Plays, 37 Languages." For this series the Globe has brought Shakespeare theatre companies from around the world, so each can perform a play in a different language. This is an excellent idea due to the ethnically diverse population and the large number of tourists in the city - I have yet to go out in London without hearing at least one language other than English. I think it is great that the Globe is trying to make Shakespeare more accessible to everyone.




(Me in front of the Globe's summer series poster)
The Globe burned down in 1613 when the roof caught on fire during a production. Today, it does not even stand in the same place that it did in the 17th century. Reconstruction under the direction of American actor Sam Wanamaker was completed in 1997 (though sadly he died in 1993 before it was finished).




(Entrance to the Globe)




(Poster for the summer series)




(The Bard overlooking his theatre)




(Me, Khala, and the Globe)
After our tour, we had afternoon tea at the Swan Restaurant which was part of our Globe tour package. It was a very proper English high tea complete with miniature sandwiches and the cutest desserts.




(Afternoon tea)




(Mini sandwiches)




(Fancy desserts)
We wandered around Covent Garden after our tea to shop and visit the cute little Apple Market and Pineapple Dance Studios.







(Me outside Pineapple Studios)

We then went back to the apartment to pack for our next stop: Edinburgh, Scotland!

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