LONDON (dpa) – English playwright William Shakespeare was co-owner of the original Globe Theatre in London and wrote most of his great literary works in the 16th and 17th centuries for its stage, located on the south bank of the Thames.
Contemporaries of the Bard’s day, however, would have experienced very different interpretations then of his work than do today’s visitors to the Globe.Less than 200 metres from the original site a new Globe Theatre was opened in 1997 in the London borough of Southwark and has been pulling in steadily increasing numbers of visitors ever since.In the new multi-tier, circular theatre, designed by architect Theo Crosby, the audience sits on wooden benches in an area open to the sky, allowing more spontaneous interaction with the players, very similar to the situation in Elizabethan times. The original theatre was built in 1599 in Bankside, Southwark, but burned down in 1613.The new Globe was built to resemble the original as much as possible. Old etchings, maps, written contracts of the day, all helped to provide details for the construction as none of the original plans or sketches exists.Although the new wooden Globe is not as such a reconstruction of the original, much trouble was taken to ensure the greatest possible authenticity. Even the materials used, such as 36,000 handmade tiles, reflect those in use in Shakespeare’s day.The new Globe is both an Elizabethan theatre and a stage for the 21st century. For example, traditional musical instruments are used in Shakespeare’s historical pieces but the stage is lit with electrical power and although the language used in the 16th century pieces is not the English of that era, the costumes invariably are.A conscious effort has been made not to specialize just in classical interpretations of the Bard’s works. Under the tutelage of arts director Mark Rylance, the theatre is keen to bring new and innovative methods of interpretation to the audience.In the current theatre season, for example, a Japanese theatre group performed “The Comedy of Errors” – in Japanese, “Macbeth”, or the “Scottish play” as superstitious actors prefer to call it, will feature the main character as a lounge lizard, forsaking swords and daggers for tinsel. In April of this year there was even a Zulu version of Shakespeare’s gory tale of the power-hungry Scottish king.The Globe theatre season runs from May to September and in its opening year the stage attracted 200,000 paying theatregoers. This year it was 240,000. The location of the theatre – not far from the National Theatre and National Film Theatre – is exceptionally attractive. Opposite is situated St. Paul’s Cathedral and in the evenings the illuminated tower of the Tate Modern gallery can be seen from the audience area.All in all, the visitors come to the Globe not only for the performances, but for the total experience of place and spectacle. In almost no other theatre are so many photographs and videos taken. However, the audience remains quiet and attentive, although few take advantage of the notice which advises, as in Shakespeare’s times, that food and drink may be taken into the auditorium.The theatre is not just a showpiece for Elizabethan open-air theatre. All year long, the Globe offers the opportunity for sightseeing tours around the building, lectures and readings, workshops and courses relating to Shakespeare’s work.In addition there is an extensive Shakespeare exhibition, a well- stocked souvenir shop, a cafe and a restaurant with a view of the Thames.A further theatre, built to plans by 16th century architect Inigo Jones, is in construction on the extensive site of the Globe, as is a library. When all the construction work is completed, the bill will amount to some 40 million pounds, around 58.5 million U.S. dollars.Shakespeare’s Globe was a project called into life by late actor and director Sam Wannamaker’s “Globe Trust”, initiated in 1970 and financed by money from sponsors and from the National Lottery in Great Britain.
