A Short Tour Around Shakespeare’s Globe
Any English student or writers should visit Shakespeare’s Globe, or rather, the third replica of the Globe. The tour price was 17 pounds for an adult, quite costly. Yet I yearned to visit this theatre, where most of Shakespeare’s plays first performed.
As a writer myself, learning the crafts and techniques of other writers is a fraction of the creative process, complex like the London Underground map. Location and environment can heavily influence one’s writing process. Writing in a noisy café produces a different outcome than writing in a tranquil library; writing in a foreign land will influence the elements in your work. Shakespeare, too, was influenced by the Globe when he produced his plays.
Prologue
I arrived fifteen minutes earlier than expected. A receptionist provided me a headset in case I needed a hearing aid. The tour would begin in a dim room with murals and models of the theatre where Shakespeare had his plays produced in the 16th century: the Globe Theatre, the Rose Theatre, and the Blackfriars Theatre. The Rose presented many of Christopher Marlowe’s plays and only two of Shakespeare’s works, before his playing company built the Globe. Blackfriars Theatre, one of the two theatres in the same location, served as a fancier indoor playhouse only for the aristocrats.
More people joined in as the tour was about to begin. It was warm inside, so everyone took off their winter jackets. A man with a cap introduced himself as Jeremy and he was the guide of the tour. His voice was loud enough, like a Shakespearean actor, to which the headset was merely a decoration. Jeremy was enthusiastic about everything Shakespearean, as he added a dramatic tone to every word he said.
The first Globe was a little further than where we were standing, with only the lifespan of fourteen years. It was during a production of Henry VIII in 1613 when Shakespeare added the cannons as special effects. The cannons were fired when the King entered the stage, which accidentally set the roof ablaze, then spread to the wooden structure.
“It was a miracle that no one died,” Jeremy said. “But the playhouse did not survive.”
There was only one report of casualty during the fire: a man used ale to put out the flames that caught his breeches. What a shame to have a famed playhouse to meet its demise in the most unfashionable way.
The second Globe came one year after the incident. They had learned the lesson of using tiled roofs to prevent similar disaster. The bankside had transformed into an entertainment district, where people stayed for prostitutes and gambling dens. After the Civil War, the playhouse had to shut its doors permanently.
“The puritans hate having fun,” Jeremy groaned. “That’s why they all migrated to America.”
What we had today was a replica of the first Globe which American actor Sam Wanamaker was eager to restore. He was particular about the accuracy, including the construction materials. The wall plaster for the first theatre was mixed with cow fur to save money. In modern times, cashmere worked as a substitute for this hard-to-get materials. Instead of nails, handcrafted wooden pegs link the Globe’s structure. During the summer, the expanded pegs will secure the construction.
The Globe where we were standing on miraculously outlived its predecessors. In 2022, it just celebrated its 25th anniversary. The visitors gave a round of applause for Sam’s determination in restoring an English heritage.
The next part was the main course of the tour: the Globe. Jeremy brought us to an embellished metal gate, only exclusive for tour visitors and Globe actors. Our feet stepped on the stone tiles laying on the ground with benefactors’ names carved on it. The simplistic architectural design with plain white wall and windows composed of three bars. Back in the days, glass was an expensive material; centuries later, most windows in the Globe have a layer of glass to control the inner lightings.
“No matter how many times I have brought visitors into the Globe, they will always make ‘ooh’ and ‘ahhh’ noises.”
All The World’s A Stage
The Globe was the embodiment of this line from As You Like It. The colosseum-shaped interior detached the spectators from the outside, with an elaborated stage as the miniscule version of the world. On the ceiling were the sun, the moon, and other astrological signs that represent the Heavens. It also symbolises the consensus worldview of the earth as the centre of the universe before Galileo’s absurd theory became the absolute truth.
The wide concourse area in front of the stage was reserved for the ‘penny-stinkers’. Paying a penny would guarantee a standing spot among thousands of people smelling like fish, beef, or poo. Although they may have the best view and closer to the actors on stage, they did not have the privilege of sitting down for the three-hours runtime like the aristocrats in the Gentlemen’s Boxes. These exclusive boxes at the sides of the stage could not view the actors, but Shakespeare’s plays were meant to be heard, not seen. Besides, why bother to get stuck in a sardine can be full of cries when you could hear the lines easily in a private compartment?
“It was the social media of the era,” Jeremy said. “Like how influencers show off their looks, cars, and mansions on social media, theatre was the public space where aristocrats displayed their status and wealth.”
Another purpose of these segregated boxes was to impress the patrons of arts, the VIPs. Not only the offer funds to run the show business, but they would also provide costumes for the actors. Costumes for ruling-class characters were hard to get, as actors wore the clothes of the day to perform on stage. Hence, it was a challenge to show the social-class differences of the characters. Once they had better costume, it eventually became the theatre’s asset, which they would lend to other acting companies.
Shakespeare has his own ways of setting his stage. Prologues tell the play’s setting for the audience to image along with the lines. In the play Henry V, the chorus establishes the stage as a battlefield between France and England. Even the first two lines in Romeo and Juliet instantly narrate the play’s setting: “Two households, both alike in dignity, / In fair Verona, where we lay our scene,”
Most would recognise Shakespeare’s use of iambic pentameter in his plays that resemble the rhythm of everyday speech. Jeremy revealed the secret behind his choice of rhythmic pattern to engage with the audiences. Actors could deliver the lines and make eye contact with the spectators by following the rhythm of their heartbeat.
“To be or not to be,” Jeremy made a dramatic demonstration by moving his head in 180 degrees so he could look at everyone. “That is the question.”
For Modern Audiences
Making way for the other tour group, we spiralled up to the second floor through the brick stairs. We had a panoramic view of the stage, like watching a show in a cinema or theatre. The only downside was the distance between the audience and the actors, thus lacking direct connection. Once everyone had settled down, Jeremy began the third act of the tour.
“The modern stage provides more flexibility than Shakespeare’s stage,” Jeremy lowered down his voice as he spoke, but his words still reached our ears. “Shakespeare’s works were ahead of his time, but there were restrictions when exploring certain themes.”
Before the mid-17th century, women could not perform on stage. Female characters were played by men in women’s clothing. For characters like Rosalind from As You Like It, Viola from Twelfth Night, or Portia from the Merchant of Venice, male actors would have to cross-dress as a female character, then dress as a man in the middle of the play. The relaxed rules make it easier for modern adaptations when women could play female roles.
The Globe still runs Shakespeare’s plays. For this season, they were performing Henry V. Original plays were produced alongside, such as Emilia, based on the first published female poet in England. She was speculated as the main character of Shakespeare’s sonnet, The Dark Lady. Jeremy said her relationship with Shakespeare was quite a mystery. This original play gave Emilia Lanier the limelight she deserved.
Jeremy led us indoors to conclude the tour. We no longer feel the chilly wind and enveloped by the warmth of the heaters. We were free to exit or stay around to venture the shops or a short Q&A. I had little time to linger for questions, so I headed for my priority mission. The gift shop was the candy store for English majors and Shakespearean readers, ranging from copies of scripts to quotation bookmarks. In a glass case was a full gorgeous costume of Queen Elizabeth the First, with the elaborated pearls and the brownish red wig. It was said that two Queen Elizabeths graced their presence during the opening day in 1997.
Once I made my purchase of three souvenirs, I had to leave for lunch. The exit was one floor below where a row of playhouse box office was. They resembled an ordinary cinema ticketing booth, except it was meant for live action instead of 2D screening.
Date of Visitation: 2nd January 2023
Opening Hours for Tours: 11am-6pm (Mon-Fri); 10am-6pm (Sat); 10am-5pm (Sun)
Address: Bankside, London SE1 9DT
Tickets: £17 (Adults); £16 (Under 16): pre-booking required
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