Globe Theatre, Globe Theatre! Wherefore art thou Globe Theatre?
We’ve been asking that question for a good while now, since theatre productions are a no-go at the moment. While our questioning was indeed rhetorical – for we knew full well why it couldn’t open – we now happen have an answer. That is, at least, to when the momentous day is. The momentous day where people can flock inside to enjoy the Shakespeare productions in this iconic venue.
Yes, Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre is due to make a wonderful comeback on May 19 for socially-distanced performances with no standing.
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Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre will continue to reserve the front area seats as cheap tickets, but quantities will fall due to the reduced capacity from 1,500 to 500. Staggered arrival times, allocated entrances and the removal of intervals are also going to be put into practice.
Theatre bosses also hope that capacity can be increased due to the open air layout, but this can only be achieved after safety tests are carried out later in the year.
Kicking off proceedings is a production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, followed by a planned performance of Twelfth Night. Artistic director Michelle Terry, who is playing Viola in the former production spoke on the reopening of The Globe.
She said: “To even be announcing a season means that we are inching ever closer to getting back to doing the thing that we love, the thing that the Globe was built for, and the thing that so many of us, artists and audience alike, have lost during this time: sharing time, space and story with as many people as is safe.
“This is a historic moment, and not to be underestimated; we have a long way to go as we emerge and heal from this, but theatre can help us get there: that’s what it’s for. To express the often inexpressible, bear the often unbearable, laugh, cry, be – safely – together. The readiness is all and Shakespeare’s Globe is ready.”
After the “winter of our discontent” it will undoubtedly come as a relief to many that we can enjoy some dearly-missed open-air theatre once more.