One of the items in my 'Life Bucket' is to attend a production at Shakespeare's Globe as a groundling in the pit.
We managed to get tickets and met up with Bob and Ingrid after our day of exploring the South Bank.
Henry V is a play I don't know but it didn't matter. I wanted the experience and to know if Shakespeare really did write lines specifically directed at the groundlings.
We went in early and I got a place beside the stage.
It was perfect for closeup views of the costumes. At one point I had to lean back to avoid being swiped by the bishop's heavy felt cloak.
Bob got a seat in the heavens.
He knows the play so enjoyed the good accoustics from his perch.
Ingrid got the last seat in the house - in the gentleman's section, with a padded stool and erotic paintings.
She also knows the play and had the pleasure of the actors facing her when they delivered their more bawdy lines.
Meanwhile, Ron had to endure the pit. Here he is enjoying the intermission, the only time groundlings were allowed to sit. One young man beside me fell over during the performance - a wheel chair appeared and he was whisked away. I had the stage to lean on so the 3 1/2 hours flew by.
It was a wonderful experience.
I can take it out of my Life Bucket.
2 comments:
You actually found a performance in English? When we were there there was only the choice of sign language, Japanese, French, Samoan, Pakistani...
part of the art Olympics was to perform all of Shakespeare's plays in English & x # languages - our timing was good
Post a Comment