Shakespeare's Globe; Antony & Cleopatra

Thursday was a beautiful, cool, sunny day. After breakfast we caught a cab to Shakespeare's Globe Theatre. Though our cab driver was delightful and shared a wealth of information with us, due to the terrible traffic, it took nearly an hour! We arrived in time to take the last tour of the day.

Our tour guide shared with us that the theatre we toured was the third. The first theatre burned down June 29,1613 during a performance when a cannon set fire to the thatched roof! The second theatre, built in 1614, this time built with a tile roof, was torn down to make room for housing. The current theatre, completed in 1997 with a turf roof, was built using techniques employed in the 1600's. Efforts were made to keep it as much like the original theatre as possible. It is open air; up to 700 guests stand in the pit in the middle and are exposed to the elements. Obviously the covered seats cost more. Back in the day, the choice seats were closest to the stage on either side, and especially behind the stage, because everyone could see you! However, if you sat behind the stage, you could only see the backs of the actors! This area is no longer used for seating.

Performances were given during the day. If the theatre had been enclosed, performances would have had to be given in candle light, and the cost would have been prohibitive.

The season for the outdoor theatre ended on Sunday before we arrived, and they are currently transitioning to the modern indoor theatre, with performances beginning in November. Some maintenance work was being done to the outdoor theatre during our visit.

Here are some images of the outside of the theatre, along the banks of the Thames River:

Here are some images of the inside, with the pit for standing audience in front of the stage:

Detail of the stage and underneath the roof of the stage:

Details of the upper stage (formerly the most expensive seats in the house):

This is what the "box seats" look like:

What a great tour! We're glad we went!

Once we were done with the tour, we decided to walk back to the hotel. We took the "Queen's Walk" along the Thames River. Here is an image of the city from the banks of the river:

Besides bridges that cars and pedestrians can use, there are also many nice walkway bridges:

Brock was enjoying the views:

Before long, we came upon the National Theatre, where we would return for a performance of "Antony and Cleopatra" in the evening. We picked up our tickets and proceeded.

Because of our unacceptably long cab ride, we decided that the best way to get to our play would be to use the "London Tube" (also called the "Underground" or "Subway"). We bought our tickets and practiced the route to return to our hotel. Happily, the Green Park station we exited was very close to our hotel.

We had a wonderful early dinner at our hotel. Jane enjoyed the Dover Sole, said to be the best in London!

We used the Underground to get to the play, and it worked. Just as we sat down in our seats, the lights were lowered and the play began. What impeccable timing!

Our performance of "Antony and Cleopatra" featured the great actor Ralph Fiennes as Antony. We had seen a version of the play on TV. This version was more contemporary in terms of wardrobing and sets. The sets were beautiful! Both versions worked, but the live version was an impressive, excellent production and very special. The play lasted 3-1/2 hours! We were very glad we went. It is very special to get to see a live performance like that.

We returned to the hotel via the Underground and stopped for a quick dessert at the hotel bar to cap our busy day. Magnificent!