Brianne and I made it out to The Globe Theatre, the old stomping grounds of Shakespeare himself, to catch a performance of The Merry Wives of Windsor. A truly British experience . . . partly because it rained during the show! The Globe is an open-roofed building and we went for the 5 pound standing-room-only "Groundling" tickets like the peasants of yore. Luckily, it was only a fine drizzle for a few minutes.
We had lunch before the show at The Swan, a lovely little brasserie that Uncle Bill treated us to when he was here a few months ago. We had been so taken with the soup, we knew we had to try it agin. Very tasty, with a side of bread and a lemon cake for afters.
The Globe is a beautiful structure, and I feel it sort of represents what theatre's about: drawing together loads of all different people -- cram 'em in, sitting or standing -- to tell them really neat things they don't know yet. And it's right in your face. We were literally leaning on the extended stage.
The show was hilarious, very farcical. It reminded me of commedia dell'arte in that by the way the character dressed, talked and moved you could tell exactly what archetype they were: The Fool, The Fop, The Doctor, The Ingenue. To assist in this they had live musicians play little interludes which informed the action, almost like a Bugs Bunny cartoon. These musicians were also a warm-up act of sorts, playing lively jig music before the show started.
A wonderful time at the theatre, but alas we had to leave at intermission. Why? Brianne and I are ill with cold and sore throat. We bundled up and braved the elements for a while -- and it was well worth it -- but we both knew we shouldn't push ourselves too far. Leaving did not diminish the great time we had. Plus, we picked up some mead (fermented honey wine) from the Globe gift shop, which is both delicious and soothing to the throat.
No comments:
Post a Comment