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Post by NeilVHughes on Mar 24, 2021 13:12:05 GMT
This summer on Bankside, we promise to celebrate all that unites us: laughter, tears, story, nature, and of course, theatre.
A year since we closed our doors on 18 March 2020, we’re preparing to reopen our theatres for our Summer 2021 season on 19 May 2021, provided the conditions are met for Step 3 of the UK Government’s roadmap for cultural reopening.
Opening the season on 19 May, our Associate Artist Director Sean Holmes gets the fiesta started with the return of his raucous 2019 production of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. This joyful explosion is packed full of piñatas, streamers, glitter and a cacophony of brass, and is the perfect comedy to bring some magic to your summer.
The same company of players, including our very own Michelle Terry as Viola, bring fresh life to Shakespeare’s comedy of mistaken identity, Twelfth Night. Wild, surprising, fierce and funny, this fiery new production is infused with the mesmeric nostalgia and soulful music of the world of Americana, and is a true celebration of the complete madness of love.
At long last, after starting rehearsals before lockdown last year, our star-crossed lovers Alfred Enoch and Rebekah Murrell take to the stage in Shakespeare’s timeless tragedy, Romeo & Juliet. Director Ola Ince and many of the original company return to this universal tale of chance, destiny and fortune, to find new significance for 2021.
Our Touring Ensemble, led by Associate Artist Brendan O’Hea, also return with their usual trio of plays, this time taking on the challenge of As You Like It, The Tempest and A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Stepping into the candlelight of our Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, we finally get the chance to see Metamorphoses, a brand new play by our Scriptorium writers-in-residence Sami Ibrahim, Laura Lomas and Sabrina Mahfouz. Inspired by Ovid’s powerful collection of myths, this new play is an epic adventure of infinite possibilities, and is co-directed by Sean Holmes and Holly Race Roughan.
An uninspiring and safe season but The Greatest Hits will hopefully enticing to the casual attendee.
Will be there on the 19-May to experience my favourite place in London one again.
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Post by zahidf on Mar 24, 2021 13:48:44 GMT
Any news on booking Times?
King Lear with Kathryn hunter for 2022
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Post by lynette on Mar 24, 2021 14:21:46 GMT
Looks like a good season, very tempting spesh for young people’s outings with older relatives...you get my drift.
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Post by Jan on Mar 24, 2021 20:19:16 GMT
Any news on booking Times? King Lear with Kathryn hunter for 2022 She’s played it before as far as I recall. |
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Post by oxfordsimon on Mar 24, 2021 20:58:38 GMT
It is a great shame that the tour won't happen this year. Outdoor theatre is so much easier to manage in terms of social distancing. There is a huge appetite to see anything, they could have found large enough venues.
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Post by Phantom of London on Mar 24, 2021 23:59:48 GMT
Looking forward to seeing all 3 of those, in the glorious Globe.
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Post by oxfordsimon on Mar 25, 2021 0:31:53 GMT
I know Michelle Terry will be keen to get back to acting on stage. But as AD of the Globe she has been employed throughout the pandemic unlike the overwhelming percentage of actors in the UK.
Casting herself as Viola feels just a tad insensitive under the circumstances. Far better to have stepped aside this season to allow another actor some paid work.
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Post by Jan on Mar 25, 2021 8:08:25 GMT
I know Michelle Terry will be keen to get back to acting on stage. But as AD of the Globe she has been employed throughout the pandemic unlike the overwhelming percentage of actors in the UK. Casting herself as Viola feels just a tad insensitive under the circumstances. Far better to have stepped aside this season to allow another actor some paid work. Depends. Do you think she's on a fixed annual AD/Acting salary or does she get paid extra for acting in a play ? If the former then it's a zero cost option for her to play Viola and given their financial position that might be significant. |
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Post by NeilVHughes on May 20, 2021 7:25:15 GMT
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
As it is a reprise of a previous production many of us will have seen it and know what to expect but had forgotten how surreal the fairies were and it is most definitely colourful.
With the reduced capacity the usual atmosphere was missing as expected and despite the best efforts of the cast they could not bridge the fourth wall but I am sure this will improve as they get used to working the space even though choosing a groundling to play Robin Starveling does its best and will rely heavily on the one chosen and last night’s definitely did it with gusto and not one for the shy as there is no place to hide in the predominantly empty pit.
It was great to be back, just hearing Shakespeare’s language being spoken in the Globe never disappoints and looking forward to my numerous visits over the summer and hopefully by late summer normal service will have resumed and will be standing once more in the pit.
For those who have booked Groundling tickets you will definitely get the best seats in the house, no obstruction in the view as they are well spaced and as a bonus they are aluminium garden chairs with backs, a luxury which those in the galleries do not have and it is easy to order drinks and snacks from your seat which is not something that can be said of the upper galleries.
It is a long night without a break, the musicians started playing around 6:45, the play started around 7:00 and it finished at 9:20 so in reality more 2 ½ hours than 2 so make sure you have taken the opportunity to use the facilities beforehand.
There were queues when I arrived so it is best to arrive at your allotted time, I am sure things will improve once they have got used to the new ways of working as last night everyone was being officious but was slightly confused on the mask wearing once at your seat as many took them off and the usual over zealous ushers did not intervene but being outside and the gaps between bubbles much larger than most inside spaces they are not really required but I kept mine on which if the majority stance is not to wear one will likely not wear mine on my next visit.
On the whole so pleased to be back in my favourite place immersed in Shakespeare once again.
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Post by NeilVHughes on Jun 26, 2021 12:35:41 GMT
Single groundling ticket available for tonight’s (26-Jun) Romeo & Juliet at the Globe, free to a good home, DM me if interested.
It is a single ticket so no bubble issues, we can meet outside the Globe at 6:40 and enter together as electronic ticket only.
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Post by zahidf on Sept 1, 2021 13:40:46 GMT
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Post by londonpostie on Sept 1, 2021 14:56:10 GMT
Nope, not even for a fiver: after a hard day with the patriarchy, I'll patriarch elsewhere.
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Post by cavocado on Sept 1, 2021 16:11:30 GMT
I haven't seen Measure for Measure for years, so will book that, but definitely not standing. I really like the SWP - very cosy and atmospheric.
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Post by oxfordsimon on Sept 1, 2021 18:23:09 GMT
I do find it ludicrous to see such hyperbolic language in their descriptions of productions that are nowhere near the rehearsal room.
I know it is the easy way out when it comes to marketing writing but it is for us the audience to decide whether this production of M4M is 'darkly comic'. The director will have things in mind now that will get thrown out in the rehearsal room long before an audience gets anywhere near the show.
The description of Merchant sounds very little like the play I know. The idea that it is Shylock's play went out decades ago. To put together a description of the piece with zero reference to Portia seems perverse.
Something is rotten in the state of the marketing department
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Post by lynette on Sept 2, 2021 16:41:13 GMT
Nope, not even for a fiver: after a hard day with the patriarchy, I'll patriarch elsewhere. Made me smile. I always worry about ‘reimagining’ as if all productions don’t do it again.. Interesting the idea of analysing ‘capitalism’ in Mof V 😂 |
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Post by Jan on Sept 2, 2021 16:55:20 GMT
Nope, not even for a fiver: after a hard day with the patriarchy, I'll patriarch elsewhere. Made me smile. I always worry about ‘reimagining’ as if all productions don’t do it again.. Interesting the idea of analysing ‘capitalism’ in Mof V 😂 I would imagine that their analysis of prejudice, patriarchy and capitalism will conclude that they are all VERY BAD THINGS. What they need to do in Measure for Measure is to plainly base Angelo on Matt Hancock - high-minded public puritanism and private seething hypocricy. I mean it's an open goal but there was a time when directors would have gone for the obvious, make the Duke Boris Johnson too for good measure, would work well in the final scene. |
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Post by Dawnstar on Sept 2, 2021 17:21:03 GMT
I really like the SWP - very cosy and atmospheric. While I'd agree under normal circumstances, the last thing I want during a pandemic is to be crammed onto benches being "cosy" with the rest of an audience! So it's fortunate there's no anything I want to see there this season as it's near the bottom of my list of theatres I'd feel safe going to. |
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Post by oxfordsimon on Sept 2, 2021 17:36:03 GMT
Nope, not even for a fiver: after a hard day with the patriarchy, I'll patriarch elsewhere. Made me smile. I always worry about ‘reimagining’ as if all productions don’t do it again.. Interesting the idea of analysing ‘capitalism’ in Mof V 😂 The most powerful way of doing this is to examine how Portia is turned into a commodity by her father's will. Yet this production appears to be aiming to focus on a character who is only in a handful of scenes and completely absent from the final act... |
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Post by David J on Sept 2, 2021 17:48:10 GMT
I do find it ludicrous to see such hyperbolic language in their descriptions of productions that are nowhere near the rehearsal room. I know it is the easy way out when it comes to marketing writing but it is for us the audience to decide whether this production of M4M is 'darkly comic'. The director will have things in mind now that will get thrown out in the rehearsal room long before an audience gets anywhere near the show. The description of Merchant sounds very little like the play I know. The idea that it is Shylock's play went out decades ago. To put together a description of the piece with zero reference to Portia seems perverse. Something is rotten in the state of the marketing department Doesn't surprise me in this day and age. I see this more and more in these advertising. Either its just a bunch of buzzwords, or the director is indeed going to cram in as many contemporary issues into the play as she pleases. Always put story first and let the themes and issues seep through, that what I always say. |
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Post by lynette on Sept 3, 2021 18:28:50 GMT
Made me smile. I always worry about ‘reimagining’ as if all productions don’t do it again.. Interesting the idea of analysing ‘capitalism’ in Mof V 😂 The most powerful way of doing this is to examine how Portia is turned into a commodity by her father's will. Yet this production appears to be aiming to focus on a character who is only in a handful of scenes and completely absent from the final act... Yep, interesting. Let’s face it, Bassanio goes for Portia cos of her potential money. I’m an old cynic, me. |
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