Shakespeare's Globe Theatre

What an experience Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre was! I had read so much about this place and read so many different fictional stories from books such as The Shakespeare Stealer that mentioned this place but seeing the recreation of this place was really something else. While the old Globe Theatre burned down, this one is across the river due to the change in size of the Thames river but is an exact replica of what they believe the original Globe Theatre was supposed to have looked like. For this blog entry I will focus on the elements of class and gender. Where an individual sat directly corresponded to their social class. If you were a lowly peasant you would be on the floor which was standing room only. If you were royalty or of upper class you would sit in the various levels of balconies that wrapped around the Globe Theatre. If you were very important you would sit in the Lord’s Room which was located above and behind the stage. While at first glance this might not appear to be the best seat, let me assure you it was! This was because it was the best seat to be noticed in. Only the rich and powerful were able to obtain these seats and therefore they were placed in the spot where you would be seen the best throughout the show. Anyone who was facing the stage would see you up behind it and be in awe that you were able to obtain such an amazing seat. However, I would personally prefer the floor standing room in the very front where you could lean against the stage and interact with the actors. I would much rather have a blast and be part of the show than sit up behind it so that people could simply admire me. As for gender, once you went in to the museum you could see replicas of the clothes worn by actors for shows on various mannequins. However, on closer examination you would notice that all of these mannequins (even those in dresses) were men! For those of you that do not know, women were not allowed to act during Shakespeare’s era. All rolls, including those of female characters, were played by men. While this might seem disturbing to you to think about men playing romantically involved characters with other men, it was perfectly normal back then. While I have no problem with this it was quite entertaining to see the ugly and brutish looking ‘women’ mannequins in their elegant dresses. Overall this was a very exciting trip. The replication of the Globe Theatre was exceptional from the handmade wooden structure with wooden pegs to hold it together to the thatched roof; every detail was definitely on point. I definitely plan on going back to see a play here before I leave!