Shakespeare's Globe
Authentic Historical Reconstruction and Working Theatre
Shakespeare's Globe took ten years to build, and is now ten years old. Despite the risks of authentic historical reconstructon, it is an artistic triumph.
The Globe Theatre in London has a lot of people to satisfy. It is a cultural monument, a historical reconstruction, a working theatre and a tourist attraction all in one; a difficult set of roles to combine in one building. On one hand, there are the demands of theatrical “authenticity”, which risk carefully killing a theatre and preserving it as a museum piece. On the other is the need to attract tourists, whose tastes may not coincide with those of Shakespearean purists, and who will be used to more comfortable seats than historical reconstruction of a renaissance theatre can offer. Somewhere between these hands are juggled the needs of the company to attract energetic and talented actors and directors, who certainly do not see their art as either a side-show on the tourist trail, or an moving waxwork display.
By luck or (most likely) good management, Shakespeare's Globe has not fallen into any of these traps, and a visit to this living monument is never a disappointment. The conditions aren’t exactly what most of us are accustomed to in the theatre – a large open-air wooden amphitheatre, with a crowd of “groundlings” standing in the pit at the front of the stage, full daylight (English sunshine permitting); the actors able to see, and banter with, the audience; music provided by period instruments such as lutes and archaic trumpets on the gallery; practically no scenery, and lavishly painted pillars and canopy. Those in the pit are strictly forbidden to set up chairs or shooting sticks due to fire regulations, but that’s about all they are forbidden: people can walk about, eat and drink, enter and leave the amphitheatre at will. (You shouldn’t be surprised to hear the snap of beers being opened during a speech, despite the occasional outraged huff from more traditional theatre-goers nearby.) This should all be very distracting, especially when combined with the lack of stage lights, but in fact the reverse is true. Because the actors and audience can see each other, a genuine rapport is built, and attention wanders far less frequently than in most other theatres. (Even more surprising, given the numbers of tourists and school children in the audiences.) The Globe Theatre provides "Shakespeare in peformance" on the most important levels.
The Globe Theatre succeeds as a theatre, first and foremost., without needing to fall back on the virtues of historical accuracy to justify itself. Rather than alienating the spectators by their weirdness, the conditions of an “authentic” production actually enhance the experience. Which is logical, if you think about it: the Elizabethan stage produced some of the greatest drama our culture has ever seen. It’s hardly surprising that getting inside The Globe can teach us a few things about how theatre should be done. Never mind the scholars, this is theatrical authenticity.
