And you all know security is mortals' chiefest enemy.
Hecate - "Macbeth"

Hamlet - Romeo & Juliet - Macbeth

I have to admit I can't very well remember any of these productions. It's been a while, but I'll try to put a few things here all the same. I can't properly recreate the experience, but I found pictures in the Globe's leaflets that I have put up here.

~ Hamlet ~ The first ever Shakespeare adaptation I saw on stage. As opposed to the videos that I hoard at home ;D. I came to see it with Cambridge University's 'Shakespeare Summer School' in 2000. We had a few excursions to the Globe Theatre - I especially fondly remember that one time we actually got to stand on stage and each say a few lines. I was Queen Anne in 'Richard III' if I remember correctly. *ah memories* Anyway, I was overwhelmed by the Theatre and the stage - it was an original practices production with beautiful and lavish Elizabethan costume. Mark Rylance, the Globe's artistic director, played the title role. He was absolutely brilliant though his interpretation didn't coincide with my own picture of the character. Yet when he recited "To be or not to be..." I was mesmerized - no pathos there, he let the words *speak* for themselves. Mr Rylance also has a very commanding and enthralling stage presence. To me, Ophelia was especially fascinating as we had talked about her a little in the summer school courses. Her entrance as a madwoman and the poignancy she gave to the songs amazed me. Gertrude was fabulous as well, just like the rest of the cast. I'm afraid I don't know any of their names though...

~ Romeo & Juliet ~ Same season as 'Hamlet' - can't remember much of it. It was a Brazilian troupe and the first time I went to the Globe as a groundling. That sure is an atmosphere to savour and the interpretation of the play was brilliant; very acrobatic, colourful, more like a circus than a play. I don't speak Portuguese, but I could still guess that the translation of the English text was very accurate. The costumes were bright and there was this huge light blue car on the stage that the actors used as a "base" of sorts. They also walked around on stilts. Fascinating. What I remember most accurately was the emotion at the end - as Romeo and Juliet lay there, in the middle of the stage, close to the audience, holding hands even in death. Wow.

~ Macbeth ~ The Globe's "Celtic Season" of 2001. 'Macbeth' is one of my favourite plays and I was in for a surprise. I didn't know it was a modern practices production until I stood in front of the stage and the witches came out. To be precise: two men and a woman, sporting dinner jackets and weird glasses. It took me a little while to get used to the staging and costumes. All very simplistic, cold and modern. It worked very well though. The props I remember were buckets and stones as well as hankies. And of course that metal slab that hung off the ceiling a and was used variably - as a table, a backdrop and also as a sort of bed-walk for Lady Macbeth when she ran mad. It also struck me as being a very symbolical approach - every time one of the characters died, a stone would be dropped on the floor or into a bucket by a number of people. Also, the costumes were dinner and evening wear. Macbeth (Jasper Britton) was brilliant - just as I thought the character should be. And Lady Macbeth was just plain *wow* - a tragic figure, powerfully compelling. With such a leading team it was no wonder that I liked the production though I was a bit lost in the staging ;D.

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Questions, comments and suggestions can be directed to me at ferngully_at@yahoo.com.

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