This week, Leighton Buzzard 1 took a tour of the Globe Theatre on London’s South Bank.
We were fortunate that the weather was warm and dry, as part of the theatre is open to the elements.
Were it not for the wonderful Sam Wanamaker, the American actor and director, there would never have been a new Globe Theatre. On a visit to London in 1949, he was shocked to find that, on asking to visit the Globe, he was taken to the site of where it once stood. He then devoted himself to fundraising and ensuring that the new theatre was as much like the original theatre as it could possibly be. Despite many obstacles, Sam persevered with his ambition. Sadly, he did not live to see the theatre’s completion. He died in 1993, and in 1997 the Globe Theatre was opened by Elizabeth II.
We were lucky to have a great tour guide who really knew her subject, and we were all delighted with her enthusiasm for the theatre and her injections of humour into the proceedings. She talked to us about the construction of the theatre: for example, the trees used for the pillars on the stage are actually 400 year old Tudor oaks, and it took six years to get planning permission to have a thatched roof – something not usually allowed in present-day London.
She also told us about the audiences who came along in the 16th and 17th centuries and how today’s presentation of Shakespeare’s work differs from Shakespeare’s own time. After the tour, there was the opportunity to visit the exhibition.
We had a pleasant lunch at a restaurant overlooking the Thames before returning home.
Another grand day out for LB1.