A Day at the Theatre....Shakespeare-Style

One of the last things my friends and I managed to do together was to attend a production of Romeo and Juliet. This production had the added attraction of being performed in Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, a replica of the original theatre where Shakespeare first put on his productions. Not only does the theatre look like the original, it does its best to make the entire experience as close to the 1600s as possible. This includes a section of standing-room-only (tickets cost five pounds and you have to queue early to get a good spot); my friends and I decided we wanted to be a little more comfortable, however, so we popped for seats just behind the peasants--I mean, standing patrons. If you attend a production here, however, be ready to be uncomfortable no matter where you are. The benches we sat on were wooden and had no backs--cushions could be rented for a pound. The cushion makes things better for a while, but after three and a half hours of sitting, not even the cushion can take the edge off.

The stage from my seat. Notice it is an open-air theatre.

Free paper sun-visors were on the seats to help counter-act the glare from the sun, an unavoidable side-effect of the open-aired venue.


Singers and musicians perform seventeenth-century music before the show begins, complete with instruments that would have been around during the period.


Seating arrangements aside, it was a wonderful production, and I had a lovely time at my last show in London. All-in-all, I managed to see 90% of the shows I wanted to see, only missing Jersey Boys and The Lion King, and I've already seen The Lion King twice in the States.

Coming up next, a trip to the most magical place in Europe!