We went to see Romeo and Juliet in The Globe theatre which is a reconstructed version of the Globe theatre where much of Shakespeare's work was performed. At the Globe, like for us when we perform The Tempest at school, you have to perform to an audience on three sides. The globe also has a standing audience known as the 'groundlings'. They were called this because this was where the lower class people would stand to watch plays as opposed middle and upper class people who would be in the seated areas.
In the production we saw many people in the standing area we able to be more immersed into the performance. The actors would often enter through the audience. At the beginning of the performance the actors were in the audience making noises and heckling and the rest of the audience didn't know they were actors until the performance began.
Original performance conditions
When Charles 11 came to power in 1649 he began to encourage women to perform in theatre, before this only men could be actors. The female parts used to usually be played by teenage boys as they had higher voices and more slender frames.
Rehearsals wouldn't occur until the day of performance, or soon before. There would rarely be a director, just one of the actors who may take charge more. This was because in Shakespeare's time people would 'hear a play' as opposed to see it. This meant there was less of a need for stage directions and blocking and lots of movement onstage. This allowed the actors to get away with learning their lines and finding their character on their own and coming to the performance prepared.
The Globe is a thrust stage. It has two pillars. These are made of single tree trunks that were then painted to look like marble. It's an open air theatre with two levels. As it is open air there is also no lighting. It also means weather can affect performance conditions but they carry on no matter what. The overhang on the roof of the theatre is known as the 'heavens'. The pit, which is where the groundlings stand next to the stage, is known at hell. This would often to help identify a character for the audience. For example if a character entered from the top of the stage they were a good character and from the bottom meant they were bad.Of course, there would and are many exceptions to this but it was often a good signification for the audience to relate to. Often the other actors would make a sound scape from the pit entrance to help create an atmosphere. In plays like the Tempest Shakespeare is trying to create seperate worlds of the Island and the shipwrecks. The idea of the heaven and hells and the trapped doors in the Globe helped for the creating of other worlds.
They didn't have much set because there was very little money and usually did a different play everyday. This was why Shakespeare wrote in so much detail about the surroundings, weather and place through his characters. This was so he could establish the surroundings without the audience needing to see it. This related back to the point that people went to hear a play as opposed to seeing it. Costume however was used to establish character, time and setting a lot more than maybe now as we can also relate to set for that too.
In the pit where the groundlings stood it would cost 1-3p for a ticket. Acting in the globe allowed for far more audience interaction. This is because without the lighting you would be staring directly at them. The audience's attitudes towards theatre was very different then. Theatre was more accessible now in many ways as there was seating appropriate for every class. It would be like a sport or festival. People would go to the toilet in the pit and eat their dinner, shout onstage, boo or cheer maybe even throw things. This audience interaction was also part of the reason Shakespeare used soliloquy's in his plays. These are like monologues but they are spoken directly to the audience, confronting the fourth wall and almost accepting the truth that they are there and the actor is just standing on a stage. Soliloquy's normally are the character letting the audience know what they are thinking. The intimacy that could be achieved with the audience on this stage may have helped with that.
There were two doors at the back which lead to the tiring house where the actors would wait to come on stage. Also there was a curtain backstage for actors to change their costumes. Above the stage doors were the lords room, this is where people who invested in the theatre would go. Above the stage there is the musicians gallery where live music for the plays would be performed. Sometimes actors would perform from there, more so now, but generally is was kept for the music. The stage had a doorway left and right and the door in the middle. These are for entrances and exits. The original globe stage had an inner and outer stage.
Dimensions of the globe
- Height of stage- 5ft
- Width of stage - 45ft
- Length of stage - 30ft
- Audience Capacity Standing - 600
- Audience Capacity Seated - 900
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