The Globe experience

The infamous standing ticket. While standing makes the Globe unique and more engaging, I HIGHLY recommend sitting. Dole out the dough for it.

What is London theater without Shakespeare's Globe?

Last night, I had my first Globe experience. Ok, factor in the fact that it was closed for half the time I lived here, and this isn't as shocking. I mean, its not like I haven't kept myself busy with other things...
Needless to say, it was a DELIGHT. I highly recommend it as an event for everyone. I got tickets seated, on the lower gallery, which was actually a good seat. I also ordered a cushion... something I highly recommend. The Globe was rebuilt as an almost perfect replica to the Globe in Will's day, and very close to its original spot. It's a modern Elizabethan masterpiece- intimate, but still grand in its own way. The circular build and open air design make it fun, engaging, and unique. The standing tickets fill the floor in neatly, almost as a substitution for an orchestra, and therefore makes the stage and audience one-which leads to the interactive acting the Globe is known for. 

The style of the performances are spectacular. The production I saw, Henry VIII (I know, big surprise), was modernized in costume and props. Normally, I would avoid this as I am traditional, but it was fantastic. The royalty stuck to purple joggers, suits, historically inspired dresses, and wide shorts. My favorite addition, on top of these modern clothes, was the all too familiar codpiece- the triangular, and sometimes lewdly shaped attachment to the mens groin, drawing the eye and well... making assumptions. Us historical dress nerds in the audience had a proper laugh at this. Those who didn't know this historical piece of treasure, well, I'm not sure where your mind went, but I (hope) you got the gist. The members of the Church stuck to their red robes, but extras wore mixes of rag corsets and adidas-striped joggers. 

The few musical pieces were exceptional-modernizing poetry into a beautiful tribute to the females of today, while telling the stories of females of the past. The general ambience was very bawdy and coarse, but that's the nature of the Globe. This paralleled wonderfully with the actors mingling with the standing audience, and asking for our yays and nays, and laughter.

It ended with the arrival of Elizabeth, daughter of Henry and Anne, and a foreshadowing of her glory and brilliance despite her fathers desperation for her to be a boy. It was the ultimate poetic female justice- to my main muse and forever inspiration. All hail Gloriana. 

It was a proper production for the setting, and I left realizing it wasn't what I thought it would be, but even better. I will be going back, if not for the beautiful setting, but for a history injection and a laugh.