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Story by Jack Foley
THE box office at Shakespeare’s Globe theatre is now open
for the 2004 season of Star-Crossed Lovers, featuring three of
William Shakespeare’s best-loved plays - Romeo and Juliet,
Much Ado About Nothing and Measure for Measure.
Priority bookings have exceeded £500,000 and a record breaking
season at The Globe is in prospect.
All three plays will be original practices productions exploring
clothing, music, dance and settings from Shakespeare’s time
and - following the success of the all-female Richard III and
The Taming of the Shrew last year - Much Ado About Nothing will
be performed by a company of women players.
Measure for Measure and Romeo and Juliet will be performed by
mixed companies.
Throughout the season, Shakespeare’s Globe will be working
with the emotional support charity, Samaritans, in this, its 50th
anniversary year, helping to raise awareness of their work through
a series of events, including a fundraising evening on September
15; a photographic competition on the theme of ‘human connection’
and The Spearshaker Talk, by Jeremy Paxman, on April 23.
Commenting on this partnership, Globe artistic director, Mark
Rylance, said: "Working with Samaritans, who respond every
minute of every day and night to those of us who face, in isolation,
some obstacle to our emotional well-being, we at the Globe have
found a partner in our own work to gather people together in a
beneficial space of language and communication."
Midway through the season, in July, a special event will take
place at Hampton Court Palace, to mark the 400th anniversary of
performances by Shakespeare and his fellow actors for King James
1. Click here for more details…
Shakespeare’s Globe box office is available by calling 020
7401 9919. Tickets are also available through See on 020 7850
8590.
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Listings info
Romeo and Juliet, by The Company of Men and Women. Starring
Kananu Kirimi (Juliet) and Tim Caroll (Master of Play). A violent
street brawl between their rival families is the prelude to Romeo’s
first meeting with Juliet. Despite this, and the fact that Juliet
has been promised to another man in marriage, a love is born between
them. Can the relationship survive against the background of enmity
between Capulet and Motague? Opens: May 7, 2004
Much Ado About Nothing, by The Women’s Company. Starring
Tamara Harvey (Master of Play) and Yolanda Vasquez (Beatrice).
Don Pedro, Prince of Aragon, arrives at the house of Leonato and
a happy match is foreseen between Claudio, one of Don Pedro’s
men, and Leonato’s daughter, Hero. At the same time, a plan
is afoot to bring about the more unlikely pairing of Beatrice
and Benedick, who are engaged in a stubborn battle of wit and
will. Opens: May 23
Measure for Measure, by The Company of Men and Women. Starring:
Mark Rylance (Vincentio) and John Dove (Master of Play). Vincentio,
Duke of Vienna, leaves his kingdom suddenly and resigns power
to his deputy, Angelo. A vigorous campaign against lechery begins
under Angelo’s rule, and one of the first to suffer is Claudio,
sentenced to death for making his lover, Juliet, pregnant. Claudio
asks his sister, Isabella, to intercede on his behalf, but Angelo
demands a higher price than she is prepared to pay. Opens:
June 18
Special events
The Spearshalk Talk - Friday, April 23 (6.30pm): Jeremy
Paxman will address the themes of the theatre season with special
reference to the work of Samaritans.
Sonnet Walks: Sweet Love Remember’d - Saturday, April
24 (10am-12.45pm): These tours of Tudor London start from
either Westminster or Shoreditch and end at Shakespeare’s
Globe. Twelve sonneteers entertain walkers on the way.
William Poel Festival Performance - Sunday, May 2 (4pm):
An opportunity to see the new generation of classical actors from
Britain’s leading drama schools performing scenes from Shakespeare
on the Globe stage.
The Comedy Store Players - Monday, June 7 (8pm): The Comedy
Store Players return to the Globe for the seventh year running
to present another evening of improvised comedy.
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