Summer events in the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse
Preview by Lizzie Guilfoyle
SHAKESPEARE’S Globe has announced new music and spoken word events for summer 2015, as well as a series of Globe Outside In productions, in which Shakespeare productions from the outdoor theatre are brought into the intimate candlelit space of the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse for special limited runs.
On Sunday, May 24, one of Britain’s leading actors, Julian Glover, will interpret the Old English poem Beowulf for the candlelit stage. Embracing the oral tradition, Glover takes audiences on an epic journey with the warrior hero of the title as he slays demons and defends kingdoms.
Glover has been staging his version of Beowulf for over 30 years; his appearance at the Playhouse will mark his final two performances. At the end of the second performance, Julian’s son Jamie Glover will join his father onstage, as the torch is passed to the next generation.
Between Friday, June 26 and Monday, July 6, three actors and a small choir will present poet Nick Drake’s new exploration of Handel’s iconic Messiah and its difficult birth in All the Angels: Handel and the First Messiah.
Exploring the relationships between Handel and his servant Peter le Blond, actor/contralto Susannah Cibber and librettist Charles Jennens, the show tells the story of how the most popular and acclaimed choral work in the world was first performed in a small pub in Chester.
Following the success of the Winter’s Tales, in which a series of celebrated actors read classic short stories by candlelight, Shakespeare’s Globe presents The Voice and the Echo, a series of evenings in which critically-acclaimed contemporary poets respond to the masterpieces of John Donne, George Herbert, William Blake and Gerard Manley Hopkins.
The resultant blends of classic and modern poetry will be read by actors, accompanied by live music, on August 29, September 4, September 5 and September 9.
The Sam Wanamaker Playhouse will also host a new series of Globe Outside In productions. Running from May to September, this year’s series will include: The Merchant of Venice starring Jonathan Pryce (May 16); As You Like It, directed by Blanche McIntyre, composed by Johnny Flynn and starring Michelle Terry (May 27); Richard II, directed by Simon Godwin and starring Charles Edwards (August 8); Measure for Measure, directed by Dominic Dromgoole (September 15); King John, starring Jo Stone-Fewings and Alex Waldmann (June 13); and the Globe On Tour production of Much Ado About Nothing (August 16).
Grammy Award-winning guitarist John Williams returns to the Playhouse for a six-evening concert series. Williams will work with a variety of internationally-acclaimed musicians including the iconic Ralph McTell, quintet Tir Eolas, baroque lutenist Robert Barto, Paraguayan guitarist Berta Rojas, the Palestinian Duo Sabil, and Venezuelan harp virtuoso Carlos Orozco, to present concerts on selected dates between June 5 and June 21.
The performances will feature guitars and other plucked string instruments from around the world, and a reinvention of last year’s astonishing Playhouse concert of the Music of Mali, this time with Williams joining Nigerian kora player Tunde Jegede, and South African guitarist Derek Gripper.
Internationally-renowned pianist Angela Hewitt will showcase highlights from her repertoire over four evenings in August, including her much-loved Bach Goldberg Variations (August 1), and a French-themed evening with soprano Dame Felicity Lott (August 24). She will also accompany a recital by Roger Allam of T.S. Eliot’s Four Quartets with music by Bach and Messiaen (August 3).
Allam returns to the Globe following his starring role in last year’s The Tempest and his Olivier Award-winning turn as Falstaff in 2010’s Henry IV. His screen credits include The Iron Lady, The Queen, The Politician’s Husband and Parade’s End.
Over Easter Week, the Isango Ensemble will return to the Globe, following their triumphant Venus & Adonis during the Globe to Globe festival in 2012, with an intimate version of Mysteries, a re-working of the Fourteenth Chester Passion Plays. Encompassing the whole of the Bible from Creation to the Last Judgment, Mysteries will be performed by a small group of choral singers in Xhosa, Zulu, English, Latin and Afrikaans over five evenings.
For more information or to book, call the box office on +44 (0) 20 7401 9919 or visit www.shakespearesglobe.com/.