03 November 2021
Newsdesk
Shakespeare’s Globe has announced a series of new events running alongside the season of Shakespeare plays in the indoor candlelit Sam Wanamaker Playhouse. These include: a panel discussion with Maxine Peake, Artistic Director Michelle Terry and Co-Director of Education Professor Farah Karim-Cooper, dubbed ‘Hamlet and She’ as part of a ‘Women and Power’ festival; the hit feminist comedy podcast, The Guilty Feminist, returns for another live recording in the Playhouse hosted by Deborah Frances-White; Johnny Flynn and Robert Macfarlane present a live performance of their stunning new album; and a whole host of education events including February half-term activities for families.
Despite the difficulties faced since the Globe closed its doors in March 2020, from May 2021, the theatre has successfully welcomed over 200,000 audience membersinto 291 performances, with only 2 shows being cancelled due to the pandemic. To remain connected to those unable to visit in person, the Globe ran 8 livestreamed productions, reaching audiences in 69 different countries. This year also saw the Globe’s first ever neighbourhood tour, delivering 10 performances across 8 London boroughs. From November, the winter season will bring Shakespeare plays into the candlelit Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, including Measure for Measure directed by Blanche McIntyre, Hamlet directed by Sean Holmes, The Merchant of Venice directed by Abigail Graham, and a festive reimagining of Hans Christian Andersen’s The Fir Tree written by Hannah Khalil.
Co-Director of Education, Lucy Cuthbertson, said: “We have loved having schools and families return to the Globe and we continue the work to enable younger audiences access these key texts. We have created new storytelling performances of Hamlet and The Merchant of Venice to both support and compliment the productions in the Winter Season. We are also delighted to see the return of Globe Youth Theatre.”
Co-Director of Education, Professor Farah Karim-Cooper, said: “Our second Women and Power festival uses Shakespeare's works to ask questions about our moment and its resonances with the past. Issues that women face today - inequality, sexual harassment, diminished access to power - will be discussed through the lens of Shakespeare, performance and social justice.”
From 6-12 December, the Globe will host Women and Power, a festival of panel events, workshops, and a scholarly symposium. On 6 December, audiences are invited to an in-person panel with actress Maxine Peake (Dinnerladies, Shameless, Silk) discussing Hamlet, a role she played in 2014 at the Royal Exchange, Manchester. Maxine will be joined by Michelle Terry, who played Hamlet at the Globe in 2018, and Co-Director of Education Professor Farah Karim-Cooper for a feminist discussion on the role of Hamlet. On 12 December, smash-hit comedy feminist podcast, The Guilty Feminist, returns to the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse for a live recording with host Deborah Frances-White, special guests will be announced in due course. The festival will also feature an online symposium titled ‘Empowerment to Disempowerment: Intersectional Voices’, this one-day event on 10 December will gather experts, activists and theatre practitioners in an exploration of intersectionality, women, and power. The event will be of particular interest to students, academics, teachers, and scholars but is open to all.
On 6 and 7 February, Johnny Flynn and Robert Macfarlane will present the first live performance of their stunning album, Lost in the Cedar Wood, in an evening created specifically for the unrivalled intimacy of the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse. Created in lockdown 2020, the album bases itself loosely upon the world's oldest written work of literature, The Epic of Gilgamesh, with beautiful music woven through with storytelling, drawing audiences on a 4000-year-journey from Mesopotamia through to our present moment. Much-lauded singer-songwriter and actor Johnny Flynn, most recently worked at the Globe creating music for 2015’s As You Like It and was on stage in 2012’s Twelfth Night and Richard III. Internationally celebrated and award-winning Robert Macfarlane is known for his writing about the natural world, his 2017 ‘The Lost Words’ created with artist Jackie Morris became a phenomenon.
2022 marks the 16th Anniversary of Playing Shakespeare with Deutsche Bank, returning from 3 March with a production of Macbeth created especially for young people. This project provides up to 20,000 free tickets to state secondary school children from London and Birmingham. Since the programme started more than 211,000 students have benefited from the programme, which also supports teachers by offering free Continuing Professional Development (CPD) sessions, workshops, and free learning resources. This production of Macbeth will also be available to all, with the first public performances taking place on the 19 March, so more families and young people can experience this production.
On 13-19 February, the Globe’s flagship Telling Tales family festival will return for February Half-Term, packed with events and activities for families and young people to enjoy over the school break. Activities will be held both online and onsite and allow families to uncover the magic of storytelling together in a Family Workshop or explore Shakespeare’s plays in one of the many fun Storytelling sessions. On 6 and 13 March, younger audiences are invited to watch a live storytelling of The Merchant of Venice. Stereotype is placed under the microscope in this interactive storytelling event, led by experienced storyteller, actor, and writer Alex Kanefsky.
The Globe's Education department will present a series of free webinars exploring the relationship between race, social justice, and Shakespeare. Anti-Racist Shakespeare: Perspectives on the Plays will enable live discussion online of Measure for Measure (9 December), Hamlet (10 February) and The Merchant of Venice (15 March).
Young performers (11 - 19-year-olds) are invited to audition to join the Globe’s Youth Theatre, a weekly training programme for young performers hungry to engage with acting and performance. Running from January - July 2022, members of the Youth Theatre will work with experienced, professional actors and directors, gaining the unique chance to immerse themselves in the Globe’s approach to the work of Shakespeare and his continued relevance to the modern world. For those who want to learn more about the program, the Globe is offering Free Youth Theatre Taster Sessions on the 20 and 27 November.
In the New Year, Shakespeare’s Globe will continue to support teachers through a variety of online and onsite CPD workshops. Teach Shakespeare offers a practical toolkit for teaching Romeo and Juliet (15 February); Teaching Anti-Racist Shakespeare will explore anti-racist approaches to teaching Othello and The Merchant of Venice (15 January) or Othello and The Tempest (2 March); Shakespeare and Women (29 January and 12 March) will equip teachers with strategies to facilitate conversations with their classes about sexism, misogyny, and depictions of women in Shakespeare.
Shakespeare’s Globe recently played host to the Letters to the Earth project, individuals such as Vivienne Westwood, Laura Whitmore and Ben Okri joined thousands of others who have been raising their voices for environmental protection ahead of the U.N. COP26 summit. The Globe has also made its own contribution to this project. Michelle Terry will be joined by artists including Stephen Fry, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, Helen Schlesinger, Shubham Saraf, Paul Ready, Rosalie Craig, Hadley Fraser, Philip Cumbus, and Tanika Yearwood, in a short film: Shakespeare’s Letter to the Earth available to view now online. The video explores Shakespeare’s contribution to the 400-year-old conversation about the climate, helping to make the crisis understandable and hopeful.
For further information on our COVID-19 procedures please visit: www.shakespearesglobe.com/visit/coronavirus-covid-19-safety-measures
Since opening in 1997, the Globe has been committed to bringing Shakespeare to all, by providing over 600 standing or 'Groundling' tickets for just £5 per each performance in The Globe Theatre. This season, for the first time, £5 standing tickets will also be available for main show performances in the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse. There will be 48 tickets available per show at £5, and they will be located in the upper gallery standing room space.
“London’s best-value theatre ticket” – Time Out
SHAKESPEARE’S GLOBE WINTER SEASON EVENTS
Women and Power Festival
Hamlet and She - 6 December
In Conversation, Measure for Measure - 7 December
Online Symposium ‘Empowerment to Disempowerment: Intersectional Voices’ - 10 December, 10am
The Guilty Feminist - 12 December
Lost in the Cedar Wood: Johnny Flynn & Robert Macfarlane
Sunday 6 February 18.30 & Monday 7 February 19.30
Telling Tales: February Half-Term
13-19 February
Playing Shakespeare with Deutsche Bank: Macbeth
March - 16 April 2022
Anti-Racist Shakespeare
Measure for Measure - 9 December, 6pm
Hamlet - 10 February, 6pm
The Merchant of Venice - 15 March, 6pm
Shakespeare and Race: Storytelling, The Merchant of Venice
6 & 13 March, 11am & 2pm
Continuing Professional Development
Shakespeare and Women - 29 January & 12 March, 3-6pm
Teaching Anti-Racist Shakespeare Othello and The Merchant of Venice - 15 January, 3-5pm
Teaching Shakespeare Romeo and Juliet and Macbeth - 15 February,11am-2pm
Teaching Anti-Racist Shakespeare: Othello and The Tempest - 2 March, 6-8pm
Youth Theatre
Youth Theatre Taster Sessions - 20 & 27 November
Youth Theatre - January-July 2022
Young Actors
Short Course 8-10 years or 11-13 years - 4-8 April
Rutgers Conservatory
Twelfth Night - 17 & 18 December, 6.30pm
The Tragedy of Antony & Cleopatra - 18 & 19 February, 6.30pm
SHAKESPEARE’S GLOBE WINTER SEASON PRODUCTIONS
Measure for Measure by William Shakespeare
Friday 19 November - Saturday 15 January
Sam Wanamaker Playhouse
Livestream - Friday 07 January
Press Night - Thursday 02 December
#MeasureForMeasure
The Fir Tree by Hannah Khalil
Monday 20 December - Thursday 30 December
Globe Theatre
#TheFirTree
Hamlet by William Shakespeare
Friday 21 January - Saturday 09 April
Sam Wanamaker Playhouse
Livestream - Friday 11 February
Press Night - Thursday 03 February
#Hamlet
The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare
Friday 18 February - Saturday 09 April
Sam Wanamaker Playhouse
Livestream - Friday 25 March
Press Night - Wednesday 02 March
#TheMerchantOfVenice
ASSISTED PERFORMANCES
Patrons who are members of the free access scheme are eligible for adjusted ticket prices.
Measure for Measure
Audio Described – 18 December (2pm), 08 January (2pm)
Captioned – 16 December (7:30pm), 06 January (7:30pm), 13 January (7:30pm)
Relaxed – 15 January (2pm)
Hamlet
Audio Described – 19 March (2pm), 12 March (2pm)
Captioned – 05 March (7:30pm), 18 March (7:30pm)
Relaxed – 26 March (2pm)
The Merchant of Venice
Audio Described – 27 March (1pm)
Captioned – 31 March (7:30pm), 7 April (7:30pm)
Relaxed - 03 April (1pm)
SHAKESPEARE’S GLOBE
Website
Shakespearesglobe.com
#ThisWoodenO
Globe Player
Globeplayer.tv
#GlobePlayer
Teach Shakespeare
Teach.shakespearesglobe.com
#TeachShakespeare
Virtual Tour
shakespearesglobe.com/globe360
OUR CAUSE
We celebrate Shakespeare’s transformative impact on the world by conducting a radical theatrical experiment. Inspired and informed by the unique historic playing conditions of two beautiful iconic theatres, our diverse programme of work harnesses the power of performance, cultivates intellectual curiosity and excites learning to make Shakespeare accessible for all.
‘And let us …on your imaginary forces work’ Henry V, Prologue
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