The Globe's hitting the road to take theatre back to its roots
It should be an eternal shame to all Englishmen that it took an American to really grasp the importance of taking care of the heritage of the Bard.
It is thanks to Sam Wanamaker that the Globe Theatre now stands on London's South Bank, a living monument to our greatest dramatist.
Since Wanamaker's passing over a decade ago, his dream for a permanent monument to Shakespeare – a theatre in the style of the original Globe near the site where his plays would have been performed – has become a thriving reality.
The man in charge of the Globe today is Dominic Dromgoole – an Englishman with a feel for tradition and a commitment to taking the theatre on the road.
"We do it with a great sense of pride and with the acknowledgment that we are very much paying tribute to a long, long tradition,"
says Dominic.
He has led the Globe as artistic director for the past three seasons.
While it sees hundreds of thousands of visitors through the doors of its famous London base every year, Dominic says it is equally important to take the Bard's work out around the country.
"The spirit of theatre has always been quite wild, anarchic and free. In Shakespeare's time, theatre companies would tour the country and pitch up in a place and perform their shows," says Dominic.
"We're carrying on that tradition."
The Globe began its touring programme when Dominic took over as artistic director. He sees this as an integral part of the company's activities.
Last year, it brought Romeo and Juliet to venues in Yorkshire, and this year returns with A Midsummer Night's Dream – a popular choice with audiences – and The Comedy of Errors. The shows will be at Ripley Castle, the Georgian Theatre Royal in Richmond and Newby Hall over the next two months.
Although the tour normally visits places where shows
can be staged outdoors, the company came to Richmond to the Georgian Theatre for the first time last year – and instantly fell in love with it.
"Although companies travelled around and performed outdoors, troupes of actors would perform anywhere," says Dominic.
"Anywhere that is architecturally charismatic or in some way interesting is always great to perform in."
The Globe decided to come to Richmond after Dominic was convinced by a fan of
the theatre.
"Someone involved in our company, an architectural adviser, is also on the board at Richmond and he spent
a long time telling me all about this wonderful theatre," he says.
"I came up last year when we brought The Winter's Tale to Richmond and I thought it was such a beautiful little jewel of a theatre.
"When the actors were on the stage, the history of the place was very obvious.
"It has that wonderful element of bringing the action right up to the audience. The boxes on the side are actually on the stage, so the performers can go right up to the audience and speak to them.
"That's what theatre, in the most traditional sense, in this country is all about."
To anyone who thinks that Shakespeare and theatre are boring, Dominic gives short shrift.
"Sometimes when we talk about tradition, people have this idea of theatre as stiff and archaic," he says.
"Nothing could be further from the truth. There has been this weird period over the past 300 years where we've come to accept that theatre is presented in picture boxes, or in contemporary theatre,
in black boxes, but we say that the real traditional theatre is alive and fluid
and improvisational, with actors going from place to place, engaging with their audience and changing the performance to fit a space, so that every place you see it has something unique and special just to that performance space.
"That's traditional theatre."
The Comedy Of Errors:
Ripley Castle, July 7 and 8: 01423 770 632.
Georgian Theatre Royal, Richmond, July 9 to 12: 01748 825252.
A Midsummer Night's Dream: Newby Hall, Aug 18 and 19: 01423 322583, Georgian Theatre Royal, Richmond, Aug 20 to 23: 01748 825252.
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