Tips for seeing a Shakespeare play at the Globe in London?

We are visiting London for the very first time this summer. (Family of 4, including 11 year old son and 12 year old daughter). I had wanted to visit the Globe and possibly see a play there during our trip, and just found out that Hamlet will be playing when we are there.

Tickets sales to the public will open soon. Should I buy our tickets ahead of time? We would visit on a Sunday . . . any guesses as to what performance times will be?

I've combed over the Globe website for information, but am still unclear about what the seating area is like. Are they assigned seats? I know that the tickets in the Yard are standing only, which my damaged hip will make completely impossible.

Ideally I would like to take a Globe tour, but the calendar says the tours run from only 9-11:30 am that day due to matinee performances. We will have arrived from the U.S. west coast the night before, and will likely struggle to get up that early. Are the tours worthwhile . . . should we make it a point to return? As it happens, the last performance of Hamlet for the 2018 season will be that particular day, so we have only a one day window to see the play.

I am planning to have my kids read up on Hamlet a bit before we leave so that they are familiar with the play and its most famous lines.

Any other advice or tips for us to consider?

I've combed over the Globe website for information, but am still unclear about what the seating area is like. Are they assigned seats?

 

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Any other advice or tips for us to consider?

Many of the seats are bench seats, ie they have no backs. This means that sitting for the entire length of a show can be very hard on your back. If this is what you get, then I very strongly recommend you hire seat backs (like folding seats, so that you can lean back against the back while you're sitting on the seat). I can't remember how you find out which seats have backs and which are merely bench-type, but amongst other sources there must be lots of photos online of the seating. (The seats with backs may be only the back row at each level, and not necessarily on every level.)

Even if your seat has a back, a cushion is a good idea. If i remember correctly, all of the seating is wooden with no cushioning.

Do pay attention to the weather forecast on the day that you go, including temperatures. As seats are under cover, you're less likely to freeze than if you're in the open air. But anywhere in the theatre can in theory get wet. And while you might think that (say) 25 degrees (or 77 Fahrenheit) is a pleasant temperature, it can actually begin to feel very different if sitting immobile in it for hours and there's a slight breeze, and then the temperature starts to drop as the evening goes on.

I am planning to have my kids read up on Hamlet a bit before we leave so that they are familiar with the play and its most famous lines.

Thank you for the tips . . . we will definitely try to get seats with backs, and plan to rent cushions. Or backless seats with the folding supports. Great advice! Also a great tip to be prepared for weather. Layers, perhaps.

What a funny quote! No, I'm quite comfortable in getting my children primed to see the play. I was lucky enough to have a brilliant Shakespeare teacher who took our older (now grown) kids through three Shakespeare plays; I will adopt her proven approach. Her theory was to introduce children to Shakespeare before "they figured out that he was supposed to be boring and difficult". ;) I now have two adult daughters who adore Shakespeare, thanks to her. I am hoping to do the same with these two.

I had wanted to visit the Globe and possibly see a play there during our trip, and just found out that Hamlet will be playing when we are there.

 

 

 

Tickets sales to the public will open soon. Should I buy our tickets ahead of time? We would visit on a Sunday . . . any guesses as to what performance times will be?

 

 

 

Buy your tickets as soon as they become available public. Do not rely on anything other than Groundlings being available nearer the time.

Sunday performances are 1pm and 6-30 pm. You mention you are looking at the last day of the Hamlet run. A glance at the 2018 brochure suggests that is Sunday August 26th, when Hamlet is the afternoon performance (the evening is As You Like It).

One other thing, look at the Gentlemen’s Rooms in the Middle Gallery, if they are not being used for hospitality and the seats are generally available. They have actual chairs, albeit the rear row are tall, like bar stools.

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Echo the posts above - book your tickets early. Seeing a play there is a brilliant experience.

Regarding the tour, they are very good and to be recommended but you will be shown a lot of what you will see anyway if you end up attending a play ie the Stage & surrounds, the seating etc etc. Behind the scenes, there is also an exhibition of the History of the building, Tudor life & times and some of the costumes used in many of the productions. It's possible you may also see members of the cast if there are any rehearsals ongoing. Plus you get a guide who is usually very knowledgable and entertaining.

If you haven't booked accommodation, there is a Holiday Inn Express nearby and also a Club Quarters hotel across the Millennium Bridge. Both are very near & walkable (few minutes)to the Globe if you don't want to spend time travelling the morning after you arrive. Club Quarters is a very pleasant hotel and has standard rooms as well as some that are larger & have a "kitchenette " so you can do a little self catering if you prefer. Also is excellently situated for Tube, buses and HoHo.

Buy your tickets as soon as they become available public. Do not rely on anything other than Groundlings being available nearer the time.

 

Sunday performances are 1pm and 6-30 pm. You mention you are looking at the last day of the Hamlet run. A glance at the 2018 brochure suggests that is Sunday August 26th, when Hamlet is the afternoon performance (the evening is As You Like It).

 

One other thing, look at the Gentlemen’s Rooms in the Middle Gallery, if they are not being used for hospitality and the seats are generally available. They have actual chairs, albeit the rear row are tall, like bar stools.

 

 

 

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Thank you for an extremely helpful post! It was kind of you to look up the times for our date (which is, in fact, August 26th). I had looked on the Globe website but couldn't for the life of me find times.

I will take your (and others) advice and go ahead and buy tickets ahead of time. They will be released to the public in another week or ten days.

Thanks again!

Echo the posts above - book your tickets early. Seeing a play there is a brilliant experience.

Regarding the tour, they are very good and to be recommended but you will be shown a lot of what you will see anyway if you end up attending a play ie the Stage & surrounds, the seating etc etc. Behind the scenes, there is also an exhibition of the History of the building, Tudor life & times and some of the costumes used in many of the productions. It's possible you may also see members of the cast if there are any rehearsals ongoing. Plus you get a guide who is usually very knowledgable and entertaining.

If you haven't booked accommodation, there is a Holiday Inn Express nearby and also a Club Quarters hotel across the Millennium Bridge. Both are very near & walkable (few minutes)to the Globe if you don't want to spend time travelling the morning after you arrive. Club Quarters is a very pleasant hotel and has standard rooms as well as some that are larger & have a "kitchenette " so you can do a little self catering if you prefer. Also is excellently situated for Tube, buses and HoHo.

Thank you for taking the time to post! The tour sounds lovely and quite worthwhile. And I am definitely convinced to go ahead and buy tickets early. I appreciate your advice!

ps - we do have our accommodation booked, but thanks also for the extra recommendations. :)

Thank you for an extremely helpful post! It was kind of you to look up the times for our date (which is, in fact, August 26th). I had looked on the Globe website but couldn't for the life of me find times.

 

 

 

I will take your (and others) advice and go ahead and buy tickets ahead of time. They will be released to the public in another week or ten days.

 

 

 

Thanks again!

This link takes you to the Summer 2018 brochure, which includes dates and times for all the productions. Several times they are doing Hamlet & As You Like It on the same day, afternoon and evening.

http://www.shakespearesglobe.com/uploads/files/2018/01/summer_2018_brochure1.pdf

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Here is a link to a very helpful blog - essential reading for anyone thinking of going. http://www.thewanderblogger.com/shakespeares-globe-theatre/

For a huge selection of photographs, have a look at the Tripadvisor entry.

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g186338-d187726-Reviews-Shakespeare_s_Globe_Theatre-London_England.html

This link takes you to the Summer 2018 brochure, which includes dates and times for all the productions. Several times they are doing Hamlet & As You Like It on the same day, afternoon and evening.

 

http://www.shakespearesglobe.com/uploads/files/2018/01/summer_2018_brochure1.pdf

 

 

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Thank you again, Cotswold Eagle. This brochure is quite comprehensive and helpful!

Here is a link to a very helpful blog - essential reading for anyone thinking of going. http://www.thewanderblogger.com/shakespeares-globe-theatre/

 

For a huge selection of photographs, have a look at the Tripadvisor entry.

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g186338-d187726-Reviews-Shakespeare_s_Globe_Theatre-London_England.html

Bob, that blog post was brilliant: seeing a play at the Globe from an outsider's perspective! Just perfect for us, thank you very much. I actually printed it out and will place it in my trip file for review as our time gets closer. Many thanks. :)

I wanted to pop back with a sincere thank you to all who replied. I took all the advice to heart, and ended up becoming an "International Friend" of the Globe in order to go ahead and secure tickets just before they became generally available. (A required donation was involved, but I was happy to do it for such a worthy cause.)

Because we are looking at literally a single show that will work in our schedule - and because that show is a weekend show and closing day for Hamlet - I really didn't want to take any chances after the helpful blog post that Bob shared described difficulty in getting seats together.

I also went with the advice to get front row seats in the middle gallery, and was able to get four such seats together.

So many thanks, again, for such valuable advice.

Just one more question, I think. I've glanced through pictures taken at the Globe, and the dress code of the theater goers seems quite casual. Is this correct? Jeans, layers, and comfortable shoes will be acceptable?

Yes - dress for the weather. The whole thing is relaxed - the audience may not sit quietly and clap at the end.

Audiences in Shakespeare’s time behaved much differently than what we think of today when we go to the theatre. In general, audiences were much more rowdy and directly involved in the show than we are today. There was no electricity for special theatre lights, so both the stage and the audience were in broad daylight, allowing them to see each other and interact. Shakespeare’s soliloquies would be said directly to the audience, who could potentially answer back! The audience would move around, buy food and ale in the theatre, clap for the hero, boo the villain, and cheer for the special effects. The audience might dance at the end of a comedy along with the characters onstage. If an audience didn’t like a play, they might even throw furniture and damage the theatre!

I doubt that anyone will be nipping out to buy a pie and a pint, but this is not a night at the opera...:)

I wanted to pop back with a sincere thank you to all who replied. I took all the advice to heart, and ended up becoming an "International Friend" of the Globe in order to go ahead and secure tickets just before they became generally available. (A required donation was involved, but I was happy to do it for such a worthy cause.

 

Just one more question, I think. I've glanced through pictures taken at the Globe, and the dress code of the theater goers seems quite casual. Is this correct? Jeans, layers, and comfortable shoes will be acceptable?

London theatres put up with just about any dress code as long as one is dressed. Sad, but that’s what has happened over the years.

The Globe is an outdoor theatre, even if you have seats where there is some cover you could still get wet on a rainy day. The seats are bench seats, they will rent you a cushion, I really recommend this. All in all, dressing comfortably is the answer at the Globe, and being aware of the weather also. It’s a great experience though, and well worth it.

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What they used to do at the Globe was to try and replicate the way plays were put on in Shakespeare's time. So no stage lighting or microphones, and if it was a night performance there would be lights in the galleries to make it feel like day. (Which is a godsend if you're deaf and following the script in a book.)

Last year's appalling director threw all that out, and covered the Globe in tarpaulin so the decorations couldn't be seen, and darkened the galleries and lit the stage, basically making it like any other theatre. Fortunately she's got the push, and hopefully the new one will be more traditional.

What they used to do at the Globe was to try and replicate the way plays were put on in Shakespeare's time. So no stage lighting or microphones, and if it was a night performance there would be lights in the galleries to make it feel like day. (Which is a godsend if you're deaf and following the script in a book.)

 

Last year's appalling director threw all that out, and covered the Globe in tarpaulin so the decorations couldn't be seen, and darkened the galleries and lit the stage, basically making it like any other theatre. Fortunately she's got the push, and hopefully the new one will be more traditional.

Interesting background! Thank you.

Below is a link to a slightly more balanced view of Ms Rice’s departure from the Globe. Personally, I think she is a talented director but that she wasn’t a ‘good fit’ at the Globe, which does need someone who is both innovative and knowledgeable about Shakespearean production.

http//:http://www.theguardian.com/stage/2016/oct/25/emma-rice-step-down-artistic-director-shakespeares-globe

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Indeed: I am actually quite sorry not to have seen anything there during the period that she was in charge. If the statement about box office returns is true rather than mere spin, I hope that the baby won't have been thrown out with the bathwater.

Below is a link to a slightly more balanced view of Ms Rice’s departure from the Globe. Personally, I think she is a talented director but that she wasn’t a ‘good fit’ at the Globe, which does need someone who is both innovative and knowledgeable about Shakespearean production.

http//:www.theguardian.com/stage/2016/oct/25/emma-rice-step-down-artistic-director-shakespeares-globe

 

 

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I saw King Lear there last year, and it was very well done (it was one of her more traditional efforts) - but it needn't have been at the Globe. It could have been anywhere. There's no point building a replica Globe (with those uncomfortable seats!) if you're then going to cover it in tarpaulin and darkness.

She didn't get off to a good start in my book when she took the job saying she wanted to make Shakespeare "more accessible" - it very much suggested she didn't know that more people watch Shakespeare at the Globe than (I would guess) at any other theatre in the world.

Anyway, they're back to "daylight" performances now - so I can take my mother again!

... it very much suggested she didn't know that more people watch Shakespeare at the Globe than (I would guess) at any other theatre in the world.

The Royal Shakespeare Theatre must be a contender for that title, given the Globe's limited season each year.

You may very well be right. The Globe holds more people but has a shorter season - I've now idea how they compare for percentage of seats (or standing room) filled.

I hope you get to do this. We took the family to the theatre and really enjoyed it.

Keith