How did a company tour in Shakespeare’s day? A small group of actors, juggling a variety of roles in a number of plays, would leave London and head off to entertain audiences around the country.
Following that tradition, the Globe Touring Ensemble will take on multiple roles across three plays this summer - As You Like It, The Tempest, and A Midsummer Night's Dream - as they unravel these tales of lovers, exiles, dreamers and wanderers. But instead of travelling around the country, this year we are responding to the call to think global but stay local, getting to know those London communities closest to us in the Globe's first ever neighbourhood tour: free performances, outreach sessions, workshops and Q&As exclusively for community organisations and the people they work with.
A tale of sibling rivalry, exile, cross-dressing, and misplaced love, it takes travelling to the Forest of Arden for friendships to be formed, and families and lovers to be reunited.
This play, inspired by Elizabethan reports of the West Indies in the 16th Century and imbued with a spirit of magic and superstition, The Tempest is Shakespeare’s tumultuous play of betrayal, love and forgiveness.
On Midsummer Night, a portal opens between the spirit and the human world. When the forces of nature meet the power of love, it's going to be a night to remember. They say 'the course of true love never did run smooth'. Too right. Infused with mischief and mayhem, Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream is the story of feuding lovers and magic, a forest and a donkey.
It is our hope that we will get to know people who might not currently come to visit us on Bankside, and that this neighbourhood tour will be the beginning of long-term relationships we can build on in years to come. To that end, we are keen to start conversations with organisations which:
- Are strongly engaged with people in their communities.
- Are able to collaborate with us on how to shape the practicalities and communication around the performance for their participants.
- Have access to spaces to host workshops, and ideally a potential performance venue/ space (indoor or outdoor).
- Can accommodate this activity either 9 - 15 August 2021 or 30 August to the 31 October 2021.
If you think this description matches your organisation, please get in touch!
Email Ellie James, Tour & Events Manager at ellie.j@shakespearesglobe.com
Email Jenni Smith, Outreach & Touring Coordinator at jennifer.s@shakespearesglobe.com
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