Inside the modern recreation of the Globe Theatre is a small exhibition area! The ticket can also include a tour of the theatre – unfortunately I did not time my visit well enough for that.
Shakespeare’s Globe Exhibition & Tour
The original Globe Theatre is long gone (the first one actually burned down and was rebuilt). The replica was only opened in 1997 and is in a slightly different location – right along the Thames. The entrance of the exhibition is on the Thames side.
It looks wonderful with all its Tudor beam and post design. I definately ruined many tourists’ photos when I went inside. Sorry!
The main gallery addresses the history of the Globe during Shakespeare’s time and the process of recreating it in the modern era. The productions feature Tudor inspired set design, costumes and even speech patterns if you see an OP (Old Pronunciation) production. If you want to hear about their speech patterns check out this amazing video here!
I liked these vessels that were found during excavations of the site (before the new Globe was built). Historic versions of Tupperware! Reusable and dishwasher safe. The galleries were very text heavy – there was way too much.
One aspect I really liked is the display about whether Shakespeare is actually the author of all the plays attributed to him. The display showed all the different people who have been proposed as the actual authors. It was really interesting.
The costume display was one of my favourite parts. They laid out how constructing the costumes works – through a combination of research and experimentation.
They even had a costume from a recent Shakespeare film – MacBeth with Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard. This is Marion’s Lady MacBeth outfit. The dress was meant to be rustic but display a lot of wealth. It was a pleasant surprise!
The best part of the visit was when a fellow visitor was dressed in a real costume from the Theatre – Ophelia from Hamlet! We got to see how Tudor ladies would have dressed and what materials would be used. Ophelia had fancy silk stockings while a shepherdess would have cotton versions.
Rating: 3/5
Pros: the live costume display really made the experience for me, great location, cool collection, good for kids, lovely staff
Cons: text heavy interpretation, disparate ideas and sections, no shop, the whole thing is a bit dated to be honest, only one place to sit and rest
Liberté (formerly) of London 