Shakespeare's Birthday
Sunday 23 April –– 10am–4pm
Join us at Shakespeare’s Globe for a day of Warriors and Queens - Roman style.
Following highly successful events over the past two years to commemorate the day, we will once again throw open our doors and welcome everyone to a very special FREE birthday celebration.
To launch the day, Cleopatra will sail down the River Thames and arrive at the Globe at 10.15am, re-enacting the famous description from Antony and Cleopatra:‘The barge she sat in, like a burnished throne, Burned on the water. The poop was beaten gold; Purple the sails, and so perfumed that The winds were lovesick with them…’She will be met by twenty Roman soldiers and a band of musicians to herald the start of the festivities.
Throughout the day family entertainment will include: gladiatorial fighting, a 'best theatrical death' competition, lessons in how to wear a toga, the opportunity to try on Cleopatra's costume, and the chance to take to the world-famous Globe stage and deliver a line or two yourself. There will also be the opportunity to take part in workshops on dance, voice and movement with seasoned Globe professionals. This day is organised as part of the Mayor of London’s celebrations for St George’s Day 2006.
Well, never mind if you missed that. The summer is being given over to Shakespeare's Roman plays. The programme - it begins on May 5th, is here.
Coriolanus, Titus Andronicus, Antony and Cleopatra, and The Comedy of Errors are all in repertory - but not Julius Caesar. A joint school expedition run by the English, Drama and Classics departments seems a must.
