Shakespeare’s Globe Impresses English Students
A group of Year 10 English students braved the chilly spring winds on a day trip to London recently. The students, who are currently studying Macbeth, ventured along the South Bank to visit Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre and managed a side-trip to the Tate Modern on the way.
Student Libby Day told us, “Miss Hennig, Miss Williams and Mr Preston took us to the Globe Theatre in London. We caught the train from Brighton Station to Blackfriars on the South Bank, which took about an hour. We walked along by the river from Blackfriars, stopping off at the Tate Modern Art Museum, where we had a look at some of the artworks.”
“A guide showed us around the Globe and pointed out several interesting things about the theatre. The original building was destroyed by fire and the new replica building has been built in the traditional way, but with some modern additions. They got special permission to have a thatched roof, but they have to have lots of fire exits and sprinklers, which the old Globe didn’t have.”
“We saw the trap door in the stage which leads to ‘hell’ and one in the roof which leads to ‘heaven’. People used to pay 2d to sit on a bench, or 6d to have a box, which gave a better view of the stage. The poorest people stood up and only had to pay 1d. They didn’t have toilets in the old Globe, but they do have them now!”
“The roof is open to the sky and the stage was made to look like a wedding cake, which was for the play we saw being rehearsed while we were there. It was really interesting and I think it helped us to understand a lot more about Shakespeare and what it was like when he was writing his plays.”
After another walk and a well-earned rest at Costa, the students returned to Blackfriars for the journey home to Brighton. Everyone enjoyed the day and wanted to thank Miss Hennig and her team for making it possible.
Thanks to Libby Day for her words and pictures.
