Australian audiences are about to witness Shakespeare plays exactly as they were originally staged in London from 1599-1614. An exact replica of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre is to be built at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl in Melbourne.
Live Nation Australasia Chairman Michael Coppel announced the event. “Its great to see politicians who will assist to set Victoria back 400 years … but in a good way”, he joked to media at the site of the proposed Pop-Up Globe in the presence of Victoria’s acting Premier James Merlino and Minister for Tourism and Major Events John Eren.
The Pop-Up Globe will look and feel exactly like Shakespeare’s own theatre The Globe. It will be a three-storey, 16-sided theatre with a capacity of 900 patrons, 300 who stand and 600 who are seated.
Shakespeare’s company, Lord Chamberlain’s Men, built the original Globe Theatre in 1599. It was destroyed by fire on 29 June 1613. A second Globe Theatre was built on the same site it 1614 and closed in 1642.
Dr Miles Gregory had the vision for the Pop-Up Globe after reading a book to his daughter. “I stopped and thought, a pop-up Globe. Would it be possible to build a pop-up Globe?,” he said. The answer was “yes” and the Globe will house Shakespeare plays exactly as they were originally seen 400 years ago.
The season will run in Melbourne from 21 September to 12 November, 2017.
The other great news is the ticket price. One-third of the tickets for every show will be $20.
The plays to be played are:
– ‘As You Like It’, believed to be written in 1599 and first published in 1623.
– ‘Much Ado About Nothing’, written between 1598 and 1599, also published in 1623.
– Othello, written in 1603
– Henry V, written around 1599
– Around The Globe In 60 Minutes, the story of the second Globe Theatre.
Pop-Up Globe is expected to be a major drawcard for tourism in Victoria. “Victoria is the events and cultural capital of Australia, and we’re proud to add the Pop-up Globe to our already world class events calendar,” the acting Premier James Merlino said.
“Pop-up Globe has drawn incredible crowds internationally and we can’t wait to see it bring people to our great state,” Minister for Tourism and Major Events John Eren added.
The event will also see Labor create labour with plenty of what were Mal’s buzzwords ‘jobs and growth’ being generated by the Labor Government in Victoria. 100 construction jobs will be generated by the event and a further 100-120 addition jobs will be created over the season. The Andrews’ Labor government is actually achieving jobs and growth with the Pop-Up Globe unlike the federal government’s election marketing slogan.
The cast for the Australian season of the Pop-Up Globe will be announced soon.
“We can’t wait to welcome Melbourne audiences to this unique space to experience Shakespeare like its 1614,” Dr Gregory said.
