WHEN Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre performs at Richmond's Georgian Theatre Royal next month, it is the audience that will decide which play is performed just before the curtain rises.
In Shakespeare’s day, when a company went on tour the actors would juggle a variety of roles in three or four plays from their extensive repertoire. When they arrived at a household the most important person would decide on the choice of play. Following this tradition, the Globe Theatre is sending out a company of eight actors who will offer three plays to the audience.
When they arrive for the performance the audience will be asked to decide between three Shakespeare classics – The Merchant of Venice, The Taming of the Shrew and Twelfth Night. The show will be chosen by the loudest applause as the plays are read out.
Michelle Terry, artistic director of Shakespeare’s Globe, said: “It’s experimental, it’s Shakespearean, and it’s at the heart of what we do.” The show runs from Thursday, July 5 to Saturday, July 8. Tickets are priced from £11 from 01748 825252.
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