Groundlings

Further questions about the “Globe” picture:

That slim lady in the foreground, is she applauding the witches, or has a phone between her hands been photoshopped out?

Perish the suggestion. Stewards, like the one looming on the right, firmly suppressed any would-be photographers, except by those with press accreditation, which Universal Workshop doesn’t have.

How come these spectators are so close to the stage, while those on the other side are separated from it by a wide space of floor? The historic stage projected into the floor, at shoulder level among the groundlings.

Yes, the near and far spectators are in slightly different eras. We were allowed this close before the performance started, but then were shepherded back to a greater distance.

I thought of using the floor, or such of it as shows near us, for another purpose. On the way into the theatre from the gate, you walk through a forecourt paved with slabs into which are engraved names.

They are the names of donors who have paid for a share in the immortality promised by Shakespeare – “So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.” A slab may not endure as long as a sonnet. I could have had fun with a selection of names to chisel into the floor underfoot. But decided against this excess of detail.

Another idea is to bring that distant crowd forward – add a layer of groundlings, until their shoulders too approach the stage edge. Emphasizing the red-clad ones, who are stewards. This I may do – tomorrow.

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