We proceeded into the exhibition with 45 minutes before our tour. There was so much information available in the exhibition from the Globe's origins, Shakespeare's plays, the way London would have looked during Shakespeare's day, and costuming. I wish that we'd had more time so that I could have throroughly enjoyed each nuance of the exhibition, but we were on a tight schedule.
I spent some time in the timeline area before moving into costume. Most impressive in this area was the various models of different theatres during Shakespeare's time as well as the History of the Globe showing it's lifespan in conjunction with when Shakespeare wrote his plays and major events in history.
They had a spectacular DVD running of how the costumes are recreated and studied, but unfortunately it was not available at the gift shop and I didn't have time to watch it. I did attempt to take as many photos of the garb as I could as it was all excellent examples of what those of us doing Elizabethan style for SCA shoud be working towards. You could even see the pins in some of the ruffs!!
I could have spent all day in the costume department but there was still 1/3 of the exhibition to see before we needed to be ready to take our tour. As I left garb I was surprised, although I shouldn't have been to see "The Art of Defense" rapier training for Shakespearean plays! I've enjoyed my studies of the Art of Defense and really liked seeing that it's study isn't limited to those of us doing Rapier!
The next item to be explored in the exhibition was how they had reconstructed the current Globe Theatre. The contractor in me was extremely curious to find out how they had resarched the design, where they had obtained the construction know-how and proper materials, etc. But at this point I only had 7 minutes before the tour was to start and as I looked through an upper balcony window to find David on the main floor I saw him talking to a gentleman and handling rapiers. Well, I wanted to handle the pretties too!!! Gosh, there is just too much to see and do here! So down to the main floor I go . .
The gentleman was a Shakespearean Stage Combat Instructor. He was quite kind and very well versed on his treaties. Since most of the "public" had wandered on to do other things, David and I stayed to have some more in-depth conversation like "what is the difference between stage combat rapier and period rapier techniques?". The answer - "not alot" except for an understanding that with Stage combat you need to telegraph a bit for your opponent so they are sure to meet the block and not get hurt. We also discussed how Shakespeare may have been mocking some of the fencing masters in some of his charicters which is a possibility that I'd never considered before. At this point our tour bell started to ring and we checked to see if the gentleman would be available after our tour and he advised us that he would not only be available but could quite possibly bring out some more pretties for us to enjoy.
So off we go for our tour of the Globe Theater. Our tour guide claimed that he was nervous in front of crowds but you would have never known it listening to him. His enthusiasm and hair reminded me a bit of David Tennant as Dr. Who and so it was a most enjoyable tour! We sat on the lower level first while he explained some history of the original Globe and the findings during archeological digs of the Globe and more especially the Rose.
Then we moved to some 2nd tier seating on the opposite side as he discussed the current version of the Globe. The Globe has a special dispensation from the City of London to be allowed the thatched roof as the City outlawed all thatched roofs after the Great Fire of London, but they've protected it with the modern conveinience of sprinklers. The current Globe not only houses Shakespearean plays but also modern plays. Stage hands were setting up for the evening's play where the central location is an underground station.
The tour was too brief but left me with a taste to hopefully see a play in the Globe before we leave here. Having checked with our guest, it was determined that we culd spend some more time with the combat instructor in the exhibition, so back we went. He had indeed brought out some more nice weapons, some recreations and one original that was his Grandfather's which just "came alive" in your hand. So what makes this meeting all the more awesome? The gentleman is willing to teach some if people are interested. Having spent all the additional time we dared and having acquired the gentelman's name and contact information for future planning, we apologetically made our good-byes to the Globe and it's personnel.
On our way out we stopped by the last exhibit, the Prop Room and I was amazed at the mass of weapondry and armor bits. We photographed it all, some of the armor looked very much like what one of the gentlemen here is trying to create for his SCA fencing armor and so we photographed that for him.
On a back table though was also my wavy buckler and so I had to get photos of that as well.
And with that it was truly time to head out and get to the Tower of London!
Below is a slideshow of all the pictures we took on our tour, if you are interested.
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