10 replies to this topic

[tom_waldo]

I saw this production on Sunday during the rain, and thought it was amazing. Has anyone else seen it? It was the first time I'd been to the Globe so I would be interested to know whether it is above/below normal standards for the Globe. Thanks.

[Lynette]

Seeing this later in the summer and I'm looking forward to Globe effect, the accessibility of the villain.

Just to say I saw an ad for a Two Moors Festival and I thought, oh no, not another Othello..

[richard]

I saw this production on Sunday during the rain, and thought it was amazing. Has anyone else seen it? It was the first time I'd been to the Globe so I would be interested to know whether it is above/below normal standards for the Globe. Thanks.

I would say the Othello was above the normal average for the Globe, not least because it held - on the sunny afternoon I was there - a large audience including several school parties of A level students(?).  There was no restlessness in the audience, and at the key moments one could have heard a pin drop.  What a great play Othello is.  I came to it shortly after seeing McKellen in Lear at Stratford, and although the RSC production was obviously 'more professional', it did not move me half as much as Othello.  The star of the Othello was Sam Crane as Roderigo, a situation unique surely in Othello stage history.  I predict him to be the next rising star (he is already to the cognoscenti), fresh from a brilliant Oswald  at the Bristol Old Vic.  He would make a brilliant Hamlet for the RSC (it's time they gave us one) in, say, 2009.

[tom_waldo]

How does the production compare to previous offerings from the Globe? As I live a fair way out of London it's quite an effort to get to see something, so I like to try and make sure it's worth it!

[TheWideOcean]

I am going to see this play. Othello is one of my favourites. However, i have never been to The Globe.
Considering it is a sunny day, do you recommend being in the standing area?. The idea of being very close to actors is appealing.

[Duncan]

I saw this production last night and found it to be excellent. Tim McInnery's Iago is middle aged and balding and looks really sleazy and bitter. As the text suggests that Othello is fairly old, having Iago roughly the same age works quite well despite Iago's statement that he is 28. Artistic licence?

The only problem was the absence of ice cream on sale in the piazza during the interval meaning a queue at the coffee bar.

[Orsino]

I am going to see this play. Othello is one of my favourites. However, i have never been to The Globe.
Considering it is a sunny day, do you recommend being in the standing area?. The idea of being very close to actors is appealing.

there is a bit of action in the yard so yes it's good to watch from there up close and personal but do take sunscreen and drinks lots of water  for hot days like today!

[peggs]

Whether to stand or not at the Globe is a bit of a personal one TheWideOcean, for me I loved being up close to the actors and you have got the option of moving around a bit in the interval if you want a different view but it's a long, long time to stand up. Orsino is right take lots of sunscreen and water if it's hot and they will let you go out for some fresh air and come back in again if you need to and don't sit down as it's against heath and safety and you'll be hawled up. For a fiver it's a great deal if your legs can take it otherwise maybe a seat is a better option although then I understand that you might want to take a cusion!

[Lynette]

Don't stand - it's a killer, believe me.

[Jenny_tyr]

I would say the Othello was above the normal average for the Globe, not least because it held - on the sunny afternoon I was there - a large audience including several school parties of A level students(?).  There was no restlessness in the audience, and at the key moments one could have heard a pin drop.  What a great play Othello is.  I came to it shortly after seeing McKellen in Lear at Stratford, and although the RSC production was obviously 'more professional', it did not move me half as much as Othello.  The star of the Othello was Sam Crane as Roderigo, a situation unique surely in Othello stage history.  I predict him to be the next rising star (he is already to the cognoscenti), fresh from a brilliant Oswald  at the Bristol Old Vic.  He would make a brilliant Hamlet for the RSC (it's time they gave us one) in, say, 2009.

When this was in previews I saw half of it – I had to leave at the interval for various reasons – and I must say that I agree about Sam Crane. I wouldn't have thought that any Roderigo could so upstage Iago, but I thought that this was totally the case in this production, and I soon found myself flipping through the pages of my program to find out who on earth that was (and let me hasten to add that I wouldn't have opened my program during the performance at any other theatre, but in the yard of the Globe there are so many other disturbances that it doesn't seem out of order to do so). I'll be back to see it in its entirety in a couple of weeks time, just made plans for that, and I'm looking forward to that immensely. I was a little surprised that none of the subsequent reviews, at least not those that I've seen, made much of a mention of Sam Crane's performance, but I would agree that this may well be one of the big names of the future.

//Jenny