Globe Marks Twelfth Night 400th at Middle TempleDate: 1 February 2002
Tomorrow, Saturday 2 February 2002, marks the 400th anniversary of the first recorded performance of William Shakespeare's much-loved comedy Twelfth Night, which took place at Middle Temple Hall. To commemorate the historic event, actors from Shakespeare's Globe, including artistic director Mark Rylance, are presenting a special season of Twelfth Night on the same site, which is still in use as a dining hall for barristers in the City of London.
The new Middle Temple Twelfth Night will be true to the spirit of the original 1602 production, with an all-male cast (Rylance plays Olivia), period music and instruments, handmade costumes and even Elizabethan fare being served to the audience. Later in the year, the production, directed by Tim Carroll, will run at the Globe (in repertory from 11 May to 27 September) as part of its annual summer season.
And starting in the spring, Globe Education will mark the anniversary with a special programme entitled "Shakespeare and the Lawyers". The education schedule - an eclectic mix of performances of rarely seen plays by Shakespeare's contemporaries, lectures and dialogues featuring distinguished academics, and study days in conjunction with Morley College - will explore the relationship of lawyers to the theatre in the 16th and 17th centuries.
In the case of Twelfth Night, the connection between the play and Middle Temple seems to be about family as well as law. Shakespeare's cousin, Thomas Greene, was a student at Middle Temple and went on to live with Shakespeare's family and become town clear of Stratford-upon-Avon. Shakespeare displays a keen knowledge of the law in his plays, with Twelfth Night featuring jokes that appear to refer to Middle Temple Hall itself. Some experts argue that the comedy was written specifically with the benches of the Middle Temple in mind.
In Shakespeare's day, the Hall served as the location for plays and pageants being performed for many of the Inn's great occasions - 2 February 1602 was one of those occasions. The members of Middle Temple Hall were celebrating Candlemas Day and the entertainment for the evening was the production of Twelfth Night.
The 2002 special Middle Temple season, which continues until 10 February, also launches a new Globe initiative to pursue opportunities for Globe actors to perform in Elizabethan venues across the country.
Tickets for Twelfth Night at the Hall sold out within two weeks of going on sale, but some return tickets (£55 each) are still available through the Globe box office on 020 7401 9919.
- by Terri Paddock
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