Shakespeare’s Globe launches Globe Player, becoming the first theatre to
create its own dedicated video-on-demand platform
Tuesday 4 November 2014
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Films to include Twelfth Night with Mark Rylance and Stephen Fry, and Henry
IV parts 1 and 2 with Roger Allam.
Over 100 free ‘Muse of Fire’ interviews on Shakespeare with Dame Judi Dench,
Ewan McGregor, Sir Ian McKellen, Jude Law, Tom Hiddleston, Harold Bloom,
Bonnie Greer and many others.
Shakespeare’s Globe today launches Globe Player, a brand new online platform offering
full-length HD films of over 50 Shakespeare productions at the Globe to rent or buy.
Shakespeare’s Globe is the first theatre in the world to offer this kind of on-demand
platform for digital content. Every foreign-language production from the 2012 ‘Globe to
Globe’ festival of international Shakespeare has been made available on film for the first
time, alongside main productions from the 2012, 2011, 2010 and 2009 summer seasons, as
follows:
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2012: Twelfth Night starring Mark Rylance and Stephen Fry, Henry V starring Jamie
Parker and The Taming of the Shrew starring Samantha Spiro
2011: Marlowe’s Dr Faustus, Much Ado About Nothing starring Eve Best and All’s
Well That Ends Well with Janie Dee
2010: Henry IV parts 1 and 2 with Roger Allam and Jamie Parker and Henry VIII with
Miranda Raison
2009: As You Like It directed by Thea Sharrock, Love’s Labour’s Lost directed by
Dominic Dromgoole and Romeo & Juliet starring Ellie Kendrick
The main 2013 titles – The Tempest with Colin Morgan and Roger Allam, Dominic
Dromgoole’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Eve Best’s directorial debut Macbeth – will
be made available on Globe Player in the coming months. Last year’s touring productions of
the three Henry VI plays, directed by Nick Bagnall and live-streamed from Barnet battlefield
on The Space, are available now.
Dominic Dromgoole, Artistic Director of Shakespeare’s Globe, said: “Whether we’re
touring the world, inviting the world to the Globe, or being the first to experiment with low
ticket prices with our £5 groundling tickets, the Globe is always looking for bold new ways to
take Shakespeare out into the world and share his astonishing plays with as many people as
possible. Globe Player will allow us to reach brand new audiences and to make access to
our productions simple and seamless for anyone with the internet. We are delighted to be the
first theatre with its own dedicated video-on-demand platform.”
Globe Player will also host a wealth of material gathered by actors Dan Poole and Giles
Terera while making their extraordinary film Muse of Fire (Official Selection Seattle
International Film Festival 2014, Official Selection Raindance 2013). Dan and Giles travelled
the world in a clapped-out car, interviewing some of the world’s most famous and respected
actors, directors and academics in an epic effort to demystify and illuminate Shakespeare’s
work for everyone. For the first time, full-length footage of every single one of their
encounters – from Jude Law at Elsinore to Bonnie Greer in London, from Baz Lurhmann in
Hollywood to Mark Rylance in Stratford – will be made available for free. The films will be
released in batches on a fortnightly basis over the coming months.
Dan Poole and Giles Terera said: “We're thrilled that 'Muse Of Fire' has found the perfect
place to host and support our vast resource for future generations. Globe Player’s unique
and international functionality means we can ensure that the widest possible demographic of
people can enjoy these interviews – hopefully as much as we enjoyed shooting them. And of
course, being supported by Shakespeare's Globe and its incredible content and reputation is
absolutely perfect.”
Additional content currently hosted by, or soon to be added to, Globe Player includes dozens
of short films from the New York Shakespeare Exchange’s Sonnet Project and the featurelength documentary A Summer Hamlet.
ENDS
NOTES FOR EDITORS
For further information contact Emma Draper or Claudia Conway at Shakespeare’s Globe on
+44 (0) 20 7902 1491/1492 or email [email protected] /
[email protected]
Globe Player
Rentals: £2.99-£3.99
Purchases: £4.99-£7.99 (£9.99 for A Summer Hamlet)
The first batch of Muse of Fire interviews will be with Ewan McGregor, Judi Dench, Ian McKellen,
Ruth Negga, James Earl Jones, Fiona Shaw, Nicholas Hytner, Julie Taymor, Harold Bloom and
Michael Boyd. The remainder of the interviews will be released on a fortnightly basis over the
next few months.
Shakespeare’s Globe
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The Sam Wanamaker Playhouse: The new candlelit Jacobean theatre at
Shakespeare's Globe opened in January 2014. The Playhouse hosts concerts and other
events throughout the summer, with the main indoor theatre season running October to
April.
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Globe Education: Presenting a year-round programme of workshops, lectures, events,
Globe Education offers family theatre, UK and international outreach projects in schools
and for learning groups, Higher Education courses, pioneering digital resources and
cutting-edge research.
Globe Exhibition & Tour: Open to the public all year and explores the life of
Shakespeare, the London where he lived, and the theatre for which he wrote.
Globe On Tour: The Globe’s productions tour extensively in the UK and internationally.
Current tours include: King Lear, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and a production of
Hamlet that is travelling to every country in the world.
Globe On Screen: Shakespeare’s Globe began filming productions for DVD release in
2007, and for cinema release in 2009. This year’s cinema releases were The Tempest, A
Midsummer Night’s Dream and Macbeth, all captured ‘live’ in high definition.
Globe Shop: Stocks a variety of products, including theatre season-specific
merchandise. All profits go towards supporting our educational mission.
The Swan Bar and Restaurant and the Foyer Café Bar: Open all year round, for
reservations and more information please call 020 7928 9444 or visit loveswan.co.uk
The Shakespeare Globe Trust: Registered UK charity No. 266916. Shakespeare’s
Globe receives no regular public subsidy.
Qip Creative
The Globe Player was built by Qip Creative, a two-man digital agency comprising designer
George Shapter and developer Joe Robertson, both recent Cambridge graduates. Qip
Creative specialises in designing and developing innovative approaches to online shopping,
with a focus on brand and launch startups and other forward-thinking projects.
The Sonnet Project
The Sonnet Project is the brainchild of Ross Williams, Artistic Director of the New York
Shakespeare Exchange. After raising $50,000 on Kickstarter, the company embarked on an
extraordinary mission to film all 154 of Shakespeare’s sonnets, performed in 154 NYC
locations by 154 different actors. This simple premise has grown into a tapestry of cinematic
art that infuses the verbal poetry of Shakespeare with the visual poetry of New York City. The
project is still in progress – all existing films will be offered for free on the Globe Player, with
new films added as they are created.