A Midsummer Night’s Dream
The Taming of the Shrew
Macbeth
946 The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips
Imogen
The Merchant of Venice
The Two Gentlemen of Verona
The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk
Wonder won.der
(n.) a feeling of amazement and admiration, caused by something beautiful, remarkable, or unfamiliar
B
eing childlike is underrated. It takes commitment. A commitment to try and see everything for the first time, to
approach people and situations with an open mind, and to create theatre as if every story is freshly born in that
moment. I am not talking about being childish; seeing the world through a simple lens or trying to hold onto
some romantic idea of innocence. No, I am describing something far more essential. The preservation of wonder.
Wonder is the natural territory of the child. Not in an airbrushed, happily-ever-after way, but in a way that reflects a
deep and immediate relationship to the people we meet and the things that happen to us. This ‘wonder’ reveals the
world in its truest and most surprising form and glows at the heart of why we make theatre. It is one of my favourite,
and most consistent notes to actors, several weeks into a long run when the show is purring like clockwork, laughs
are landing and timings are stable… “Everything for the first time!” I exclaim. There is no beauty in perfection and I
urge my theatrical heroes to trip themselves up and dive into the emotions and dilemmas afresh without a thought
for what they think they know. This ‘wonder’, this ability to reset on a daily, nightly, even hourly basis is where the
power of theatre lies. Writers, actors, directors and audiences alike choose to join this temporary community and
gasp with childlike wonder as these stories unfold. We willingly give ourselves up to new worlds and slip our feet
into the shoes of others. This collective act of ‘wonder’ is an act of such bravery, such empathy and such generosity
that it creates an army of humanity, bonded by a shared experience and a unique event.
And so, as I take the reins of this wooden ‘O’, I know that there is no better home for this army of humanity.
This radical building holds us in a warm grip and doesn’t let go until the jig is jigged. Shakespeare’s Globe
demands wonder at its best. It demands that you look from the stage to the sky and feel the heartbeat of the
fellow adventurers around you as you see some of the greatest stories, hear some of the greatest words and
experience some of the greatest emotions that this life has to offer.
I thank the stars in the London sky for giving me custody of this precious space and hope that my first season
will inspire joy, sorrow, fear and laughter in equal, glorious, wonderful, childlike measure as we all choose to
get lost in the woods together.
Emma Rice, Artistic Director Designate
M
y! The woods outside Athens are a busy place on this
magical night! Four runaway lovers find themselves
smack bang in the middle of a dispute between the
King and Queen of the fairies, and, as if that wasn’t enough, a
troupe of amateur actors are trying to rehearse a play. Between
these unlikely groups flies Puck, armed only with a wicked
sense of humour and a love potion capable of making anyone
fall for the first person they set eyes upon. What could possibly
go wrong?
Director
Emma Rice
Fusing music, dance and some serious comedy, Emma Rice’s
first production as Artistic Director brings the Dream crashing
into the Globe’s magical setting. Naughty, tender, transgressive
and surprising, it promises to be a festival of theatre.
Composer
Stu Barker
Let the joy begin!
Sound Designer
Simon Baker
‘Gentles, perchance you wonder at this show.
But wonder on, till ’truth make all things plain.'
Dramaturg
Tanika Gupta
Set Designer
Börkur Jónsson
Costume Designer
Moritz Junge
Choreographers
Etta Murfitt & Emma Rice
Performing in the
Globe Theatre
30 April – 11 September 2016
T
wo sisters are being married off. Bianca is hell-bent on
it and can’t wait to fly the nest. Kate, on the other hand,
balks at the thought of losing her independence and
struggles to think of anything worse. That’s all well and good,
but Kate has to marry first for Bianca to be allowed. And whilst
Bianca has no shortage of offers, who will get hitched to Kate,
the fabulous and ungovernable shrew? Perhaps Petruchio
might take her on for a bet: he’s a bit of a gold-digger and
as wild and rebellious as our Kate...
Director
Caroline Byrne
Set Designer
Chiara Stephenson
Composer
Olly Fox
Losing none of its power to provoke and sometimes outrage,
Shakespeare’s controversial double-act gets a thoroughly fresh,
fast and distinctly Irish makeover.
‘’Tis a wonder, by your leave, she will be tam’d so.’
Performing in the
Globe Theatre
13 May – 6 August 2016
O
n a barren heath, three sisters tell the great and
bloodied Macbeth that he is fated to be King of
Scotland. And so begins a terrifying series of events
that lead to the murder of Kings, friends, mothers and their
children. Macbeth and his Lady fall prey to a soul-corroding
guilt as they desperately try and cling to the defiled crown.
Director
Iqbal Khan
Set & Lighting Designer
Ciaran Bagnall
The title role is Shakespeare’s most brutal and poetic creation
and the play his most unsettling engagement with the
supra-natural and the nature of evil.
Enter the unique intensity of the Globe as this cycle of
wondrous horrors captures our imagination once again...
‘Can such things be
And overcome us like a summer’s cloud,
Without our special wonder?’
Performing in the
Globe Theatre
18 June – 1 October 2016
Shakespeare’s Cymbeline is renamed, reclaimed and
refocused in this modern and visceral new production
I
mogen, daughter of Cymbeline, enrages her father by
marrying against his will. Lies are then told about Imogen
to her husband, Posthumous, and he decides she should die.
In an urban world that is as strange, erotic and violent as
Shakespeare’s ancient Britain, Imogen is forced to re-imagine
herself as she fights for the life she deserves and not the one
that is being determined for her.
Imogen is an achingly beautiful story of lovers and families
being re-united after violent and harrowing separation, and a
tale for our times vividly told in this brutally modern production.
Director
Matthew Dunster
Designer
Jon Bausor
Choreographer
Charlotte Broom
Lighting Designer
Lee Curran
Sound Designer
George Dennis
Matthew Dunster is Associate Director at Shakespeare’s Globe.
His previous Globe productions include The Frontline (2008 and
2009), Troilus and Cressida (2009), Doctor Faustus (2011) and
The Lightning Child (2013).
‘Whilst I am bound to wonder, I am bound
To pity too.’
Performing in the
Globe Theatre
17 September – 16 October 2016
V
alentine loves Silvia and Proteus loves Julia – but
Proteus is fickle and falls for Silvia too. When Valentine
plots an elopement, Proteus betrays him and Valentine
is banished and joins some outlaws in the forest. What are the
chances that he’ll be pursued by Silvia, and Silvia by Proteus,
and Proteus by Julia, and that all will be waited upon – after
a fashion – by their servants Speed and Launce and even
Launce’s dog, Crab?
Director
Nick Bagnall
This riotous new touring production is led by a joyful ensemble
of players who will delight with songs, romance and chaos, and
hurl Shakespeare’s anarchic comedy into the 21st century.
Nick Bagnall’s previous productions at Shakespeare’s Globe
include Henry VI: Parts I, II and III (2013), The Last Days of Troy
(2014), Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (2014) and The Odyssey:
Missing, Presumed Dead (2015).
Performing in the
Sam Wanamaker Playhouse
20 September – 1 October 2016
‘Please you, I’ll tell you as we pass along,
That you will wonder what hath fortuned.’
and on tour around the UK
Please check website
for tour information
Illustration by Daryl Waller
P
erhaps you’ve seen them floating over a Russian village?
Or perhaps you’ve seen her toppling forward, arms
full of wild flowers, as he arches above her head and
steals a kiss?
Written by
Daniel Jamieson
Meet Marc and Bella Chagall – The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk!
Partners in life and on canvas, Marc and Bella are immortalised
as the picture of romance. But whilst on canvas they flew, in
life they walked through some of the most devastating times
in history.
Designer
Sophia Clist
Daniel Jamieson’s The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk traces this
young couple as they navigate the Pogroms, the Russian
Revolution, and each other. This magical production is drawn
in a theatrical language as fluid as Chagall’s paintings, and
woven throughout with music and dance inspired by the
Russian Jewish tradition.
‘In our life there is a single colour, as on an
artist’s palette, which provides the meaning
of life and art. It is the colour of love.’ Marc Chagall
Director
Emma Rice
Lighting Designer
Malcolm Rippeth
Musical Director
Ian Ross
Sound Designer
Simon Baker
Presented by
Kneehigh and Bristol Old Vic
Performing in the
Sam Wanamaker Playhouse
16 June – 2 July 2016
Original cast photo by Steve Tanner
in association with
Birmingham Repertory Theatre
and Berkeley Repertory Theatre
I
magine being told to leave your home…
Imagine American soldiers occupying your house and land…
Imagine being 12 and angry, with only a cat to tell your
secrets to…
Adapted by
Michael Morpurgo & Emma Rice
Well it all happened (most of it anyway) in Slapton Sands, Devon,
in 1944. Based on Michael Morpurgo’s novel The Amazing Story
of Adolphus Tips, 946 explodes everything we thought we knew
about the D-Day landings, using music, puppetry and foolishness
to tell this tale of war, prejudice and love.
Composer
Stu Barker
Tender, political and surprisingly romantic, this story speaks
to us all and finally reveals the secrets the US and British
governments tried to keep quiet.
Designer
Lez Brotherston
Shakespeare’s Globe brings Emma Rice’s triumphant
Kneehigh show for families to London for the first time.
946 is co-adapted by Michael Morpurgo, one of the UK’s
most loved and successful authors whose work includes
War Horse, Kensuke’s Kingdom and Private Peaceful.
‘Enthralling’
The Stage
‘A wonderfully life-affirming
piece of theatre’
The Times
Director
Emma Rice
Musical Director
Ian Ross
Lighting Designer
Malcolm Rippeth
Sound Designer
Simon Baker
Choreographers
Etta Murfitt & Emma Rice
Performing in the
Globe Theatre
11 August – 11 September 2016
‘Wonderful’
Photo by Manuel Harlan
The Observer
I
n Venice, the epicentre of consumption, speculation and
debt, Bassanio borrows money from his friend Antonio to
finance his attempt to win the hand of Portia, a wealthy
heiress. Antonio, in turn, takes out a loan from the moneylender
Shylock. The loan will be repaid when Antonio’s ships return
to the city. But if they should fail, and the money cannot be
repaid, Antonio shall give to Shylock a pound of his own flesh.
And they do fail. And Shylock will have his ‘bond’.
Director
Jonathan Munby
Designer
Mike Britton
Composer
Jules Maxwell
In some of his most highly-charged scenes, Shakespeare
dramatizes the competing claims of tolerance and intolerance,
justice and mercy, while in the character of Shylock he created
one of the most memorable outsiders in all theatre. A revival of the
thrilling 2015 Globe production with Jonathan Pryce as Shylock.
‘A finely balanced, intelligent production’
The Times
‘Jonathan Pryce is
electrifyingly good’
Time Out
‘The Globe at its best’
The Mail on Sunday
Performing in the
Globe Theatre
4 – 15 October 2016
and on a national &
international tour
Please check website
for tour information
‘O, wonder!
How many goodly creatures are there here!
How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world,
That has such people in’t!’
The Tempest, Act V, scene 1
#WonderSeason
Artworks by Dan Hillier