SHAKESPEARE

Synopsis

The 2 CD set celebrates the Globe experience with musicians and actors of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, London.
Actors Liam Brennan, Tom Burke, John McEnery and Mark Rylance are featured in their performances as Romeo, Orsino, John of Gaunt and King Richard II. Also featuring material from Twelfth Night, Measure for Measure and Much Ado About Nothing with introductions in the original pronunciation of Shakespeare’s time. All music is played on period instruments and there are excerpts of live performances on the Globe stage.
Disc 1 - ‘The Play’s The Thing’ is a sampler and guide to ‘hearing at the Globe’ - audience and actor can be heard together in some rare recordings of live performances from the Globe stage itself.
Disc 2 - ‘Groundlings to Gods’ assembles a wide range of music from Shakespeare’s time. The collection reflects the hierarchy of Elizabethan and Jacobean society, which the Globe’s architecture itself embodies  - music of the gods, tears of the muses, fanfares for kings and princes, courtly dances, music for banquets, songs, exuberant jibs and bawdy entertainment for taverns and brothels.

Language

English

Country

Great Britain

Medium

Audio

Year of release

2006

Credits

Director

John Dove; Tamara Harvey; Tim Carroll; Timothy Walker

Producer

Martin Cotton

Editor

Andrew Mellor; Raphael Mouterde

Music

Claire van Kampen; Keith McGowan; William Lyons

Cast

John McEnery	John of Gaunt
Liam Brennan	Orsino, Duke of Illyria
Mark Rylance	Vincentio, Duke of Vienna
Mark Rylance	King Richard II
Peter Forbes	Playgoer Two
Philip Bird	Playgoer One
Tom Burke	Romeo

Additional Details

Theatre

Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre

Production type

Sound Recordings(Commercial)

Subjects

Drama; Music

Keywords

Elizabethan music; Shakespeare, William (1564-1616); theatre history; Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre; Elizabethan English

Notes

Notes

The double CD package features a 32-page full colour booklet with images from productions.
For a detailed list of contents see the Signum Classics website at http://www.signumrecords.com/catalogue/sigcd077/index.htm

General

From 1997 until 2005, the Globe company - led by Mark Rylance, the Globe’s first Artistic Director - created a specific body of work on the Globe stage called ‘Original Practices’ which explored hand-made, re-created Tudor and Jacobean clothing, period music, dance, crafts and settings. The exploration of Shakespearean pronunciation was added to this enquiry to give audiences a feel for the possible sound of speech in the original playhouse. These re-discovered techniques focus attention on the actor as story-teller and on the role of music, without the 20th century language of lighting, amplified sound and elaborate scenery. It is in celebration of the ‘Original Practices’ experiment at the Globe that this special album has been created.

History

The productions have been recorded at Rosslyn Hall Unitarian Chapel, All Saint’s Church, and the Shakespeare Globe Exhibition in London.

Reviews

"Cheering for Shakespeare?! Whooping at classical theatre?! Am I in the right place? I certainly am. .. this ‘original practices production’ - the costumes, music and so on are all Elizabethan - is Shakespeare as it should be: funny, lively, profound, surprising. The crowd roars its approval. I’m sure you will, too." Time Out

Production Company

Name

Signum Records Ltd.

Email

enquiries@signumrecords.com

Web

http://http://www.signumrecords.com/ External site opens in new window

Phone

Tel: +44 (0) 20 8997 4000

Fax

Fax: +44 (0) 20 8998 5767

Address

Suite 14 21 Wadsworth Road Perivale
Middlesex
UB6 7JD
United Kingdom

Distributor (Sale)

Name

Retail outlets