Seeing King Lear at the Globe Theatre marks my favorite memory of London so far. I’ve seen quite a few Shakespeare plays performed live, several by the actual Royal Shakespeare Company, but never a performance in England itself. And never while standing below the stage as a peasant!

Tickets for the covered seats ran about £15, but standing tickets were only £5. Peasants it was. We arrived in good time and snagged excellent spots literally right next to the stage – we could rest our elbows on it. A supporting pillar blocked some of the view, but being right next to the action was worth it. Occasionally we would feel the need to duck when an actor’s skirt or sword swung too close.


The play was magnificent. I’ve always loved King Lear, and seeing it brought to life by extraordinarily talented British actors thrilled me to my toes. David Calder was fantastic as Lear; he spends most of the play mad as a hatter and running around in his nightgown while rambling nonsensically, but his rise into sanity and sheer majesty at the end was wonderfully affecting. I have a strong memory from my college English Lit class of the professor discussing Shakespeare’s way with words and the incredibly powerful repetition of Lear’s anguished “Never . . . never . . . never . . . never” over the dead Cordelia. My professor’s brief reading of the line was enough to quiet my class; to see it performed in its full context and an entire crowd of several hundred people absolutely riveted and hushed into utter silence – there are no words.

The rest of the cast was just as impressive. Regan and Goneril were delightfully screechy and cunning, while Edgar’s Welsh accent only added to his charm. The riotous swordfight between Edgar and Edmund at the end was absolutely thrilling. It’s difficult to create a believable fight scene on a stage, and the production pulled it off brilliantly.

Standing like a peasant throughout the 3-hour play was….interesting. The novelty was really fascinating at first, but after awhile everything started to ache. At intermission we all flopped down on the ground, desperate to sit – and the play was only half over! Shakespeare’s words were beautiful, but at a certain point I began to wish Lear would quit monologuing and just get on with it.

Now, the center of the Globe Theatre is open to the sky; only the seats and most of the stage have any sort of roof. This being London, about 2/3 of the way through the play it began to rain. Of course. The rain slowly built in intensity with the acts onstage. Luckily for us, we were so close to the stage and its overhanging roof that we were mostly sheltered; we only got a bit damp while others in the crowd became soaked. Not a single person left, though. Even sopping wet, how could you ever want to miss a moment of Shakespeare?