FROM A CINEMA IN BAKU TO THE GLOBUS IN LONDON

With the coming of autumn, the cinemas of Baku start broadcasting shows from The Globus in London. Theatre HD makes it possible to watch the best theatrical performances in the world, including Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in London, which the fans of theatrical art watched from Baku in 2015, as well as the productions nominated for the leading Russian theatre prize Golden Mask. At that time, Theatre HD was broadcast at the Nizami cinema. Currently you can watch the shows at the Flame Towers, where Shakespeare's one of the most entertaining plays (Much ado about nothing) was shown.

The plot

Don Pedro, Prince of Aragon, returns to Messina, a city in Sicily, after a battle. In Shakespeare’s time, Aragon was a kingdom, currently being a Spanish region bordering France. With him, return his friends and relatives. One of them is an odious and envious person, Don John, brother of the prince. John hates his brother’s entourage and is ready to do any dirty tricks just to make things unpleasant for him. The subjects of his treacherous plans are the young and noble count Claudio of Florence and Hero, the daughter of the governor of Messina. They are in love and prepare to their wedding. John spreads a gossip that Hero is impure. A terrible shame and a crime for those times! This is when the prince's companion Benedict and Don Leonato’s niece Beatrice come forward. According to the playwright, they must expose the gossipers. This brings them closer together. In addition, they both have a sharp mind and an excellent sense of humour, which always make the audience laugh forcing it to follow the development of their relationship with interest. The story ends happily with the evil punished, justice restored, and the lovers married.

Performance

Screening is a great opportunity for those who cannot afford a trip to London to watch the show live at Shakespeare's Globe, or just to see the theatre itself, which is absolutely different in design from the traditional Aristotelian box shape common for European theatres. But more on that later. Let us go back to the play.

The landlord, Don Leonato, and his daughter Hero are played by black actors while the characters of Leonato’s brother Antonio and his niece Beatrice are Europeans. The age is not a limit here. Traditionally, in our theatres, young characters are played by actors of almost the same age. Therefore, this unusual casting approach of the English theatre may look a bit odd and keep our audience in state of tension. Beatrice looks over forty, as if there was no younger actress in the troupe. In addition, Eve Best playing Beatrice is far from being called beautiful. Well, Shakespeare’s Beatrice was not beautiful either. Instead, she was a wit type of a person. This is an important component of the plot. Benedict (Charles Edwardson) is about the same age as well. Both characters are much older than Hero and Claudio. At first glance, age discrepancies between the actors and characters is not only surprising but also a bit annoying. One wishes to see young and certainly beautiful actors because of dominant stereotypes. Beatrice, who constantly wraps a mottled kerchief around her head like a typical Caucasian woman to get rid of the irritating modern haircut, initially looks pitiful as an old maid with a foolish character. But we know that the stereotypes exist to destroy them! After a while, you do not care about the age of actors and their irritating looks. Their professionalism and masterful performance calls for admiration and delight. This is true for all the actors of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, no matter which characters they play – leading roles or cameos. Even the audience in the back rows feels the spirit of the play on stage. In addition, the actors of the Globe do not resort to "tricking" to attract the attention of the audience, and they do not disguise their inadequacy under props or decorations. Here you easily understand that an actor is not just about an action of running, jumping or somersaulting. After all, words are more effective! Actors touch our hearts with words. They are persuasive and sincere in their feelings, emotions and thoughts. The state of mind and soul of each character is the main thing that director Jeremy Herrin focuses on. Therefore, the mise-en-scenes, which at first seem flat and casual, gradually become organic within this unusual scenic space.

About the features of the theatre device

Currently, the Globe Theatre on Thames is the third incarnation of the former building reconstructed in 1989. It is much smaller than the one hosting the original company of actors better known as the Lord Chamberlain’s Men. The first theatre building accommodated three thousand spectators while today only 1,300. Today's Globe is an open-air theatre; the only closed roof of the amphitheatre is the stage and the seats. During the winter, it becomes a training spot for students and touristic attraction. As before (this is an indispensable condition), the standing places around the stage remain. There are seven hundred of them, and each costs five pounds. The people standing closer to the scene become sort of accomplices in the action! They can even get in touch with actors. For example, the emotionally evocative character of Eve Best, kneeling in front of the audience, talks about her feelings to Hero. This is not just a story telling. This involves the audience in action. Finally, she chooses a "victim" from the front standing and holding her hands confesses the same story in tears. Now they experience the grief together spreading the emotional wave over the audience. This open trick designed to involve the audience in action distinguishes the Globe from the conditional Aristotelian theatres allowing the actors physical interaction with the audience, the co-creators of the same scenic story. There is nothing between the actors and audience except for a low platform. No curtains, as before, but there are hatches used both for the passage of actors under the stage and various technical tricks such burning lights and a water-pool effect.

Historical features of the theatre remain unchanged as well: all performances are staged in the daytime because the theatre has no roof above the stage. Therefore, one can watch the performances only from April to October. But if we are not going to travel to London in the near future to walk along the Thames and visit the Globe, then we can watch the performances at cinema in Baku...