When people think of Shakespeare?s Globe on Backside in London, the summer theatre season with visions of Artistic Director Mark Rylance on the stage usually spring to mind. (This summer, theatregoers will be able to see Mark don the clothes of Olivia in Shakespeare?s Twelfth Night.) And while the theatre is a critical component of Shakespeare?s Globe, there is much more to this educational charity dedicated to the exploration of Shakespeare?s work and the playhouse for which he wrote, says Jennifer Hartley.
The theatre has a vibrant education department, Globe Education, where over 50,000 students a year come through its doors for programmes and workshops. There is Shakespeare?s Globe Exhibition, the largest exhibition of its kind dedicated to Shakespeare, located beneath the Theatre, where every aspect of Shakespeare?s work is brought to life. And then there is the gift shop.
The theatre does not receive any annual government subsidy and relies on its own activities to meet its budget requirements. With annual revenues of £1.5m, the Globe Shop, with over 30,000 visitors a year, assists in meeting these financial obligations. All merchandising in the shop is representative of the mission of the theatre: to celebrate Shakespeare and the fact that he lived and worked on Bankside, London. And through its range of merchandise, it aims to increase the understanding and enjoyment of
Shakespeare in performance.
Where at all possible, the goods are unique and relevant to the Globe. Furthermore, it endeavours to play a role in preserving Elizabethan and Jacobean skills and does its utmost to engage craftspeople who use these techniques in their art. Showcasing British talent, craftspeople from across the UK are appointed to create handcrafted items, such as pewter Elizabethan spoons, ceramic candlesticks and other wares as well as glass and leather goods.
The Globe Shop also has a wide variety of items designed specifically to commemorate a visit to the Globe. Some of the more popular items include the Globe Exhibition and Theatre guide books, postcards, mugs, cuff links, t-shirts, stationery, puzzles, CDs with music composed for Globe productions by its Master of Music Claire van Kampen, and of course, posters from the theatre season. There is even a poster with expressions penned by Shakespeare that might surprise even the most scholarly of academics.
The shop carries an extensive selection of resource materials for primary and secondary students and teachers as well as books for more advanced Shakespearean scholars. And for those die-hard fans, there is the opportunity to purchase rare period books, such as a copy of The Fourth Folio published in 1685, which includes all of Shakespeare?s plays, or a copy of an obscure, 17th century version of King Lear with a happy ending. (Proceeds of these sales assist the development of the Globe?s Library.)
Anniversaries provide the gift shop with the unique opportunity to produce special commemorative souvenirs. For example, 2002 marks the 400th anniversary of the first recorded performance of Twelfth Night. And for this particular anniversary, we have commissioned the creation of speciality items including silk wraps, silk stoles, handcast pewter items, gold earrings, and Tudor goblets, to name only a few examples.
And so, overall, it is the hope of Shakespeare?s Globe that items purchased will help remind visitors of the Globe experience and assist in the quest for a better understanding of Shakespeare, his works, the London in which he worked and lived, and his theatre. That, in the words of that dramatic poet of Bankside, is the long and short of it.
Jennifer Hartley is Marketing Manager at Shakespeare?s Globe. e: jennifer@shakespearesglobe.com; t: 020 7902 1500