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Globe spreads the Word of God... all 788,280 of them read out over 5 days
Dalya Alberge6 Dec 2010
Shakespeare's Globe Theatre has announced plans to read the Bible on stage in its entirety for the first time.
Up to 20 actors will take turns to recite the Old and New Testaments from start to finish. With a total of 788,280 spoken words, the reading will take an estimated 69 hours.
“As far as we can tell, we are the first theatre ever to have presented a full reading of the Bible,” said a spokesman for the theatre, in Southwark.
“We're starting on Palm Sunday and finishing on Easter Monday... simple, unstaged, and a rare opportunity to experience one of the most significant pieces of world literature in its entirety.”
The performance will celebrate the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible, the English translation published in 1611. Some 50 scholars chosen by the king created a unified Bible for England and a masterpiece of English literature.
Although it was “appointed to be read in churches”, religious services include only passages, the Globe spokesman said, adding that the marathon reading is an attempt to focus the ear on the words of one of the great achievements of English in a different setting.
The theatre's artistic director, Dominic Dromgoole, said: “We are celebrating the word, and man's capacity to make a god of language, and out of language.
“Listening to language was one of the great pleasures of life then. We've slightly lost the ability. We're asking people to retune into that.”
The late Colin Slee, Dean of Southwark, was enthusiastic about the plan, despite its focus on the Bible's non-ecclesiastical “thrilling stories, glorious imagery and incredible language”, Dromgoole said. “If people want to take a bit of God, of whatever religion they might be, they are welcome to do so.”
The actors have yet to be announced, but Dromgoole said: “It's about what is being said, rather than who's saying it.”
The National Theatre also plans to mark the 400th anniversary, with leading NT actors past and present reading from the Gospels and the first five books of the Old Testament.
A translation lost in the celebration
Commentary by David Sexton
The King James Bible is the most important book in our language, our literature and our history. Yet a poll recently suggested that more than half of 35-year-olds have never even heard of it.
So the many events planned to commemorate its 400th anniversary next year are surely to be welcomed. There's to be a day of the Bible on Radio 4, for example — 28 readings of 15 minutes each, making up seven hours in total. Some special stamps are being issued by the Royal Mail.
Yet having the whole text read out continuously on stage by actors over five days might not be the most appropriate way of celebrating the translation?
On the one hand, it accords with the Globe's project of inviting us to re-tune our ears, to hear the spoken word as it was heard in Shakespeare's day.
On the other, it negates the whole purpose of the printed book, which is to be available to us all always, anywhere, in our time, in whatever way we like to take it.
Perhaps even for the unbeliever, the Bible deserves extended study? If so, a nonstop recital can never be more than a daft stunt. And while it is genial of Dominic Dromgoole to say that people are welcome to get a bit of God out of this performance if they fancy it, such an approach may not produce the best impression.
In November 1944, stuck in Yugoslavia with the uncongenial Randolph Churchill, Evelyn Waugh bet him £10 that he could not read the Bible right through in a fortnight. He hoped it would keep him quiet. Instead, Waugh records in his diary, Randolph Churchill spent the time bouncing around in his chair with surprise, loudly exclaiming: “God, isn't God a s**t.”
Reader views (1)
I like the idea of the Bible being read out to an audience, I really do, but I also don’t think this article presents the Bible fairly.
Describing the Bible as “one of the most significant pieces of world literature” and emphasising it’s “thrilling stories, glorious imagery and incredible language” really makes it sound like an excellent children’s’ book much on a par with Grimm Fairy-tales.
A more faithful description might emphasise that it is a history book, describing events which are backed up by other historical records. Perhaps mentioning that the surviving translations we use are actually more accurate to the original document than copies of Homer’s Iliad.
The Bible is claimed to be the word of the Creator, that describes the reason why this world is so corrupted, and shows that there is a solution, one which is given freely to those who believe it. Most controversially perhaps, it claims that God himself cared so much about us that he became a human, lived on this earth, worked miracles, claimed he was God, was brutally killed, and came back to life!
Churches read small sections at a time so they can study it, appreciating its significance, its relevance in our society today, and learning how we can come back into relationship with God without striving to follow rules.
Due to these amazing claims, the Bible and Christianity surely deserves investigation and careful thought.
C.S.Lewis: "Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance"
- Prettylittlewilderness, Borough, London, 07/12/2010 00:31
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