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Camper van takes globe on tour
By Emily Parsons, Evening Standard 18.06.07
The blue VW camper van is a step up from the historic horse and cart
The van is lowered into the theatre
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Shakespeare's Globe Theatre is going on tour for the first time in 400 years - in a camper van.
Eight actors from the London theatre will travel across the country performing Romeo And Juliet. In Shakespeare's time, actors often toured, taking plays to country houses, inns and town halls throughout England.
Sometimes they were forced out of London by an outbreak of plague or by government bans; sometimes touring was simply a way to extend the life of a play.
Producers of this summer's performance decided to reintroduce the practice. Simon Magill, from the theatre, said: "The original days of the Globe Theatre touring were the life-blood of the company. Now seemed a good time to start that tradition again."
The actors - including Richard Madden and Ellie Piercy as the star-crossed lovers - will travel the country in a van, performing on a wooden stage temporarily erected alongside two doors in the side of the vehicle. Despite the modern twist the performance will emulate those of 400 years ago, with actors using the original scripts and wearing Elizabethan-style costume.
Mr Magill said: "The camper van will be very much integral to the performance - actors will change behind it, emerge from within it and the horn will beep to create the sound of a bell. There have been thousands upon thousands of different takes on Romeo And Juliet, so I think it is very hard to surprise people. It think it will go down very well."
The production will be on the road until the end of September at locations throughout the country.
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