Movie Response: Globe Theatre

The lure of live acting: Following the Author’s Original Intentions

 In the Globe Theatre’s production of Henry IV, the added drama shines through in live performance that is lost in film adaptation. One positive component seen in the theatre production is the characters appealing and adapting to the whims of the crowd. When staging a live show, there are no second chances when the production goes awry.

In addition, characters interact with the crowd, which spawns inclusion and interaction.

Most importantly, the comedy and drama of Shakespeare’s vision is carried out in a much more intended manner in an open-air theatre.

In this presentation of Henry IV, the up-front and personal aspect of theatre is no more present than in the comedy the characters exhibit, and the way they adapt to the crowds responses. Falstaff time and time again gives delivers a witty response to a prompt and proceeds to cast the crowd sheepish looks with a giant smirk upon his face. He does so to gauge the crowd’s response. Perhaps if they burst out laughing, he will pause a moment and smile back at the crowd to elicit another response before continuing. We also see the director’s interpretation of the play through this type of comedy. For instance, when Falstaff stops and begins to sniff, before realizing Bardolph is behind him, the crowd erupts with laughter. Even though this slight note is not written in Shakespeare’s original play, Falstaff plays of the audience’s enjoyment.

Another crucial piece of theatre found in this portrayal is the permanent, irreparable nature of on stage production. As the old theatrical proverb suggests “the show must go on.”  The susceptibility to slight mistakes adds to the drama of the show for the audience. In addition, it shows that no one is perfect which creates a humanistic quality for the actors that every person can relate to.

Throughout the play, the characters interact with the audience in different ways. Actors weave in and out of the crowd to enter and exit the stage. This puts every attendee directly in the middle of the action, which makes the show inclusionary and keeps the audience on their toes. In addition, actors bellow from far distances and all angles surrounding the spectators creating not only surprise and interest, but completes a three-hundred-and-sixty sensory perception for the onlookers.

Finally, and most importantly, the use of an open-air theatre creates a very time-relevant stage, mirroring what was most likely used when the play was unveiled. The expensive effects and props used by such film adaptations as the Hollow Crown’s version of Henry IV perhaps overplay the original intent of Shakespeare. At the time of the play’s creation a few old props, a small stage, and a few performers were all that was necessary to make Shakespeare’s work shine. This lean towards what might be the author’s original intentions in the Globe Theatre’s performance adds to the charm of the show.

So through impromptu acting, feedback from the audience, one-shot mentality of live shows, and the use of original intent, the Globe theatre brilliantly portrays Shakespeare’s Henry IV. Through these same points we see the exaggeration and monotony of a film adaptation of the same work.