Shakespeare’s Globe announces new summer events in the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, featuring Julian Glover, Angela Hewitt, John Williams and Jonathan Pryce

Monday 16 March 2015

Shakespeare’s Globe is delighted to announce new music and spoken word events for summer 2015, as well as a series of Globe Outside In productions, in which Shakespeare productions from the outdoor theatre are brought into our intimate candlelit space for special limited runs.

On Sunday 24 May, one of Britain’s leading actors, Julian Glover, will interpret the Old English poem Beowulf for the candlelit stage. Embracing the oral tradition, Julian takes audiences on an epic journey with the warrior hero of the title as he slays demons and defends kingdoms. Glover has been staging his version of Beowulf for over 30 years; his appearance at the Playhouse will mark his final two performances. At the end of the second performance, Julian’s son Jamie Glover will join his father onstage, as the torch is passed to the next generation.

Between Friday 26 June and Monday 6 July, three actors and a small choir will present poet Nick Drake’s new exploration of Handel’s iconic Messiah and its difficult birth in All the Angels: Handel and the First Messiah. Exploring the relationships between Handel and his servant Peter le Blond, actor/contralto Susannah Cibber and librettist Charles Jennens, the show tells the story of how the most popular and acclaimed choral work in the world was first performed in a small pub in Chester.

Following the success of the Winter’s Tales, in which a series of celebrated actors read classic short stories by candlelight, Shakespeare’s Globe presents The Voice and the Echo, a series of evenings in which critically-acclaimed contemporary poets respond to the masterpieces of John Donne, George Herbert, William Blake and Gerard Manley Hopkins. The resultant blends of classic and modern poetry will be read by actors, accompanied by live music, on 29 August, 4 September, 5 September and 9 September.

The Sam Wanamaker Playhouse will also host a new series of Globe Outside In productions. Running from May to September, this year’s series will include: The Merchant of Venice starring Jonathan Pryce; As You Like It, directed by Blanche McIntyre, composed by Johnny Flynn and starring Michelle Terry; Richard II, directed by Simon Godwin and starring Charles Edwards; Measure for Measure, directed by Dominic Dromgoole; King John, starring Jo Stone-Fewings and Alex Waldmann; and the Globe On Tour production of Much Ado About Nothing.

Grammy Award-winning guitarist John Williams returns to the Playhouse for a six-evening concert series. John will work with a variety of internationally-acclaimed musicians including the iconic Ralph McTell, quintet Tir Eolas, baroque lutenist Robert Barto, and Paraguayan guitarist Berta Rojas, the Palestinian Duo Sabil, and Venezuelan harp virtuoso Carlos Orozco, to present concerts on selected dates between 5 and 21 June. The performances will feature guitars and other plucked string instruments from around the world, and a reinvention of last year’s astonishing Playhouse concert of the ‘Music of Mali’, this time with John joining Nigerian kora player Tunde Jegede, and South African guitarist Derek Gripper.

Internationally-renowned pianist Angela Hewitt will showcase highlights from her repertoire over four evenings in August, including her much-loved Bach ‘Goldberg Variations’, and a French-themed evening with soprano Dame Felicity Lott. She will also accompany a recital by Roger Allam of T.S. Eliot’s Four Quartets with music by Bach and Messiaen. Roger returns to the Globe following his starring role in last year’s The Tempest and his Olivier Award-winning turn as Falstaff in 2010’s Henry IV. His screen credits include The Iron Lady, The Queen, The Politician’s Husband and Parade’s End.

Over Easter Week, the Isango Ensemble will return to the Globe, following their triumphant Venus & Adonis during the Globe to Globe festival in 2012, with an intimate version of Mysteries, a re-working of the Fourteenth Chester Passion Plays. Encompassing the whole of the Bible from Creation to Last Judgment, Mysteries will be performed by a small group of choral singers in Xhosa, Zulu, English, Latin and Afrikaans over five evenings.

Monday 23 March: Iberian Nights: Sílvia Pérez Cruz

Sunday 29 March – Monday 6 April: Isango Ensemble: Mysteries

Saturday 9 May: Arcangelo with Iestyn Davies

Sunday 10 May: Janie Dee and Friends

Saturday 16 May: Outside In The Merchant of Venice

Friday 22 May: Julie Fowlis

Sunday 24 May: Julian Glover’s Beowulf

Wednesday 27 May: Outside In As You Like It

Saturday 13 June: Outside In King John

Tuesday 16 June: Outside In As You Like It

Friday 5 June: John Williams: Ralph McTell

Saturday 6 June: John Williams: Berta Rojas

Sunday 14 June: John Williams: Tir Eolas & Richard Harvey

Monday 15 June: John Williams: Carlos Orozco

Saturday 20 June: John Williams: Robert Barto & Duo Sabil

Sunday 21 June: John Williams: Derek Gripper & Tunde Jegede

Friday 26 June – Monday 6 July: All the Angels: Handel and the First Messiah

Monday 29 June: Outside In As You Like It

Sunday 12 – Monday 13 July: Aurora: Kreutzer vs. Kreutzer

Saturday 1 August: Angela Hewitt: Bach Goldberg Variations

Sunday 2 August: Arcangelo: Lachrimae with Anna Prohaska

Monday 3 August: Angela Hewitt: Four Quartets with Roger Allam

Saturday 8 August: Outside In Richard II

Sunday 9 August, 11am – 9.30pm: Shostakovich: The Complete Quartets, Carducci String Quartet

Sunday 16 August: Outside In Much Ado About Nothing

Sunday 23 – Monday 24 August: Angela Hewitt: An Evening of French Music

Tuesday 25 August: Outside In Richard II

Saturday 29 August: The Voice and the Echo: Donne

Friday 4 September: The Voice and the Echo: Herbert

Saturday 5 September: The Voice and the Echo: Blake

Wednesday 9 September: The Voice and the Echo: Hopkins

Sunday 13 – Monday 14 September: Alamire: Anne Boleyn’s Songbook

Tuesday 15 September: Outside In Measure for Measure

Sunday 20 September: Bjarte Eike & Baroksolistene: The Image of Melancholy

Monday 21 September: Bjarte Eike & Baroksolistene: The Alehouse

Thursday 24 September: Outside In Measure for Measure

Shakespeare’s Globe

Booking:

Phone               +44 (0) 20 7401 9919

In person          Mon-Sat 10am-6pm (8pm on performance days)

Sundays           10am-5pm (7pm on performance days)

Online               www.shakespearesglobe.com

Tickets               £5 – £43 (Globe Theatre) £10 – £60 (Sam Wanamaker Playhouse)

• The Sam Wanamaker Playhouse: The candlelit Jacobean theatre at Shakespeare’s Globe opened in January 2014. The Playhouse hosts concerts and other events throughout the summer, with the main indoor theatre season running October to April.

• Globe Education: Presenting a year-round programme of workshops, lectures, events, Globe Education offers family theatre, UK and international outreach projects in schools and for learning groups, Higher Education courses, pioneering digital resources and cutting-edge research.

• Globe Exhibition & Tour: Open to the public all year round, the Globe Exhibition and Tour explores the life of Shakespeare, the London where he lived, and the theatre for which he wrote.

• Globe On Tour: The Globe’s productions tour extensively in the UK and internationally. Current and forthcoming tours include: Much Ado About Nothing, Romeo & Juliet, King John and a production of Hamlet that is travelling to every country in the world.

• Globe Player: A brand new online platform offering full-length HD films of over 50 Shakespeare productions at the Globe to rent or buy.

• Globe On Screen: Shakespeare’s Globe returns to cinemas in early 2015, bringing 2014’s season of triumphs to cinemas worldwide. Globe On Screen 2015 features The Duchess of Malfi, Titus Andronicus, Antony and Cleopatra, Julius Caesar and The Comedy of Errors, all captured ‘live’ in high definition.

• Globe Shop: Stocks a variety of products, including theatre season-specific merchandise. All profits go towards supporting our educational mission.

• The Swan Bar and Restaurant and the Foyer Café Bar: Open all year round, for reservations and more information please call 020 7928 9444 or visit loveswan.co.uk

• The Shakespeare Globe Trust: Registered UK charity No. 266916. Shakespeare’s Globe receives no regular public subsidy.