10 plays in 10 days consecutively in 10 languages was like crazy- soaking up all that energy from the stage..was an amazingly enriching and such a rare experience. Thanks to London 2012 festival and World Shakespeare festival, of which, this Globe to Globe festival is a part. It was like the excitement of doing a Theatre marathon as part of the Cultural Olympiad! ;) It is such a one-of-a-kind, never-before event. After missing out the first 10 days of plays,could only manage to see 12 in total, though wanted to watch a dozen more, of all the 37 of Shakespeare's plays ( http://shakespeare.mit.edu/ ) each performed in a different language by a different theatre company, from around the world, except one english home-production. Many were with same stories adapted into local cultures.

Of the ones I watched, languages from the Indian subcontinent included Urdu(Pakistan), Gujarati, Bangla, Afghan-Persian. Missed the Hindi one. Other languages were Brazilian Portuguese, Castilian Spanish, German, French, Turkish, Hebrew, Lithuanian.. and there was even a language that I had never heard of before this event- Yoruba (Nigerian).

"ALL THE WORLD'S A STAGE!, And all the men and women merely players".
"The PLAY is The Thing!"-- But the language doesn't really matter;))
[The quotes, from 'As You Like It' and Hamlet]

There were comedies and tragedies.. But contrary to my expectation, what transfixed me with dramatic intensity was this historical play Henry VIII. It was such..an ABSOLUTELY RIVETING PERFORMANCE by the Queen Katherine & King Henry VIII in Castilian Spanish!.. during their divorce trial.

Former Queen, Catherine of Aragon(below, left), is woeful after Henry VIII divorced her,
and the King sired a child from his new queen Anne Boleyn(holding the baby), who was Catherine's former Maid-of-Honour.

Even without understanding dialogue delivery, with their energy, emoting and body language, and voice/modulation/volume..I was enraptured like most audience.. a few times I realised my facial muscles were twitching with the frown.. and those moments ( during short dialogue pauses) my eyes scanned through the audience on the opp side('tis a theatre with a 'well-like' strucutre!).. and saw many contorted faces.. those Spanish who were hit with the full force of the power of those words and emotions!

Couple of times I felt currents rushing down my nerves.. So it turned out to be a literally Hair-Raising performance!! ;).. At the end, the standing ovation went well past the customary 3-4times appearance of the cast, band and director.. to take the bow.. it went on and on.. The audience just stood and clapped until after they made the cast go back n return for bows at least 8 times!!

Antony &Cleopatra in TURKISH, performed by Oyun Atölyesi, troupe from Istanbul.
The Last scene, of Cleopatra's Death, as she lets an Egyptian cobra bite her breast.:)) (Q Q)

Meanwhile, the British Museum director, hosting an exhibition on London during Shakespeare's time, said about Shakespeare's time, "the exhibition would let us get into the heads of people in the theatres at that time.. 400 years ago people went to the playhouse to learn about the world".
I think that's very true for me as well ;)

It was a celebration of cultures from around the world as well, with the plays adapted to local settings - including the Maori..version of the play with the Trojan war background, 'Troilus & Cressida'

Some back-stage/rehearsal moments

Photo Slideshow of the12 Plays I watched from the Globe2Globe Series:

[Photography was NOT allowed. These are official photos released by the Shakespeare's Globe Theatre. I have collated them for my record]

..
Off-Stage Drama
There was some Off-stage drama as well:

JEWS 4 JUSTICE 4 PALESTINIANS..
& JEWS 4 BOYCOTTING ISRAELI GOODS !!

This passerby seemed as surprised as I was, to know there are such groups as well! ;)

This was part of the off-stage drama as Antonio, THE MERCHANT OF VENICE, and Shylock, the Jewish money lender who hated Antonio..&tried to take a Pound of his Flesh in return for the debt he couldn't repay.. played it out on stage with the romancing Bassanio and Portia.
Outside Shakespeare's Globe last evening b4 the staging of the play in Hebrew by Habima- National Theatre of Israel.
(Apparently estd in Moscow in 1905 aftr The Revolution &now settled in Tel Aviv)
There were 2 other groups of Palestine supporters with this gang, as another bunch shouted from other side of the street - The Zionists, saying NO TO BOYCOTT but YÉ to Peace talks..

During the play staged with unprecedented high-security ambience for a theatre, there were some shouting and slogans and unfurling flags inside, and those people young &old, jews & Brits, were removed immediately, some carried away by the spl 'Shows&Events' security personnel deployed.
Though the play started with an unusual introduction by Globe Theatre official saying these are only artistes and they should be respected, urging audience not to make it a political stage.
(Interestingly, there was also a Shakespeare play performed in Palestinian Arabic by Ashtar Theatre from Jerusalem/Ramallah, at the same venue 3 weeks back as part of the same Globe to Globe festival.)

Globe Theatre: Israeli play goes on despite protests

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-18242422

From Kabul to London Via Bangalore!!

This Kabul troupe ('Rah-E-Sabz', The Path of Hope) delighted n charmed the audience @Shakespear'sGlobe with L-O-L slapstick 'COMEDY OF ERRORS' in Dari Persian. Threats & troubled times forced them out of Kabul, to rehearse @Nrityagram in Bangalore! (Below). Photo from external news link:

" The journey from Kabul to Bengaluru hasn't been without incident either. Faced with threats and violence, the group hoped to find refuge and complete their rehearsals at the British Council in Kabul until it was bombed, leaving nine dead. A decision was then taken to move the rehearsals to Bengaluru. For most of the actors it was their first time in India although almost all of them understand (and some fluently speak) Hindi thanks to the popularity of Hindi films in Afghanistan."

(A maid in it sings part of the bollywood song "Jiski beewi moti..", mocking her lady ;)

Shakespeare's Afghan journey: Reclaiming their cultural heritage

http://gulfnews.com/news/world/afghanistan/shakespeare-s-afghan-journey-reclaiming-their-cultural-heritage-1.1016496

Shakespeare's Afghan journey to the Globe (Director Corinne Jaber- a French actress, explains why Shakespeare's Comedy of Errors is relevant to modern-day Afghanistan)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-17159224

+WorldShakespeare Festival: Around The Globe in 37 Plays http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2012/apr/20/world-shakespeare-festival-globe-theatre-rsc

Labels: Globe Theatre, London, Shakespeare, Theatre

[The Complete Play script is availabe at:
http://classics.mit.edu/Aristophanes/birds.html ]

{Found out about this Play, when checking the Etymology of "Cloud Cuckoo Land":

It is Loan translation of Greek Nephelokokkygia, from nephele (cloud) + kokkux (cuckoo). The word was coined in The Birds, a comedy by Athenian playwright Aristophanes (c. 450-388 BCE).Nephelokokkygia was the name of a city in the sky, to be built by the birds in collaboration with some Athenians.

It refers to an unrealistically idealistic state where everything is perfect. ("You're living in Cloud Cuckoo Land.") It hints that the person referred to is naïve, unaware of reality or deranged in holding such an optimistic belief.

}

The Owl depicted on a copy of the original Greek Amphora from Athens, 625BC.

(This was bought during the Greece trip, collecting historic/cultural artefacts with Birds)

The ancient city of Athens was named after the goddess Athena.

In Ancient Greece, Athena was goddess of both wisdom and warfare, and patron goddess/protector of the great city of Athens.

The owl is Athena's attribute or mascot. According to the mythology, Athena at times also took the very form of her owl. The owl species depicted on Athenian Owls is the 'Athene Noctua', also called the Little Owl or Minerva Owl

http://rg.ancients.info/owls/

The other side of the Amphora from 625BC,

depicting the the great Greek warrior, Achilles.

(Played by Brad Pitt in the movie Troy!, taking revenge of Hector in this scene;)

Intro, summary, overview from wiki:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Birds_(play)

The Birds (Greek: Ὄρνιθες Ornithes) is a comedy by the Ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes. It was performed in 414 BCE at the City Dionysia where it won second prize. It has been acclaimed by modern critics as a perfectly realized fantasy remarkable for its mimicry of birds and for the gaiety of its songs.

...

Quick overview: Pisthetaerus, a middle-aged Athenian, persuades the world's birds to create a new city in the sky, thereby gaining control over all communications between men and gods. He is miraculously transformed into a bird-like figure and, with the help of his friends, the birds, and with advice from Prometheus, he soon replaces Zeus as the pre-eminent power in the cosmos.

Summary: The play begins with two middle-aged men stumbling across a hillside wilderness, guided by a pet crow and a pet jackdaw. One of them advises the audience that they are fed up with life in Athens, where people do nothing all day but argue over laws, and they are looking for Tereus, a king who was once metamorphosed into the Hoopoe, for they believe he might help them find a better life somewhere else.

...

{Note: EPOPS the bird is one main character. Latin/scientific name of Hoopoe is 'Upupa Epops'. Upupa refers to the common call of the bird, "OopOopOop", and Epops might have been taken from its Greek name! ;) }

The current €1 coin minted in Greece,

which incorporates the design of the ancient Classical Owls tetradrachm

(first introduced c. 478 BC.)

http://rg.ancients.info/owls/

Athenian Owls, thick, heavy, high-relief silver coins

minted more than 2,000 years ago,

were arguably the most influential of all coins.

The Scene, in which "The Chorus of Birds" is addressing the audience:..

The birds are completely won over and urge the Athenians to lead them in their war against the usurping gods. The clever one then introduces himself as Pisthetaerus (which can be translated to mean "Mr. Trusting"/Trustyfriend) and his companion is introduced as Euelpides (which can be translated to mean "Mr. Hopeful"/Goodhope). They retire to the Hoopoe's bower to chew on a magical root that will transform them into birds. Meanwhile the Nightingale emerges from her hiding place and reveals herself as an enchantingly feminine figure. She presides over the Chorus of birds while they address the audience in a conventional parabasis:

[The following text, part of the play script which I found the most interesting,

is taken from http://classics.mit.edu/Aristophanes/birds.html ]

EPOPS

Let us go in.

PITHETAERUS

Lead the way, and may success attend us.

EPOPS goes into the thicket, followed by PITHETAERUS and EUELPIDES.

CHORUS singing

Lovable golden bird, whom I cherish above all others, you, whom I associate with all my songs, nightingale, you have come, you have come, to show yourself to me and to charm me with your notes. Come, you, who play spring melodies upon the harmonious flute, lead off our anapests.

The CHORUS turns and faces the audience.

LEADER OF THE CHORUS

Weak mortals, chained to the earth, creatures of clay as frail as the foliage of the woods, you unfortunate race, whose life is but darkness, as unreal as a shadow, the illusion of a dream, hearken to us, who are immortal beings, ethereal, ever young and occupied with eternal thoughts, for we shall teach you about all celestial matters; you shall know thoroughly what is the nature of the birds, what the origin of the gods, of the rivers, of Erebus, and Chaos; thanks to us, even Prodicus will envy you your knowledge.

At the beginning there was only Chaos, Night, dark Erebus, and deep Tartarus. Earth, the air and heaven had no existence. Firstly, black-winged Night laid a germless egg in the bosom of the infinite deeps of Erebus, and from this, after the revolution of long ages, sprang the graceful Eros with his glittering golden wings, swift as the whirlwinds of the tempest. He mated in deep Tartarus with dark Chaos, winged like himself, and thus hatched forth our race, which was the first to see the light. That of the Immortals did not exist until Eros had brought together all the ingredients of the world, and from their marriage Heaven, Ocean, Earth and the imperishablerace of blessed gods sprang into being. Thus our origin is very much older than that of the dwellers in Olympus. We are the offspring of Eros; there are a thousand proofs to show it. We have wings and we lend assistance to lovers. How many handsome youths, who had sworn to remain insensible, have opened their thighs because of our power and have yielded themselves to their lovers when almost at the end of their youth, being led away by the gift of a quail, a waterfowl, a goose, or a cock.

And what important services do not the birds render to mortals! First of all, they mark the seasons for them, springtime, winter, and autumn. Does the screaming crane migrate to Libya,-it warns the husbandman to sow, the pilot to take his ease beside his tiller hung up in his dwelling, and Orestes to weave a tunic, so that the rigorous cold may not drive him any more to strip other folk. When the kite reappears, he tells of the return of spring and of the period when the fleece of the sheep must be clipped. Is the swallow in sight? All hasten to sell their warm tunic and to buy some light clothing. We are your Ammon, Delphi, Dodona, your Phoebus Apollo. Before undertaking anything, whether a business transaction, a marriage, or the purchase of food, you consult the birds by reading the omens, and you give this name of omen to all signs that tell of the future. With you a word is an omen, you call a sneeze an omen, a meeting an omen, an unknown sound an omen, a slave or an ass an omen. Is it not clear that we are a prophetic Apollo to you?

More and more rapidly from here on.

If you recognize us as gods, we shall be your divining Muses, through us you will know the winds and the seasons, summer, winter, and the temperate months. We shall not withdraw ourselves to the highest clouds like Zeus, but shall be among you and shall give to you and to your children and the children of your children, health and wealth, long life, peace, youth, laughter, songs and feasts; in short, you will all be so well off, that you will be weary and cloyed with enjoyment.

FIRST SEMI-CHORUS singing

Oh, rustic Muse of such varied note, tiotiotiotiotiotinx, I sing with you in the groves and on the mountain tops, tiotiotiotinx. I poured forth sacred strains from my golden throat in honour of the god Pan, tiotiotiotinx, from the top of the thickly leaved ash, and my voice mingles with the mighty choirs who extol Cybele on the mountain tops, totototototototototinx. 'Tis to our concerts that Phrynichus comes to pillage like a bee the ambrosia of his songs, the sweetness of which so charms the ear, tiotiotiotinx.

LEADER OF FIRST SEMI-CHORUS

If there is one of you spectators who wishes to spend the rest of his life quietly among the birds, let him come to us. All that is disgraceful and forbidden by law on earth is on the contrary honourable among us, the birds. For instance, among you it's a crime to beat your father, but with us it's an estimable deed; it's considered fine to run straight at your father and hit him, saying, "Come, lift your spur if you want to fight." The runaway slave, whom you brand, is only a spotted francolin with us. Are you Phrygian like Spintharus? Among us you would be the Phrygian bird, the goldfinch, of the race of Philemon. Are you a slave and a Carian likeExecestides? Among us you can create yourself fore-fathers; you can always find relations. Does the son of Pisias want to betray the gates of the city to the foe? Let him become a partridge, the fitting offspring of his father; among us there is no shame in escaping as cleverly as a partridge.

SECOND SEMI-CHORUS singing

So the swans on the banks of the Hebrus, tiotiotiotiotiotinx, mingle their voices to serenade Apollo, tiotiotiotinx, flapping their wings the while, tiotiotiotinx; their notes reach beyond the clouds of heaven; they startle the various tribes of the beasts; a windles sky calms the waves, totototototototototinx; all Olympus resounds, and astonishment seizes its rulers; the Olympian graces and Muses cry aloud the strain, tiotiotiotinx.

LEADER OF SECOND SEMI-CHORUS

There is nothing more useful nor more pleasant than to have wings. To begin with, just let us suppose a spectator to be dying withhunger and to be weary of the choruses of the tragic poets; if he were winged, he would fly off, go home to dine and come back with his stomach filled. Some Patroclides, needing to take a crap, would not have to spill it out on his cloak, but could fly off, satisfy his requirements, let a few farts and, having recovered his breath, return. If one of you, it matters not who, had adulterous relations and saw the husband of his mistress in the seats of the senators, he might stretch his wings, fly to her, and, having laid her, resume his place. Is it not the most priceless gift of all, to be winged? Look at Diitrephes! His wings were only wicker-work ones, and yet he got himself chosen Phylarch and then Hipparch; from being nobody, he has risen to be famous; he's now the finest gilded cock of histribe.

PITHETAERUS and EUELPIDES return; they now have wings.

----x----

Photos of Roman mosaic flooring with birds, from Italica (founded in 206BC) near Seville, Spain, taken during the 2007 trip