For the second part of my Shakespeare-themed travels, we head down to London, where William spent most of his adult life.
Act II: London
“Shall we go see the relics of this town?”
Twelfth Night, Act III, Scene III
From around 1590 to 1613 Shakespeare worked as an actor, playwright, and theatre owner in the bustling capital of 200,000 people.
At first, he lived north of the river in St Helen’s parish, but soon crossed over the Thames to Southwark, London’s main ‘entertainment’ hub. Shakespeare lived on Silver Street with French immigrant hat-makers, whereas I stayed nearby with an old school friend.
The bear-baiting arena and brothels that made the area infamous in the Tudor period have been replaced by eye-wateringly expensive modern apartment buildings and trendy food markets. However, glimpses of the Southwark that Shakespeare walked through daily can still be seen around you.
“That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet”
Romeo and Juliet, Act II, Scene II
The first purpose-built theatre to show Shakespeare’s plays was The Rose, built on Maiden Lane (now Park Street). Built in 1587 by entrepreneurs Phillip Henslowe and John Cholmley, it regularly showed plays by celebrity playwright Christopher Marlowe. However, it wasn’t in use for that long, a newer playhouse The Globe (more on that below) became more popular and The Rose was dismantled in the 1600s.
The Rose is actually more famous now for its modern rediscovery and the subsequent effect on British archaeology and town planning. We lay our scene in 1989, when the site was up for redevelopment. During a two-month excavation, and to everyone’s amazement, two-thirds of the original wooden foundations were discovered. The 14-sided irregular polygonal structure was the first Shakespearean theatre to be excavated, so everyone expected an immediate stop to the construction and for the site to be saved.
However, a (not very merry) war then broke out between the government, the developers of the office block, the archaeologists, and Shakespeare fans including Judy Dench, Ian McKellan, Laurence Olivier and Dustin Hoffman. The contractors were under no legal obligation to do anything and the government didn’t want to pay compensation for halting the process. Under real threat of destruction, finally the office’s foundations were altered, so that The Rose’s remains could be viewed by the public and preserved under a layer of water to protect the timbers.
The subsequent bad publicity and embarrassment led to the UK Government’s introduction of PPG-16, a planning document that ensures archaeological work is a part of any new development. This may have been good news for the heritage industry, but the site today is still a massive anti-climax. It’s not obvious that you can visit, it’s all looking a bit shabby and the thousands of visitors that come this way every year must be disappointed. As King Lear said: “The shame itself doth speak for instant remedy”.
“All the world’s a stage”
As You Like It, Act II Scene VII
A few metres further down Park Street lie the remains of a much more famous theatre: The Globe. Shakespeare and a few of his acting mates bought the plot of land themselves and, using the timbers taken from another playhouse north of the river, constructed this new venue in 1599. Sadly, the thatched roof caught fire in 1613 during a performance of Shakespeare’s play Henry VIII (using cannons in a flammable building is NOT recommended). Quickly rebuilt the year later with a tiled roof, it was demolished in 1644 to be replaced with apartments, the new Puritan-led government having banned all theatre two years earlier anyway. Along with anything remotely fun in general.
If you want to see what the original would have looked like, you only have to walk 250 metres round the corner to Bankside. Shakespeare’s Globe is a dream made real by American actor and director Sam Wanamaker, after 20 years of hard work and extensive research. Opened in 1997, it’s a faithful two-story reconstruction of the original (with more fire exits thankfully) and still delights modern audiences who can get up close and personal with the actors, in an immersive experience that Shakespeare himself would probably have recognised.
“I can see a church by daylight”
Much Ado About Nothing, Act II, Scene I
While living in the neighbourhood, Shakespeare would have occasionally popped into his local place of worship: St Saviour’s Church, now called Southwark Cathedral. William’s brother Edmund is buried there, and a new stained-glass window commemorating The Bard’s life and works was installed in the 1950s (the Victorian original was destroyed during WWII bombings). The window features some of his famous characters, with an alabaster figure of Shakespeare lying underneath, literally. He’s shown reclining on his side, looking a bit bored with a sprig of rosemary in his hand in a ‘remembrance’ homage to his Hamlet.
I’d add more of my photos here, but in a tragedy worthy of the man himself, the cathedral was closed on the ONE DAY I decided to go. It’s a good excuse to come back next year, I’ll check the website beforehand though. Something Shakespeare never had to worry about before popping in.
“Would I were in an alehouse in London!”
Henry V, Act II, Scene III
As with all the best tours, we’re going to end our story in a pub.
Down a dark alley off Borough High Street sits The George: the only surviving galleried coaching inn in London. Rebuilt after a fire in 1676, it’s not the same building Shakespeare himself would have known, but he certainly frequented the previous medieval alehouse while living and working in the neighbourhood.
Pubs like this pop up in many of his works, and during the Elizabethan period it was usual for plays to be performed in tavern yards, with a hat passed around to collect the tips.
Sitting on the balcony of the upper gallery watching the crowd below enjoy a Saturday morning pint, I can imagine watching one of his plays right here. After a few beers, I could probably join in. Wherefore art thou Romeo? It’s your round, mate.
Next time: The town that witnessed Shakespeare’s birth, death and the beginning of the literary tourism industry: Stratford-upon-Avon.
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