ENTERTAINMENT IN LONDON - London 2015 - page 705

The play's the thing from late April through early October (usually Tue-Sat 14:00 and
19:30, Sun either 13:00 and/or 18:30, tickets can be sold out months in advance). You'll
pay £ 5 to stand and £ 15-39 to sit, usually on a backless bench. Because only a few rows
and the pricier Gentlemen's Rooms have seats with backs, £ 1 cushions and £ 3 add-on
backrests are considered a good investment by many. Dress for the weather.
The £ 5 “groundling” tickets—which are open to rain—are most fun. Scurry in early
to stake out a spot on the stage's edge, where the most interaction with the actors occurs.
You're a crude peasant. You can lean your elbows on the stage, munch a picnic dinner
(yes, you can bring in food), or walk around. I've never enjoyed Shakespeare as much as
here, performed as it was meant to be in the “wooden O.” If you can't get a ticket, con-
sider waiting around. Plays can be long, and many groundlings leave before the end. Hang
around outside and beg or buy a ticket from someone leaving early (groundlings are al-
lowed to come and go). A few non-Shakespeare plays are also presented each year. If you
can't attend a show, you can take a guided tour of the theater and museum by day (see
here ).
The new indoor Sam Wanamaker Playhouse allows Shakespearean-era plays and
early-music concerts to be performed through the winter. Many of the productions in this
intimate venue are one-offs and can be quite pricey.
To reserve tickets for plays at the Globe or Sam Wanamaker, call or drop by the box
office (Mon-Sat 10:00-18:00, Sun 10:00-17:00, open one hour later on performance days,
New Globe Walk entrance, no extra charge to book by phone, tel. [phone]). You
can also reserve online ( www.shakespearesglobe.com , £ 2.50 booking fee). If the tickets
are sold out, don't despair; a few often free up at the last minute. Try calling around noon
the day of the performance to see if the box office expects any returned tickets. If so,
they'll advise you to show up a little more than an hour before the show, when these tick-
ets are sold (first-come, first-served).
The theater is on the South Bank, directly across the Thames over the Millennium
Bridge from St. Paul's Cathedral (Tube: Mansion House or London Bridge). The Globe
is inconvenient for public transport, but the courtesy phone in the lobby lets you get a
minicab in minutes. (These minicabs have set fees—e.g., £ 8 to South Kensington—but
generally cost less than a metered cab and provide fine and honest service.) During theater
season, there's a regular supply of black cabs outside the main foyer on New Globe Walk.
Outdoor Theater in Summer: Enjoy Shakespearean drama and other plays under
the stars at the Open Air Theatre, in leafy Regent's Park in north London. Food is allowed:
You can bring your own picnic, order à la carte from the theater menu, or preorder a
picnic supper from the theater at least 48 hours in advance (season runs late May-mid-
Sept, tickets available beginning in mid-Jan; book at www.openairtheatre.org or—for an
extra booking fee—by calling 0844-826-4242; grounds open 1.5 hours prior to evening