progol

My husband and I will be in London for a week (9/22-9/28) and I just started thinking about theatre tickets. In my search, I discovered that Othello will be staged with Mark Rylance at the Globe Theatre! We've never been to the Globe so it sounds like a wonderful play in a great venue, but of course, most of the good tickets are already sold out, so I need some help in figuring out the best of the options. There are limited tickets available on the dates I'm interested (9/24 or 9/26) for the evening show (don't want to go during the day). Are we better off with unblocked seats on the top section or blocked seats in the middle section? I've read various opinions of both, so would really love to hear your opinions.

Many thanks!
Paule

kerouac

Both times I went, I stood with the peasants in the central area, so I don't know if the seating is any good. All I know is that the seated people seemed so far away from the stage.

On the other hand, I am going to the National Theatre next week to see Translations, so I should be well versed in the seating there in a few days...

progol

Thanks, kerouac. I'm afraid that neither of us want to be standing for a play, no matter how great the experience may be!

Anyone with familiarity with the theater and the seating sections who can offer advice?

janisj

A standee for Othello would be torture . . . unless you just wanted to see a bit and leave early.

>>All I know is that the seated people seemed so far away from the stage.<<

Not true -- it is not that enormous a theatre. I'd usually choose unobstructed even if it was higher- but that depends on exactly where the obstructed seats are. I'd rent cushions for sure. Those seats can get hard after about Act2.

Also- take a warm jacket or sweater.

kerouac

Okay, I know you don't want to stand, but there is a great advantage to being able to wander around and see a play from every different angle -- The Globe is about the only place where you can ever do that.

Nelson

We sat in an unblocked seat in the upper section some years back. We are able to get a first row, looking down on the crowd below. I don't recall how important that first row was, but the stage did not seem far away at all. In fact I might have said the place seemed intimate. This was quite a few years back, so memory being what it is I can't offer a more definitive answer.

We saw an all-female production of Richard III and it still ranks as one of the best and most memorable theater performances we've seen.

Don't know if it's still there but we had an excellent meal before the show at a Turkish restaurant across the street.

progol

janisj,
Thanks for the advice.
Here's the seating for Sept 24: https://basket.shakespearesglobe.com/202/232

It looks like there are 2 seats in the middle gallery with obstructed view on the back row at roughly 11 o'clock position and several seats with unobstructed view in the top gallery in the back row at roughly 9 & 10 o'clock as well as 1-2 o'clock positions. Thoughts between middle gallery obstructed view vs top gallery unobstructed view?

Yes, definitely a sweater! And we will rent cushions!

Nelson

I guess we were in the upper gallery. Here's what the stage looked like.

progol

Nelson, great shot! What was the experience like from that location?

janisj

OK -- if the obstructed view are in the center (12o'clock-ish) they might be OK. The obstruction would be the wooden pillar -- on the plan the missing dot in the front row is the pillar.

If you can get the upper gallery in the 2nd row that would be best . . . Bays D and L (not sure if the seating chart you linked is for your date but it shows availability in both) and better that obstructed view anywhere.

janisj

My favorite visit to the Globe was ages ago when they presented Romeo & Juliet starting at 11:55PM for the summer solstice. It was fabulous . . . but looooong. Didn't get out until well after 3AM and. I wasn't familiar with the night buses south of the river and it was before they had the electronic signs on any bus stops or TFL apps or google map on every phone - I was with a girl friend who deferred to my 'vast expertise' re London and just assumed I knew what the heck I was doing. We could have walked back to Pimlico but it would have been nearly 3 miles and Margie was already nervous about our safety no matter how much I reassured her -- we sure as heck wouldn't be walking around at 3:30AM back home. We headed south from the theatre and on Southwark Street as I was trying to figure out where the nearest bus stop was . . . around the corner came a taxi heading in to start the day and turned on his light right then. Just like I planned it.

Nelson

progol, you might have missed my post above, but we thought it a riveting stellar performance and experience.

I prefer unobstructed views (possibly going back as far as Ebbets Field!) so that would be my vote.
Good luck.

progol

janisj, thanks for the very helpful information! I will look carefully at the charts (I’m looking at 9/24 & 9/26) and see if any of the recommended seats are available. And good story! I can’t imagine traveling back at 3am from anywhere anymore! That taxi was a miracle!

Nelson, thanks so much! I did miss your earlier post (so much for doing the travel planning while I’m at work! ) and appreciate your thoughts. I’ve read elsewhere that people found it easy to hear from everywhere. Unfortunately, no from row seats are available anywhere, so that’s not an option. But I’ll look at the unobstructed views more closely and make a decision this weekend.

Nelson

progol, I had a look at my photo album from that trip again, and I have our scanned ticket stubs. My photo was taken July 12, 2003, from seat L1 in the upper gallery. It was a 7:30 PM show, we didn't have the 3:00 AM experience!

Also, the Turkish restaurant is still there:
https://www.tasrestaurants.co.uk/tas-pide

progol

Thanks, Nelson! It would be fun to go to the Turkish restaurant.. When we went to Istanbul, we found a wonderful local place for pide and we really liked it. Thanks for the ticket info, too.

And my post was was supposed to say “no front row seats”, but I’m sure folks figured that out. Autocorrect is a blessing and a curse!

Rubicund

We go to the Globe each time we go to London when plays are on and have seen most of the Shakespeare "catalogue" there. It's a small intimate theatre and even the top tier isn't that far away from the stage. There's no scenery or action taking place off the stage and the cast move around the stage or out of view so that nothing is really obstructed for more than a few seconds.

We've sat on the top, middle and bottom tier, though have never stood (and wouldn't care to for a couple of hours) and if it's raining, seats are better as the performance will go ahead as long as it's safe to do so. Our preference is the middle tier, though there's not much in it.

The Tas is an excellent restaurant that we've also used several times.

progol

Thanks, all! Tickets purchased for Sept 24 for Othello (with Mark Rylance as Iago!). Upper tier, back row, roughly 1:00 o'clock position (K Bay). Should be fun!! Looking forward to the experience!

Paule