I will be going to Europe in May and will start in London. I have tickets for Phantom of the Opera at Her Majestys Theatre and tickets to see Macbeth at the "new Shakespeard Globe Theatre. Any thought on the quality of he performances and the theatre. I was only able to get the cheap tickets for Macbeth which means standing in the open air courtyard.. has anyone done this? It will be a great reliving experience. Also, what do they mean by "stalls" in the theatre&gt; The Phantom seats are in the stalls and I paid top dollar or pounds.<BR>I would appreciate any information that may be helpful in getting to these theatres from the Westminister area of London.<BR><BR>Thanks <BR>Steve

Stalls are the best seats. Take a look at http://albemarle-london.com &amp; you can find your plays &amp; each shows the seating chart and there's also a map of theatre locations.Phantom is great &amp; London has the best performers in the world.

Thanks for the information Goeff. That is a great site and much better than the ticketmaster that i used. My wife is ecstatic over the great seats for "Phantom" 19-20 J, but not really thrilled about standing in the open for 3 hours at the Globe. I am sure the experience of being in the recreation of the 15th century London theatre will more than make up for any inconvenience. Thanks Again<BR>Steve

More power to you on the Globe experience. We saw Comedy of Errors there two years ago and had seats on the benches on the first tier, under cover. People who were standing started leaving after the first hour. Some tried to move back and lean on a post or sit on the ground, but they come out and prevent you from doing that. Standing totally unsupported for three hours is quite an ordeal. We saw one woman faint and they carried her out. It was quite warm and humid that day, and they were in the sun. Later in the show there was a light rain. When the "groundlings" tried to put up umbrellas, they were quickly instructed to put them away as they block the view of those behind them and to quote the ushers, "there were no umbrellas in Shakespeare's day." We enjoyed the show very much there, although frankly it didn't compare to any of the shows we've seen by the Royal Shakespeare Company at Stratford, or even to the Stratford, Ontario festival or the Oregon Shakespeare Festival for that matter.

On my first visit to London at the end of May 1998 my sister and I went and saw The Merchaint of Venice at the Globe. It was our last day in the city and we spent a good part of the day trying to find the Globe. We get there and got the groundling tickets. We had to wait for 3 or 4 hours before showtime. We were very tired. When the theater opened we were one of the first ones in the place. We pretty much had to do this because we are both verging on being short. Anyway, we were right at the front of the stage. It was a little nippy, but not bad. The play started and I was glued to the stage for the next 3 or so hours. (And that is glued as in enjoying this wonderful production, not glued to the stage like at a general seating concert.) It was wonderful. I looked around at the other people in the audince and they were all transfixed on the stage and everyone enjoyed it. There were no problems. So, I had a great time and was very upset that when I went back this past March, they were not in production yet. I loved being a groundling. Enjoy.

Thanks for the info Patrick and cshell. I know from the Globes information regarding the audience regulations that there is no sitting or "shooting sticks" allowed in the yard. I am not sure if my wife and I will have the fortitude to hold out for 3+ hours standing. We went to see Romeo and Juliet at our local State University last evening and was so taken with the 3 hour performance that we can't wait to see another Shakespeare in an original setting. I imagine that if it gets too bad in the heat or rain, we will only have 10 pounds invested.. thanks again for the insight.

Steve, my husband & I saw Phantom this past November at Her Majesty's Theatre. It was a stunning theatre - anything called "Her Majesty's" can't be half bad. We purchased a print of the theatre, had it framed, and it's now hanging in our dining room. We're both music majors who have seen Phantom multiple times and we were exceedingly impressed with the performance. We stayed in the Knightsbridge area - one block from Harrod's. DON'T try to take the tube to the theatre. Each time we went to the theatre, the tube was filled with a CRUSH of people. After waiting for several trains and risking a late arrival, we hailed a taxi (for only 5 pounds). After that, we always took a taxi to the theatre. I recommend making reservations for a late dinner after the show. Enjoy yourself! <BR>

Steve, <BR>I was in London a couple of weeks ago and saw Les Miserable and The Graduate. Both were excellent. <BR> <BR>Definitely plan on taking a taxi. On theatre nights, it is best to order one ahead of time. Most hotels will take care of it for you. Its not worth the chance of missing the opening curtain just to save a couple of pounds. <BR> <BR>I highly recommend Les Mis. The music is incredible and the sets amazing. Intermission brings Edy's Ice Cream!! Two pounds for what amounts to one scoop, but it was worth it. The Graduate was also quite good. Also, Edy's at intermission! Must be the 'thing' now. Have a ton of fun and say hey to the Queen for me. <BR> <BR>I want to go back!!!!!!

My husband and I saw Phantom in London last March and thoroughly enjoyed it. We are "Phantomphiles" and have seen it numerous times in San Francisco (among other places)---- really the best production! (But it is no longer there, so we HAD to go to London for a Phantom fix!) We enjoyed it very much and were amazed at the amount of food consumed in the theatre. It is like going to a movie in the US. We are returning to London in June and have tickets for Macbeth on the first tier of seats. The advantage of being a groundling, I hear, is that those are the only people allowed to enter and exit the theatre during the performance. By the way, do you know that the movie Shakespeare In Love was filmed at the Globe? Just watching that movie again has made me so excited about my trip this summer!

We just returned from 7 days in London and were totally impressed with the theaters there. They don't pack you in like sardines, there is amazing comfort and leg room. During intermissions, they sell icecreams and drinks which you are allowed to eat while relaxing in your seats. Amazing civility! We loved Starlight Express, Lion King and MammaMia. The latter we had been unable to get tickets for here in the States, even going thru the high price dealers in NYC. But we walked into the Rock Tussaud's in the Trocadero where we found an agent who had them available. We loved London, a great city and we could've spent a month just wandering around.

I stood in the "pit" last summer at the Globe and thought it was a great experience. Only problem was that I saw a very obscure play (not a shakespeare) so got a bit weary towards the end of the 3 hour production. However, we found a wall to lean against and bought plenty of red wine to see us through it - and yes, you can drink, eat and wander in and out at will (very elizabethan I thought, considering the theatre was like going to the movies in those days), so if you get tired you can always go outside to sit for a while. <BR> <BR>I think it's worth it for the unique experience. Haven't tried it in the rain though!