Shakespeare’s Globe has announced its full Globe on Tour line-up and it includes a stint at the Hay Festival in May.
The company of eight actors will once again offer audiences around the world a trio of plays, which this year explore the relationship between humankind and Mother Nature. Audiences will cast their votes for either A Midsummer Night’s Dream, As You Like It or The Tempest, each of which explores the natural world and its great potential for abundance and transformation.
A director, actor, and education practitioner, Brendan has directed Globe on Tour for the past three years as well as Tom Stuart’s new play After Edwardin the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse in 2019. He has also performed in a number of Globe productions, including Cymbeline (2015), Measure for Measure (2015) and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2014).
Brendan O’Hea says, “I’m so pleased to be back on the road with the Touring Ensemble, transporting the spirit of the Globe around the world with simple, clear storytelling which brings Shakespeare to all. This year we will be performing three plays that explore themes of nature, the city and the places beyond. Storytelling and theatre must play a crucial role in offering ways of reimagining the world, creating conditions on stage and off for renewal, belonging, empathy, kindness and an experience that embodies our place in the interconnected web of life. And, like the Elizabethan touring players before us, we will leave the choice of play to the most powerful voice in the room: the audience”
This year, Globe on Tour want to encourage audiences to reconnect with nature and their local community. From the forest of Sherwood to the shores of Guernsey, all venues will be offered a workshop that will give their audiences the chance to learn more about the plays and the natural world. The Globe will also be collaborating with the RSPB, who are making their birdsong radio available to venues as part of their Let Nature Singcampaign that aims to promote environmental awareness.
Matt Howard, Cultural Campaigner for RSPB says, “Nature is in crisis and one of the biggest threats it faces is our disconnection from it. The Let Nature Sing campaign is shining a light on the threat to the natural world whilst celebrating just how important it is to our cultural and imaginative lives. The richness of Shakespeare’s work shows the central importance of nature to our inspiration and creativity.”
