Put this on your bucket list: Shakespeare's Globe Theatre

I may have been back from the UK for a while now, but I wanted to share the absolute highlight from my trip with my readers - watching Macbeth at the Globe Theatre. It's a very wordy post today but I just couldn't help myself. If you have any interest in Shakespeare or in just witnessing a performance of sheer beauty, I can't recommend going to the Globe and watching a live performance enough. It will change you and stay with you.
Both my parents are great Shakespeare lovers and encouraged the love of the bard in both my sister and myself from an early age. My first introduction to the beautiful works by Shakespeare was through a children's book of drawings done by children depicting the life and work of Shakespeare. I still have the book and one day I will give it to my own children and instill in them the same love and appreciation for William Shakespeare.
My passion for Shakespeare grew over the years as I was exposed to his work through reading them for English and performing Othello (I was Desdemona) in my drama class. This fascination culminated when I studied Macbeth in Matric. While I loved so many of his works, reading Macbeth was a watershed experience for me. The modern day themes of power, corruption and consequence resonated so deeply with me that it is my favourite literary work of all time.
When we were planning our trip to London in September, going to see a live performance at the Globe was our number one priority. I am such a Shakespeare lover that watching any performance at the Globe would have been incredible, but on the day that we wanted to visit the show that was being performed during the afternoon was none other than Macbeth. It really felt like it was meant to be and the fact that we would have to stand in the yard for two and a half hours wasn't a dissuasion at all.
I am struggling to find the words to capture just how magical the performance was and how it far exceeded any expectations I had. It was simply put - enchanting, compelling and powerful. I know that I am coming at this from an English nerd's perspective, and for many people Shakespeare isn't their cup of tea. Fair enough, and I understand that standing for two and a half hours watching Shakespeare in the round wouldn't do it for you. But frankly, I disagree. Instead seeing the work performed and actually understanding how Shakespeare's work isn't dated and archaic and only meant for people with English degrees. Far from it! I think that Shakespeare has become a intellectualized in society and relegated to only those with an education (Julian Fellowes I'm looking at you), but the reality is that the bard was known as the people's playwright and that his work reflects everyday themes that everyone has experience in and that is what makes him so brilliant. His understanding of humanity is so profound and it creates a powerful emotional connection which is hard to shake.

Standing there and watching the actors, you are taking into the world of 11th Century Scotland where good and evil, life and death; power, ego and corruption all intermingle and even the greatest of warriors are not above evil acts. In essence, watching the vacillation of Macbeth and feeling his every emotion as he wrestles with himself, you are not removed from the situation. Instead Macbeth reminds you of yourself and the same propensity for good or evil under the right circumstances is within. Macbeth is a type of everyman and even as you walk out the playhouse, he stays with you. It is a play which gets under your skin, and as it ended with an emotional violin piece and the cast dancing, I stood there with tears in my eyes astounded.

With Matt outside the Globe on the South Bank.
One of the reasons why I fell for this man - he can quote Shakespeare!
S.