The Globe:

Italy’s tribute to William Shakespeare

by Gwen Herat in Stratford

Italy, of all countries, to venerate Shakespeare and make a claim for him literally has failed. I hardly expected to find something of this nature at Stratford. I discovered it by chance on screen and wondered; what on earth was this monument doing so far away from his native home on the South Bank of the Thames away from the river Avon.

The reason may be his obsession of Italy found in his plays. From his 38 plays, he set 13 in Italy. Of them, five are in ancient Rome they are: Titus Andronicus, Julius Caesar, Antony and Cleopatra, Cariolanus, Cymbeline, The Comedy of Errors, Much ado about nothing, The Winter's tale, The Merchant of Venice, Othello, The Taming of the shrew, The Two Gentlemen of Verona and Romeo and Juliet.

The Roman Globe, clustered and surrounded by trees, was built in 2003. Romeo and Juliet was the first play staged.

I am sure that the Tempest too could be added to this list since it was inspired in an island off the Northern Coast of Sicily. The Midsummer Night's Dream though located in the Little Island’ of Sabbioneta, is also in Northern Italy.

Speculation

The discovery of this gave rise to much speculation. The Italian literarti who were oblivious to Shakespeare's literary power, suddenly awakened and took notice of his work's involvement with Italy's locations.

The Italian scholars were amazed at this new awakening. They gathered in literary circles and such scholars had to be proficient in English because Shakespeare never appeared in English or for that matter in any other language.

It was his brilliant and exuberant dialogue that prevented direct translations.

However, there have been many attempts made around the world to reach those magnificent gems of dialogue but all failed to reach the Bard's level.

In Sri Lanka, thespian Tony Ranasinghe put his hand at Julius Caesar and Twelfth Night and I recall seeing another translation of Hamlet in the Shakespeare library in Stratford long ago.With this discovery, Italians too should try translating, at least in story form to introduce the Bard to their young scholars and watch for reaction. Next came the major question, whether Shakespeare who wrote so passionately on Italian locations, ever visited the country?

Some speculations was set ablaze with such imagination like trying to pin him down as a Catholic who spent his lost years in Italy after leaving Stratford. He was an Anglican and buried at the Holy Trinity Church on the banks of Avon).

Cryptic names

They have gone to the extent of suggesting that several cryptic names in its guest book at The Venerable Catholic College in Rome which is the seminary of English Catholic priests, in their guest book for visiting pilgrims might be Shakespeare himself. One entry in 1587 records the arrival of a Gulielmus Clerkue Stratfordodiensesa or a William the Clerk from Stratford.

An Italian professor claims that Shakespeare was a Sicilian. Arguing still further though improbable as it sounds, Martino Luvara argued that Shakespeare was born in Messina at Michaelangelo Florio Crollalanza which is equivalent of Shakespeare, and fled by way of Venice, Padua and Mantua because of the Holy Inquisition. (yet another day dream of Italy).

The Artistic Director of Rome's Globe, Gigi Proietti swears that he is convinced that Shakespeare had personal knowledge of Italy (that goes without telling) otherwise how can Italy influence the Bard.

Some also argue that Shakespeare was in Italy but has no proof. Some further argue that Shakespeare was an Italian but the English culture would not accept it.

How can they when Shakespeare was a right royal Englishman. It was built almost by chance when Rome decided to celebrate the 100th anniversary in 2003.

The theatre-in-the-rounds with its 1206 seating capacity was the Globe. Proietti was keen to have Romeo and Juliet staged on a floating stage on the lake of Borghese Gardens.

Though the idea proved impracticable, Proitti showed the mayor some snaps taken on the recently built Globe in London. The Mayor became very enthusiastic over the idea and agreed to make the theatre.

It was built in three months with the support of the construction tycoon, Silvano Toti. Proitti was able to mount Romeo and Juliet.

Autumn

During this season of approaching autumn that I feel in the air here in Stratford, Italy is drawing record crowds for Midsummer Night's Dream and Richard III in their Globe. Proitti is a very elated man when he sees his young audience scrambling for tickets as much as I was experiencing the Shakespeare magic here at the RSC, so were the Italians at their Globe in the Pincian Hill.

What did the first Globe look like. Nobody knows for sure. A printed program by John Nordon suggests it was on the Bankside, nestled among the mini forest with the Rose Theatre in 1600.

This is as far as what can be traced. Hollar gave some idea of the theatre's exterior but nothing positive is on record. (I too searched in the Shakespeare Library but did not find any) All the same, the Globe itself was not truly circular building because at the archaeological excavation of the Rose in 1989 revealed what most scholars long suspected; that the Elizabethan playhouses were more polygonal buildings.

In the same year, a small portion of the Globe itself excavated and from which two important inferences were drawn that was a 20-side building with a diameter of 100 feet.

It yielded a skeletal structure as to what the Globe would have been. It was the beginning of the new Globe; Shakespeare's Globe, undertaken by the untiring Sam Wanamaker, the popular American actor, producer and director whose dedication and admiration for Shakespeare resulted in the Globe after 21 years of struggle which when completed Wanamaker was no more. He passed away a few months earlier.

This resulted in the Globe being built in Rome just the way Wanamaker had built for Shakespeare.