As seen in the London Underground:


There's certain opportunities that, if you miss them, you have to question if you really went around the world? The Pyramids of Giza are one. If you go 'round the world, and don't stop for the last of the seven wonders of the ancient world still standing, does it really count?

So today's stop was the Globe Theater, faithfully rebuilt to be in the exact same state as it was when Shakespeare put on his plays there. Very faithfully, let me say. The men of Shakespeare's time weren't 6'1", so I spent the whole performance with my legs in odd positions to keep my knees out of my fore neighbor's back.

But the show was excellent. I went with Romeo & Juliet, having seen it enough times before to have some opinions, and I can say that this was one of the best performances I've seen yet. The cast made plain the meaning of the old language, and the slapstick that each cast has to reinvent to recapture the original spirit was very much in evidence. Mercutio was very much in his element. My favorite moment of all was a beat I'd never noticed before, perhaps one that other performances hadn't picked up on and shown: That there's a moment before the fatal duel when Romeo actually talks Tybalt down, and makes peace, only to have it ruined by Mercutio. This cast did it with just the right delivery to show a forgiving side to Tybalt. That moment was a master touch.

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If I'd known they would allow cameras in the Globe Theater up until the moment of the show, I'd have brought more than my phone:

This was an informal addition to the start of the play - a group of period minstrels performing various tunes, mostly period but adding one verse about turning off your cell phones.