Popup Globe Twelfth Night

Our American friend Emily invited us to join her at the Popup Globe company’s Twelfth Night last weekend.

The Popup Globe started out as an actual popup… a full-scale replica of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre that could be assembled and taken down. They toured various festivals before settling semi-permanently and becoming Auckland’s resident Shakespeare company.

But then the pandemic.

This production of Twelfth Night is their first show since things have returned to normal. It was held in a real theatre, the Q, which was probably way better for us: indoors for one thing, and easier to see and hear the show compared to the Popup. Still, there was plenty of dialogue we missed due to accents, acoustics, and unfamiliar Elizabethan phraseology. In a nod to the troupe’s in-the-round roots, there were seats on either side of the stage, and that’s where we sat. Great to be so close, although a lot of times the actors had their backs to us.

We really liked the silliness, and the rowdiness, of the production, and we hope the Popup Globe company can continue to achieve greatness in the years ahead!