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Almost four centuries after Shakespeare's original Globe Theatre commenced performances in 1599, Queen Elizabeth II officially opened the reconstructed Elizabethan Theatre in June 1997. To celebrate Shakespeare's work and to recreate performances with the original setting and effects for which Shakespeare wrote his greatest plays, the rebuilt and fully operational Globe provides a venue for teaching and studying. This video documents eighteen months of planning, rehearsal, location work and post-production by the Shakespeare Program of the University of California at Berkeley, culminating in this historically significant production of "Much Ado About Nothing." According to Hugh Richmond, Educational Director of the Shakespeare Globe Center, USA and Professor of English at the University of California at Berkeley, "This video showcases some of the ways in which performance on the original Shakespearean stage diverges from modern practice. The broad stage, pillars and accessibility of the audience require a dynamic choreography and outgoing style providing a fresh model for modern theater."
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