The New Shakespearean Rose Theater

One year soon, in the Berkshire Mountains of Western Massachusetts, construction will begin on a replica of the Rose Theater, originally built on the South Bank in London and used to perform Shakespeare’s plays. The director of Shakespeare & Company, Tina Packer, foresees this anachronism amidst the rolling hills as the goal of her tenure.

The American actor Sam Wanamaker supported the creation and building of the Globe Theatre in London on the South Bank that opened in 1997, and the Rose would be the first Shakespearean theater to be built in the US. It is to be a "tough theater, made out of scaffolds and canvas, a courtyard theater that can be used in two or three ways."

Gemini: An Astrological Memory Theater based on the Globe.

There was much dispute about the original Globe because there were scant archaeological remains and what few pictures were drawn of it during its lifetime disagree in their depiction of it. As it was a "theatre of the world" it would probably have had either twelve or twenty-four faceted sides, but the reproduction was designed and built to have twenty. It is known to have had a canvas roof stretched across it that was painted with a circle and zodiac signs, as well as other astrological symbols. I have written extensively about the so-called "theater of the world" that would have been a true astrological memory theater to house all the allusions and references in Shakespeare to the "world as a stage." (See http://www.atmann.net/12mand.txt and http://www.atmann.net/mand.htm both show an astrological memory theater for the sign Gemini)

The Lenox Rose will hold 800 people, good for the intimacy of both actors and audience. This week a conference was held to advise Shakespeare & Company about the Rose.

For listings of Shakespeare & Company’s schedule see: http://www.shakespeare.org/performances/frstables.html

For Tina Talks, a series of talks given by Tina Packer, see: http://www.shakespeare.org/performances/newsjun00.html#00jun27