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Dateline: 12th April, 2005
Gunpowder at the Globe From 18th April, 2005, to February, 2006, Shakespeare’s Globe is staging a major exhibition entitled Shakespeare and the Gunpowder Plot to mark the 400th anniversary of the conspiracy to blow up king and parliament on 5th November 1605. A partnership of well-known institutions across England has created Gunpowder 400, a series of exciting events to mark this famous anniversary. Shakespeare and The King’s Men first performed Macbeth in 1606, demonstrating their loyalty to the Crown in response to the plot to kill King James 1, an event that had a profound influence on the bard for the rest of his life. But what do we really know about Catesby, the architect of the plot, and his co-conspirators? Was it in fact a Jesuit conspiracy to destroy Protestant England or simply a group of young men whose ill-conceived actions were used by those in power to subjugate the Catholic community? Working with The National Archives, the Globe will be showing the original crown prosecution evidence including the controversial letter to Lord Monteagle and the confessions of the conspirators, assessing their authenticity and analysing the correspondence of the major characters involved to reveal the intriguing and disturbing story of the Plot. The Globe’s curatorial team, with Metropolitan Police experts and the Forensic Science Services, have pieced together the facts, comparing the detective methods of a modern investigation with those applied 400 years ago. There will be a police incident room to help visitors turn detective and uncover for themselves the facts behind the fireworks. All 93 documents used by the prosecution against the conspirators will be on display, including Guy Fawkes’ confession and the mysterious Monteagle letter delivered on 26th October warning his lordship to stay away from the next meeting of Parliament. Visitors can also listen to taped dialogues between key protagonists in the plot. Opinions will be canvassed in a questionnaire to find out if the public agree with the Crown Prosecution’s version of events or whether they think the government used the plot to its own advantage. The Metropolitan Police in Southwark have provided funding to allow the Globe to offer free workshops to every school in the borough. Students will investigate the plot and consider why social inclusion is such an important aspect of society be it 400 years ago or today. Shakespeare’s Globe would like to thank the following organisations for their help in making this exhibition possible:
Please note that all three Archive indices are very long and will therefore take some time to download.
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