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Dateline: 6th October, 2004
Globe Breaks Records Attendances at the Globe Theatre broke all records during the 2004 Season of Star-Crossed Lovers with ticket sales reaching a remarkable 93% of capacity the highest audience figures in the nine seasons of Globe Theatre productions and amongst the strongest in London this year.
Romeo and Juliet played to packed houses all season and was the most popular play amongst Globe theatregoers with 131,000 tickets sold, followed by the all-female production of Much Ado About Nothing at 112,000 and Measure for Measure at 81,000. In total, nearly 325,000 people saw a play at the Globe during the five-month season from May to September 2004. Uniquely amongst London theatres, Shakespeare’s Globe offers 700 ‘groundling’ tickets at £5 each for every performance, and this year more than 100,000 visitors were able to enjoy the plays for less than the price of a cinema ticket in London. In recognition of the support they have received since the 1970s, Shakespeare’s Globe works in partnership with a different charitable organisation every season. The 2004 collaboration with emotional support charity Samaritans in their 50th anniversary year not only raised awareness of their work in the UK - answering more than 4.5 million calls annually from distressed people but also raised £20,000 from a week of collections and a gala fundraising evening in September. The Globe would like to thank audiences who gave so generously as well as Rory Bremner and Raj Persaud for their participation in the gala evening. Underlining the success of the season, BBC 4 Television again devoted a Saturday evening in September to live coverage of a scheduled performance from the Globe, featuring Measure for Measure this year. Mark Rylance, the Globe Theatre’s artistic director, said, “The Globe continues to attract theatregoers in huge numbers for our summer seasons a success story that is all the more remarkable because we receive no public subsidy. To me, of course, the Globe is the most vital space in the world for the performance of Shakespeare. The architecture brings actors and audiences together, providing an affordable theatre experience and reviving a sense of social inclusion and occasion. Through this we are discovering and reviving skills as classical actors and musicians. I love all these aspects of the Globe and am delighted that other theatres are following our lead in terms of low prices and love of Renaissance architecture.” Please note that all three Archive indices are very long and will therefore take some time to download.
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