By Krista Daly
Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre on Tour stopped by the Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens last week for performances of “Much Ado About Nothing.”
Though traditionally done outside, the cast made an exception and took to the stage of the new Rothenberg Hall. The 374-seat auditorium was filled to capacity on Monday, Nov. 9 and Tuesday, Nov. 10. Comments of “wonderful”and “amazing” were heard by patrons after the show, and the audience gave a standing ovation for the performance. The Huntington has many of Shakespeare’s works in their rare books collection. One of the most prized is a first folio edition of his collected plays, published in 1623, seven years after his death.
The first folio contains 36 plays, 18 of them printed for the first time. “This ‘authorized version,’ prepared by his friends and colleagues from ‘true original copies,’ is our prime source of knowledge of Shakespeare’s texts,” according to The Huntington’s website.
For more information on The Huntington’s collection of Shakespeare, other rare books and more, visit Huntington.org.
