Promoters announced yesterday that 20,000 tickets have been sold to 2017 season of Shakespeare at Pop-Up Globe, with tickets selling dramatically faster and on track to significantly exceed this year’s 100,000 total season sales.
Fans and school groups from around New Zealand have snapped up the tickets to the four new productions being staged at this unique venue at Ellerslie: Much Ado About Nothing, Henry V, Othello and As You Like It.
We can also reveal that the cast will feature one of our most versatile actors, Whale Rider star Rawiri Paratene ONZM. With a career spanning more than four decades and a CV that ranges from Footroot Flats to Shakespeare, Paratene is charged with bringing the Duke of Exeter to life in Henry V.
Once a Playschool presenter, he spent much of his career performing The Bard’s works around the world, as well as writing and performing in two dozen (at least) television dramas, comedies and telefeatures.
Paratene says he’s thrilled to be part of Season 2 of Pop-up Globe in Auckland. He has recently finished a 196-country, two-year tour of Hamlet.
“Working in that space is the most fantastic feeling for me,” says Paratene, of the 360-degree theatre that revolves around the stage. “It’s a very intimate and very personal space. It’s like being an orator on a marae where you have to reach everyone collectively as well as every individual. I feel really comfortable and at home in that environment.
“Pop-up Globe is a huge achievement. Season 1 captured the public’s imagination and I am looking forward to building on that. I’m very excited.”
The cast will also include Shortland Street heartthrob TeKohe Tuhaka, Zoolander 2 and Spartacus actor Antonio Te Maioha, and Edward Newborn from The Waterhorse.
Some of the Season 1 favourites at Pop-Up Globe will be returning. They include Jonny Tynan Moss (Romeo), Stanley Jackson (Malvolio 12th Night & Mercutio R&J) and Stephen Butterworth (Capulet R&J & Maria 12th Night).
Over 1200 applications were received from as far away as Russia and South America were received from actors vying for roles in Season 2’s productions. These were eventually whittled down to about 30, representing New Zealand, Australia, Ireland, Norway, the U.S. and the United Kingdom.
“We were astonished and humbled by the level of interest from the international acting community in our project,” says Pop-up Globe artistic director and founder Dr Miles Gregory. “It’s groundbreaking history in the making and actors simply wanted to be part of something very special.”
Built to the same dimensions as the first Pop-up Globe by award winning build partner CamelSpace and with an interior based on groundbreaking new research, the new Pop-up Globe features a stunning three-storey Jacobean-inspired stage front, known to Shakespeare scholars as the Frons Scaenae.
Designed after months of research, the huge stage front will be built and painted entirely by hand, feature Jacobean imagery and architectural detailing, have two balconies, and be topped by an elaborately painted stage ceiling. Other improvements include an even larger stage, and two new luxury rooms adjacent the stage each hosting up to six guests.
“We’re planning to do much more than pop up again,” says Dr Gregory. “We want to delight our audiences with an experience that gets us even closer to the atmosphere at the second Globe 400.”
“The new Pop-up Globe will be a jewel - one of the most amazing temporary theatres ever created,” says Dr Gregory.
The theatre will pop up in a beautiful garden setting at Ellerslie Racecourse. “We’re delighted to be at Ellerslie. Our audiences will enjoy an on-site pop-up bar and restaurant throughout the season, access to the extensive hospitality facilities for groups and functions, and the convenience of Ellerslie’s proximity to the city and major transport links.”
Critically acclaimed directors Dr Gregory and Ben Naylor return and are joined by local star Miriama McDowell and UK comedy specialist Tom Mallaburn, working with an international ensemble of over thirty professional actors.
Pop-up Globe will be welcoming back schools with even more special school matinees to each of the four Pop-up Globe Theatre Company productions.
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