Exploring Shakespeare’s legacy from London to San Diego and beyond

My husband and I are Shakespeare enthusiasts. We wait with baited breath every fall to see which of his plays will be performed at The Old Globe Theatre in Balboa Park during the next season. We also keep the Bard in mind when we travel. Shakespeare wrote 37 plays and at least one of them is being performed somewhere in the world at all times. A Midsummer Night’s Dream is the world’s most performed play, followed by Romeo and Juliet.  More than once, we’ve adjusted our itinerary to see a certain show. I have fond memories of enjoying The Winter’s Tale at the Seymour Centre in Sydney, Australia, quite a few years ago. That play has also been performed at our own Old Globe — both indoors and on the outdoor Festival Stage — and I’m hoping it will return sometime in the near future.

William Shakespeare was born in Stratford, England, in 1654. He wrote plays for the first Globe Theatre on the south side of the Thames River in London. He also wisely invested in the company. In 1613, the Globe was destroyed by fire, only to be rebuilt again. In 1644, The Globe was torn down when Puritans closed all London theaters. In 1970, Sam Wanamaker, an American actor and filmmaker who was living in London, created the Shakespeare Globe Playhouse Trust. It took many years to raise the funds and secure the permits, but the theater eventually reopened to the public in 1997, complete with an education center, a Shakespeare museum, and an exhibition space that features an extensive collection of costumes and props. The Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, which opened next-door to Shakespeare’s Globe in 2014, is lit with over 100 beeswax candles. Today there are daily tours through the open-air Shakespeare’s Globe and performances of plays are scheduled during the UK’s warmer months. 

Because of the popularity of all things Shakespeare, I highly recommend booking tickets for tours and plays well in advance. In fact, we book our show tickets before confirming our flights.

I’ve taken the tour at Shakespeare’s Globe more than once, and I’m always impressed with the knowledge and presentation of the guides — and there’s always a moment when I stop listening, tune out, and process the heady reality of the fact that I’m standing where the Bard worked his magic. Sometimes, in these moments, scenes from the movie Shakespeare in Love flash in front of me and I’m drawn back in time.  

Depending on your mode of transportation, it takes about two hours to travel from London to Stratford-Upon-Avon. We recently stayed at The Arden House Hotel, which is lovely, sited near the Avon River, and just steps away from the Royal Shakespeare Theatre where we saw Much Ado About Nothing.  The last Much Ado I saw was the Emma Thompson and Kenneth Branagh film version, and I was surprised that the opening scene was — instead of warriors returning from battle — boisterous football players coming home after a big game. However, Shakespeare’s words are timeless, so they fit just as well in a contemporary adaptation where news reporter Beatrice wielding a cellphone is engaged in a war of words with Signor Benedick holding his helmet. I felt the same way in London when the Romeo and Juliet we saw at Shakespeare’s Globe was set in 19th century Wild West with no shortage of cowboys, ranchers, and desperados. 

Shakespeare’s birthplace in Stratford has miraculously survived and been restored. It’s in the middle of town and worthy of a visit to absorb the aura and time of his world. Guides here bring each restored room to life and young thespians in period attire dramatically voice the Bard’s famous soliloquies. Likewise, a mile outside of town, the thatched cottage of Anne Hathaway, Shakespeare’s wife, has also been carefully restored. They married when he was 18 and she was 26. Six months after the marriage, she gave birth and they remained married until his death in 1616. He’s buried nearby in Holy
Trinity Church.

The Old Globe Theatre in San Diego is a replica of Shakespeare’s Globe in London and was originally built for the 1935 California Pacific Exposition. It was intended to host abridged versions of Shakespearean plays. Following the exposition, a nonprofit group leased the theater from the city. Craig Noel, who had a strong interest in Shakespeare, was involved from the beginning. He founded the San Diego National Shakespeare Festival in 1949, and he also expanded the Globe’s repertoire to include works by modern playwrights.  

The original Old Globe Theatre was destroyed by arson fire in 1978 and the first festival stage was built quickly to accommodate the upcoming summer season. A second arson fire in 1984 destroyed the festival stage, which was rebuilt and named the Lowell Davies Festival Theatre. Despite the fires and other challenges, San Diego’s Old Globe is renowned for the quality of productions that are presented. 

The Globe’s 2025 season includes All’s Well That End’s Well and The Comedy of Errors. In addition, the Vanguard performing arts ministry performs Shakespeare’s plays during the summer in the outdoor amphitheater at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Point Loma. We saw As You Like It there and felt transported to the historic Forest of Arden near Stratford. 

The Oregon Shakespeare Festival is presenting Julius Caesar through October. At the stunning Sydney Opera House, Bell Shakespeare’s 2025 line-up includes Coriolanus, Henry V, and Romeo and Juliet. And in Italy, the Verona Shakespeare Fringe lineup includes The Winter’s Tale. These enticing options are sure to attract enthusiasts from around the world who share my appreciation for the inimitable Shakespeare.