Pop-up’s sweet smell of success
Replica Globe taking its shows to the world
Parting is such sweet sorrow . . . It’s one of Shakespeare’s most famous lines and one New Zealand fans of Pop-up Globe are now hearing. After 1206 performances and New Zealand ticket sales of 350,000, the pop-up theatre — a replica of Shakespeare’s second Globe theatre, made of scaffolding — has decided to pop off.
It travels next to some of the world’s biggest cities — but first is a farewell summer season in Auckland.
This begins on December 13 with two shows, a new version of Romeo
and Juliet and the reprisal of its most popular production, the Pasifikathemed Much Ado About Nothing directed by Miriama McDowell.
Founder and artistic director Dr Miles Gregory, who will direct Romeo and Juliet, says it’s a bittersweet moment but the Pop-up Globe team always aimed to take the theatre and its productions abroad. “We always knew we would ‘pop down’ — I mean, there’s a clue in the name . . . ”
While Gregory won’t reveal its international plans, a partnership with global entertainment giant Live Nation means the company is now more able to travel far and wide. However, Pop-up Globe’s production
We always knew we would ‘pop down’ — I mean, there’s a clue in the name . . . Dr Miles Gregory, Founder
base will remain in Auckland where shows will be cast, rehearsed and designed before being exported.
“Auckland has been incredibly generous to Pop-up Globe, with people coming from all over to see our productions,” says Gregory. “I am so very proud that Auckland has supported us so well and, in turn, we have shown that Auckland is a great supporter of arts and culture.”
A father of four young children, Gregory got the idea for the theatre while reading a bedtime story to his daughter, Nancy, when she was 2. In 2016, when it was announced, he told the Herald: “We were reading a popup book and one of the pop-ups was Shakespeare’s Globe theatre.
“She said: ‘Daddy, can we go out to that?’ I said: ‘Well, actually, we can’t.’ So, I thought afterwards, ‘wouldn’t it be great to bring the theatre here?”’
It was originally planned as a oneoff event to mark the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death in 2016.
Gregory acknowledges he and business partner Tobias Grant had many moments when they feared the whole project would collapse, right up until opening night in the carpark outside the Basement Theatre.
But, without any government funding, it proved to be a smash-hit. Aucklanders flocked to see its shows; its first season was repeatedly extended, a new location found at Ellerslie Raceway and plans for subsequent seasons actioned.
In just four years, Pop-up Globe will have had five summer seasons in Auckland, winter performances and a six-city tour around New Zealand as well as taking shows across the ditch to Sydney and Melbourne. It will be in Perth from October. “There have been so many highlights; it’s been an absolutely incredible journey but I think working with such extraordinarily creative and talented New Zealanders would be the ultimate highlight for me,” says Gregory.
He acknowledges it hasn’t always gone smoothly. The company faced a backlash last year over its plans to continue with male-only casts in its core productions and references to #metoo in its marketing. It led to a u-turn and a commitment to a 50:50 gender balance on stage overall.
“Everything that has happened has been a chance to learn and grow as a company and, because what we were doing hadn’t been done before, we have had a steep learning curve . . . but I wouldn’t have had it any other way.”
Tickets for Pop-up Globe’s finale season are now on sale.