The Winter's Tale, Sam Wanamaker Playhouse

In a historic and historically accurate move, Globe Artistic Director Dominic Dromgoole will end his tenure with the first season of Shakespeare to be performed on the Wanamaker Playhouse stage. Built in 2014 as an authentic recreation of the Blackfriars playhouse, this indoor space reflects the more intimate Jacobean theatre in which the bard's later plays would have originally been performed.
Shakespeare at the Wanamaker Playhouse
While the Globe has long been the most authentic spot to soak up Shakespeare, this indoor season will reflect the ways in which changing theatre design affected performance -- plus it means that the Shakespeare season continues into the winter months.
The Winter's Tale is a particularly apposite part of this new season. Along with it seasonal relevance, it is also one of Shakespeare later problems plays, believed by scholars to have been performed in a smaller, indoor candlelit stage.
Comedy, tragedy and time lapse: The Winter's Tale
Telling the tale of King Leontes and his jealousy over his wife Hermione's suspected infidelity the play is famed for the stage direction 'exit pursed by a bear' and a sixteen year time lapse in the drama. While the wedding ending makes for a comedy, The Winter's Tale also has themes of bitter vengefulness that veer into tragic terrain.
Which Winter's Tale, London 2016?
This Winter's Tale certainly won't be as star-studded as high profile Kenneth Branagh production that precedes it, but with veteran Shakespeare director Dominic Dromgoole at the helm and the charming, historically accurate surroundings of the Wanamker Playhouse, it promises to be an enlightening take on the problem play.

Public booking for The Winter's Tale at the Wanamaker Playhouse opens on Monday 6 July.