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 The
Shakespeare Shoppe™ owner/designer, Sally McLean, is
an actor, writer, director and producer for film, television
and theatre.
Currently based in her native Australia, Sally professionally
trained as an actor at The Actors' Institute in London, during
which time she was handed the thesis topic "Elizabethan
Theatre".
Not being the strongest history buff, she decided to begin
her research with Shakespeare - as most would, considering he
is arguably the most famous Elizabethan of them all - at least,
from our modern perspective.
It wasn't long, however, before she began to realise just
how rich and fascinating Elizabethan life as a whole truly was.
This realisation was further amplified when she discovered
that The Globe Theatre was being recreated on the site of The
Rose Theatre at Southwark.
Sally spent many hours watching the reconstruction of The
Globe, being allowed to enter the building while the final touches
were being put in place. She watched with amazed interest as
craftsmen and women hand turned the balcony railings, thatched
the roof and installed the authentic-looking benches.
She was privilaged enough to be able to meet one of the architechts
and learn of the debate over where the stage columns should be
placed, as well as learning from an expert about the Elizabethan
perceptions of the world as a whole that dictated how a theatre
should be built to reflect that world perception.
Devils and bad spirits entered through the floor, angels and
good sprites and entities entered from above and ordinary mortals
entered from stage level. She learned about the audiences, what
a typical performance would have been like and even got to hear
some of the proposed Globe Theatre Company rehearse on the stage
in preparation for the Globe's Opening season.
Now armed with a better understanding of Elizabethan theatre
and it's rich vibrancy and creativity, she extended her research
to other elements of Elizabethan life. She visited the Bishop'
of Winchesters private prison, The Clink - now a tourist attraction,
but actually part of the original jail of the same name, built
first by the Romans, then adapted over the centuries and used
extensively by the Elizabethans for their criminals and poor.
When visiting The Clink and the remains of Winchester Palace,
she also learned about the clergy, particularly the Bishops,
and their questionable association with the red light district
that was Southwark - most interestingly their ownership of several
brothels!
She visited Southwark Cathedral to see Shakespeare's memorial,
went to the site of the White Hart Inn, had a pint in The George
Inn (the only remaining galleried inn in London), visited the
Tabard Inn and generally walked in the steps of those who had
gone before. Four hundred years before.
Once the paper was completed (and the accompanying presentation),
with a most satisfactory pass, Sally's obsession (and yes, it
has become an obession!) with the Elizabethan period did not
wane. In fact, it became even stronger as she learned more and
more about this wonderfully eccentric, colourful, always facinating
period of English history.
Sally graduated drama school, worked in London for a few more
years, then returned to Australia. She continues her acting career
with roles in various television, stage and film productions,
but also found an interest in graphic and web design ... which
leads us neatly to the here and now.
The Shakespeare Shoppe™ is an amalgamation of Sally's
interest in all things Elizabethan, the theatre and her new obsession
- designing for gifts and apparel.
We hope you enjoy your time here. Where possible, Sally has
tried to include information about each subject covered and we
are adding designs constantly to the collection, so check back
often!
If you would like to know more about Sally's work as an actress
and writer, visit her official website: www.sallymclean.com
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