Head down an unassuming country lane splintering off the A470 road connecting the Welsh towns of Rhayader and Builth Wells, and you’ll spot something unexpected amidst the bucolic scenery: a theater. And not just any theater—a circular one made out of living branches of willow.
The Willow Globe (or Y Glôb Byw in Welsh) is a replica of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London that was built based on the Globe’s original design plans. It is one-third the size of the famed performance space in the capital, and was constructed primarily from living willow trees, making it, as far as the owners are aware, the only willow theater in the world.
So how did a theater with Shakespearean connections come to be built in a field in rural Cymru (Wales)? It was the result of a community’s passion for dramatic performance and their knack for cost-cutting. When Susanna Best and Philip Bowen, founders of the charity Shakespeare Link (which uses the works of Shakespeare to bridge gaps of language and cultural difference), moved to Mid Wales, they became aware of a lack of a central hub in the region to showcase works by the great bard to the local community. The cost of building a theater from scratch proved prohibitively expensive, so, with help from local volunteers, they opted to grow one instead. The project began in 2006, and blossomed into the impressive theatre that wows spectators—and surprises unsuspecting Welsh walkers—to this day.
The enchanting, intimate venue, often lit by the golden hue of the setting sun, hosts open-air performances from April to September.
