By Saul Cooke-Black

ALL THE world’s a stage – but some stages are more important than others in the acting world.

Talented actor Anna Crosby, 18, from Stroud, was one of 50 international students to get the chance to visit one of the most famous stages in the world – Shakespeare's Globe in London.

At a week-long summer school, Anna learnt new techniques in movement, voice and text from experts in their field.

“The Young Actors Summer School was one of the most important and fun experiences of my acting career so far,” said Anna.

“I did not expect to learn quite as much about Shakespeare, acting and about our own bodies and voices as I did in those five days.

“I was also taken aback by the enthusiasm of the other students and just how helpful all the mentors were – we bonded to become a theatre company over the week.

“My highlight would be our performances both on the Globe stage and in the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, where all our hard work paid off as the leaps we had all taken in our dramatic abilities was clear to see.”

The students, aged 16-19, from countries in Europe, South America, the USA and Asia, took part in a two-week Shakespeare’s Globe Summer School or specialised in one of two week-long intensive courses for young actors or academics.

The highlight was a unique opportunity to perform in the world-famous Globe theatre and the newly opened Sam Wanamaker Playhouse.

Patrick Spottiswoode, director at Globe Education said: “A 19th century scholar wrote “one touch of Shakespeare makes the whole world kin.”

“Some students are preparing to study Shakespeare at university, others are preparing for drama school.

“There is no better preparation for either than working on the boards of the stages at the Globe.”

Education was central to Sam Wanamaker’s vision to recreate Shakespeare’s Globe on Bankside in London.

The project was the brainchild of Sam, from America, and Theo Crosby, the original architect of the Globe, who was South African.

Today Shakespeare’s Globe is the acknowledged international home for the study of Shakespeare in performance.

It was opened in 1997, around 750 feet from the original Globe built in 1599 by Shakespeare’s playing company, the Lord Chamberlain’s Men. The Sam Wanamaker Playhouse was opened in January 2013 on the same site and named after Sam Wanamaker, the leading figure in the reconstruction of the Globe. It is an archetype of the indoor Jacobean playhouses for which Shakespeare and his contemporaries also wrote.

To find out more visit shakespearesglobe.com/summerschool.