PRINCIPAL CAST: Jim Bywater (Launce); Anastasia Hillle (Silvia); Lennie James (Valentine); Aicha Kossoko (Lucetta); Stephanie Roth (Julia); Mark Rylance (Proteus); Ben Walden (Speed).

This production ran from 21 August - 15 September 1996.

This was the first production to be staged at the Globe Theatre, a year before its official opening season in 1997. This mini-season was designed to provide practical experience in staging in the new space. A leaflet produced to advertise what they referred to as The Prologue Season explains: "The performances will take place on a temporary stage, providing an opportunity to test the stage design in the light of discoveries made during last year's Workshop Season. At the time of going to press, a quarter of all tickets for the Prologue Season have been sold during the priority booking period alone."