Hillary and Cherie in the "Gentleman's Box"

The BBC's Joe Paley reports from the Globe Dur: 2'24"

Two First Ladies Take Centre Stage

Hillary Clinton and Cherie Blair were among the audience at the newly-opened Globe to watch a matinee performance of Henry V.

The two first ladies, who met for the first time on Thursday, appeared at ease with each other as they pushed their wooden chairs closer together in the "Gentlemen's Room" - a simple wooden box on the first level of the circular open-air theatre, equivalent to the royal box.

As much attention was paid to the outfits of the two women as to the costumes worn by the cast, some of which had been dyed using onion skin and urine in an effort to make them as genuine as possible.

In keeping with tradition, the women characters in the Shakespearean play were played by male actors wearing wigs and corsets.

In contrast, Mrs Clinton and Mrs Blair wore practical but chic knee-length outfits - Hillary a sky blue suit, and Cherie a tailored single-breasted grey dress-coat.

The visit by the first ladies of the UK and USA to the theatre was particularly significant as the reconstruction of Shakespeare's original theatre, which burned down in 1613, has been a joint venture between the two countries.

Shakespeare's new Globe: another joint venture

It was the vision of American actor and director Sam Wanamaker that started the reconstruction process in the early 1970s. He died of cancer in 1993, before he could see the finished result, which is as close to the original as possible, even down to the white painted lime plaster made of lime putty, sand and goats' hair.

Mrs Clinton and Mrs Blair were met by Sam Wanamaker's daughter Zoe.

The party took their seats to the sound of pounding war drums. Hillary and Cherie appeared to have much to talk about both before and in between scenes, although it was Cherie who seemed to have most to say.

The similarities between the two women are striking. Both of them are highly successful lawyers with a deep interest in politics and are devoted to their families.

In fact, President Clinton and wife Hillary gave the Blairs some "extremely helpful" advice on how to bring up their children in the glare of the media spotlight.

Mr Clinton told Mr Blair: "Make sure the children have space to lead as normal a life as possible, given the obvious constraints."

The Press has sometimes not been kind to the President's teenage daughter Chelsea, whose formative years have coincided with the five years Mr Clinton has been in office.

There has already been much media interest in Mr Blair's children - Euan, 13, Nicky, 11, and Kathryn, 9 - who moved into Downing Street after the election. And Downing Street has already made an appeal to the media to respect their privacy.