The Globe Theatre was an early English
theatre in London where most of William Shakespeare's plays were
first presented. It was built in 1599 by two brothers, Richard and
Cuthbert Burbage, who owned its predecessor, The Theatre.
In the winter of 1598, the lease on The Theatre was due to expire because of an increase in rent. The Burbage brothers decided to demolish the building piece by piece, ship the pieces across the Thames River to Southwark on the south bank, and rebuild it there. The reconstructed theatre was completed in 1599 and was renamed The Globe.
The shares of the new building were divided among the Burbage brothers and William Shakespeare, who had been one of the leading players of the Lord Chamberlain's Men, a popular group of actors, since late 1594. The Lord Chamberlain's Men continued to perform at The Globe.
The exact physical structure of the Globe is not
known, although scholars are fairly sure of some details because of
drawings from the period. The theatre itself was a closed structure with an open courtyard where the stage stood.
Tiered galleries around the open area accommodated the wealthier
patrons who could afford seats, and those of the lower classes--the
"groundlings"--stood around the stage during the performance of a
play. The space under and behind the stage was used for special
effects, storage, and costume changes. Surprisingly, although the
entire structure was not very big by modern standards, it is thought
to have been capable of accommodating fairly large crowds--perhaps as
many as 2000 people--during a performance.
Some people believe that the Globe was identical to another theatre, The Fortune. It is said to have been shaped like a cylinder, with a thatched gallery roof which was made of straw. The roof had to be coated with a special fire-protectant. In 1613, the roof was accidentally set on fire by a cannon during a performance of Henry VIII. The entire theatre burned in about an hour. The Globe was rebuilt a year later, but with a tilted gallery roof and more circular in shape. In 1644, 30 years after it was rebuilt, the Globe was torn down.
In September 1999, a reconstructed Globe Theatre will officially open in London, 500 years after the first plays were performed in the original theatre. The late Sam Wanamaker, an American actor, was responsible for the Globe's modern reconstruction. When he visited London in the late 1940s, he was disappointed to find nothing marking the site of the original Globe Theatre. He eventually came up with the idea of reconstructing The Globe in its original location. Progress was slow, however. The Globe Playhouse Trust was not founded until the 1970s, and the actual construction of the new theatre did not begin until the 1980s.
See also "The New Globe"
*Adams, John Cranford. The Globe Playhouse. New York: Barnes and Noble, 1972.
This book gives a major overview of what the Globe Theatre looked like and how it was built. It also talks about the history of the Globe and the people who were involved in it.
"The Globe Theatre." Encyclopedia Britannica. 1994 ed.
The encyclopedia gives an overview of the history of the Globe Theatre.
"The Globe Theatre." The World Book Encyclopedia. 1985 ed.
This encyclopedia gives a little history about the Globe Theatre and the plays that William Shakespeare presented there.
"The Rebuilding of the Globe Theatre." Delphi Internet, Ltd., 1995.
This information is mostly about the modern rebuilding of the Globe Theatre and the people involved, as well as the history of the original Globe Theatre.
*Source for visuals