Shakespeare’s Globe Theater
Location, location, location.
Though located near the river Thames, Shakespeare’s playhouse was not in fact in central London but rather an outlying district called Southwark. Southwark had a "colorful" reputation of being not too different from what we would call a "bad" district today, certainly not the place to find respectable gentry.
Yet the famous playhouse by attracting commoners and gentry alike brought people of all classes together in a region renowned for bear-baiting and other less than respectable activities.
Nonetheless, elements of England’s strict class divisions remained; commoners were in the courtyard by comparison with England’s gentry and nobility which were seated in the galleries or the balconies.
That playhouses could even exist at all was in part due to its Southwark location; it was outside the jurisdiction of a disapproving central London bureaucracy...
Advertising.
To announce the arrival of the new playhouse, the Lord Chamberlain’s Men took the bold move of flying a flag with Hercules carrying a Globe on his shoulders to announce the imminent performance of Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar.
The Playhouse's motto and crest.
True to it’s name, above the main entrance was inscribed the words "Totus mundus agithistrionem" (the whole world is a playhouse), a phrase echoed in As You Like It("All the world’s a stage"). A crest displaying Hercules bearing the globe on his shoulders finished the effect...
General Appearance.
Built to the engineering standards of 1599, the famous playhouse was a large circular structure, three stories high. A small straw hatched roof only partially covered the circular structure, giving it an appearance very much like a modern day football stadium where the center is uncovered.
In the center, pushed up against one interior side, extended the 5 feet high main stage. At the back of this stage facing the interior walls were two doors and a main entrance consisting of a central curtain. Behind this were changing rooms for the actors. To get back on stage, they would emerge from the arras or the two sidedoors at stage level. Above this stage was a balcony, flanked by two further balconies serving as playhouse boxes.
On the third level was a small house like structure supported by columns from the stage where announcements were made and the playhouse's flag would often fly, advertising plays currently being performed.
Again like a stadium, three rows of seating forming circular bands wrapped around the interior. These galleries at two pennies, cost more, but offered the comfort of seating. Those in the central uncovered courtyard had to stand through what could be a three hour performance, rain or shine.
"All the World’s a Stage".
Set in the middle of the playhouse, the playhouse's 44 wide by 26 foot long stage stood five foot off the ground, low enough to command a good view to courtyard watchers yet high enough to discourage the occasional stage jumper.
Two doors allowed actors backstage to enter, this being closed in by a central arras or hanging curtain. Above this was a balcony famously used in Romeo and Juliet when Romeo hears Juliet cry "Romeo, Romeo wherefore art thou Romeo". Similarly, the arras would have been pulled away in The Tempest to reveal the touchingly innocent scene of Miranda playing chess with Ferdinand and was also used for Hamlet’s stabbing of Polionius in Hamlet.
Balconies to be seen in...
The balcony above the stage was not the only balcony in the playhouse. As mentioned, the central balcony was flanked by two balconies for the wealthy to be seen in just as celebrities today pick boxes and seats at sports games were they are likely to be noticed by today’s media. Even vanity existed in the 1500’s.
Cost of entry.
Open to all for the modest fee of just one-penny (roughly 10 % of a worker’s daily wage), you could stand in the yard at the center of the playhouse. Without an overhead roof, such a view was exposed, but with the stage set at eye level some 5 feet off the ground, you got the closest view in the house. For a little more (roughly two pennies), you could pay to sit in one of the playhouse's three circular galleries; the gentry with time on their hands and comfort on the minds frequently paying more for the comfort and status, the gallery seats conferred.
Watching a play.
Unlike today’s spectacles, a Shakespearean playhouse-goer really had to use their imagination; there were no backdrops, no lighting to speak of, horrific acoustics, and few if any props. As such watching a play would involve watching the actors exaggerating their movements for patrons in the galleries and shouting their lines to be heard by all.
Much of the illusion of a play had to occur in the viewer’s own imagination, the only notable exceptions, being the colorful use of costumes, heralds, banners, the odd cannon, and the dramatic use of the balcony’s and arras. Because there was no artificial lighting, plays typically occurred in the early afternoon, lasting from 2 pm until roughly 4 or 5 pm.
Plays performed.
The first play we know of that was performed at Shakespeare's famous playhouse was Julius Caesar in 1599 when a Swiss tourist Thomas Platter recorded in his diary that on September the 21st " we witnessed an excellent performance of the tragedy of the first Emperor Julius Caesar " said to be performed by some 15 actors.
Other plays known to have been performed by Shakespeare and rest of his acting troupe were Hamlet (1600-1601), Twelfth Night Or What You Will (1601), Richard II (February 7th 1601) Troilus and Cressida (1601-1602), All’s Well That Ends Well (circa 1602), Timon of Athens (c1604), King Lear (1605), Macbeth (1606), Pericles, Prince of Tyre (1607) possibly The Tempest in 1610, The Two Noble Kinsmen in 1611, Shakespeare’s "lost" play Cardenio in 1612 and Henry VIII in 1613.
Burnt to the ground and rebuilt again.
Tragedy struck the playhouse when amidst a performance of Henry VIII on June the 29th, 1613, a cannon fired during the play ignited the playhouse's thatched roof burning the playhouse to the ground. Rebuilt just one year later, the famous playhouse again opened its doors for business but on the opposite side of the Thames river in 1614, with the original's dangerous straw thatched roof now wisely replaced with tiles.
End of an era.
In 1642 as Puritanical forces made their presence felt in England, playhouses no longer were a place of laughter but one of evil sin. Predictably then, all of England’s playhouses were promptly closed down to protect the good people of England. Just two years later in 1644, where Hamlet was once performed, the famous playhouse was taken down, its presence replaced by housing instead. One of the greatest eras in playhouse was at an end...
Today’s Replica.
Though the original playhouse is no longer with us, we can enjoy a very close approximation of it today in Southwark, the very same place the original was built in.
However the 1996 approximation is just that; first the replica's exits had to be enlarged to comply with today’s rather more stringent fire regulations (few existed when the original burnt down!) and the new replica despite being built of the very same oak and deal timbers, is not in the same Maiden Lane (called Park Street today) location of the original, but is nearby.
The attention to detail has been painstaking; even the thatched roof made of Norfolk reeds has been faithfully recreated. Today with play’s being performed there, only a little imagination is needed to recreate watching a play in Shakespeare’s time..
7 Facts about the Globe Theater
Built in 1598, The Globe Theater is known as Shakespeare's home theater in England. The theater was built during a time when lease negotiations over the theater where Shakespeare's troupe performed had run out, and the owner of the land wanted to tear down the playhouse. Through this discord, a new, legendary theater was built. The troupe teamed up to build a new theater they could call home, but it became much more than a mere playhouse as politics and tragedy would destroy the theater over and over again.
Why the Globe was Built
The Globe Theater was built because of a disagreement over the lease of "The Theater" in Shoreditch, London. Giles Allen, the owner of "The Theater," disapproved of Lord Chamberlain's acting troupe, which included William Shakespeare, and the troupe needed a new place to perform as lease negotiations lead to further discord. Negotiations went nowhere, and Giles Allen decided he was going to tear the playhouse down. The need for a new performance hall led to the building of The Globe.
Built from Timbers
In an ironic twist within the lease negotiations over "The Theater," the actors found that the original lease granted them ownership of the building materials from the original structure. The lease itself only applied to the ground on which the theater was built, not the actual building. When they learned of their luck, the troupe dismantled the old playhouse and transported the materials to Bankside in Southwark in order to build The Globe.
The Globe Theater is still a working playhouse showing performances on a regular basis. In addition, the theater holds a research facility to foster continuing education for visitors and local students.
Risen from the Ashes
Since the actors had no place to perform until the new theater was built, all their energy went into constructing a new playhouse. The Globe was built in less than six months. The lease for the theater began Christmas on 1598, and the first performance took place May of 1599. While builders were contracted to construct the playhouse, the actors also took part in order to speed the process along.
A Varied Reputation
The Globe was mostly known as a playhouse that could hold several thousand people. However, it also had a muddled reputation. In addition to being home to actors and theater goers, The Globe was reputed to be a brothel and gambling house.
The Globe is Destroyed
After a battle to build a new home for Lord Chamberlain's troupe, the Globe gained popularity as a home for Shakespeare's plays. Unfortunately, in 1613 the theater burned down during a performance of "Henry VII." The fire started after a canon was shot during the play, igniting the thatched roof and burning the entire structure to the ground.
Rebuilt and Destroyed Again
After the fire of 1613 destroyed the Globe, the troupe concentrated on a rebuilding effort that led to the theater's reopening just prior to Shakespeare's death. The theater reopened and was active until 1642, when Puritans closed it and all other theaters down and subsequently destroyed it two years later to build tenements. The theater remained a ghost for over 300 years.
Raised from the Ashes Once More
In 1989, the foundations of the legendary Globe Theater were discovered, triggering a rekindled interest in the theater's past. In 1993, construction began on a modern version of the theater, and the rebuild was completed in 1996 Queen Elizabeth II officially declared the theater open with a June 1997 production of "Henry V."
The Globe Theater in London's Bankside district has a rich and devastating history. During an era when playwrights struggled to make meager livings, William Shakespeare's stage was threatened by politics and accidental fires. After being destroyed in the midst of the Puritan political battle, the theater remained a ghost for over 300 years, waiting to be replicated in the late 1990s. Ultimately, the theater was rebuilt from the ashes in celebration of Shakespeare's contribution to British literature.