"The Globe stands a few hundred yards from its original site. The project to rebuild Shakespeare’s Globe was initiated by the American actor, director and producer Sam Wanamaker after his first visit to London in 1949. Twenty-one years later he founded what was to become the Shakespeare Globe Trust, dedicated to the reconstruction of the theatre and the creation of an education centre and permanent exhibition. After 23 years spent tirelessly fundraising, advancing research into the appearance of the original Globe and planning the reconstruction with the Trust’s architect Theo Crosby, Sam Wanamaker died in 1993, the site having been secured, the exhibition undercroft structurally complete and a few timber bays of the theatre in place. Three and a half years later the theatre was completed.
What did the first Globe look like? Nobody knows for sure. Printed panoramas, such as those by John Norden and Wenceslaus Hollar, give some idea of the theatre’s exterior; written accounts, usually by visitors from overseas, building contracts and one sketch (of the Swan theatre) tell us something about the interior. In addition, there are suggestive descriptions included in the plays themselves, such as the famous Chorus which begins Henry V: ‘And shall this cockpit hold the vasty fields of France / Or may we cram within this wooden ‘O’...’
All the same, the Globe itself was not a truly circular building. The archaeological excavation of the Rose Theatre in 1989 revealed what most scholars had long suspected, that the Elizabethan playhouses were polygonal buildings. In the same year, a small portion of the Globe itself was excavated, from which two important inferences were drawn: that it was a 20-sided building with a diameter of 100 feet.
Techniques used in the reconstruction of the theatre were painstakingly accurate. ‘Green’ oak was cut and fashioned according to 16th-century practice and assembled in two-dimensional bays on the Bankside site; oak laths and staves support lime plaster mixed according to a contemporary recipe and the walls are covered in a white lime wash. The roof is made of water reed thatch, based on samples found during the excavation.
The stage is the most conjectural aspect of the reconstruction. Almost nothing survives from the period to suggest the appearance of this part of the theatre. Its design was drawn from evidence provided by existing buildings of the period and practical advice offered by the actors and directors who participated in the 1995 ‘Workshop’ and 1996 ‘Prologue’ seasons.
The new Globe is also designed with the 21st century in mind. An additional exit, illuminated signage, fire retardant materials and some modern backstage machinery are all concessions to our times.
The reconstruction is as faithful to the original as modern scholarship and traditional craftsmanship can make it, but for the time being this Globe is – and is likely to remain – neither more nor less than the ‘best guess’ at Shakespeare’s theatre."
See the theatre's website for fantastic information on this venue, the shows and the museum that is all part of the experience.
See: (
visit link) and (
visit link)
By the way...tickets in the pit are worth the experience - even though it's standing room only.
Location notes::
Monday to Saturday
10:00am to 6:00pm
Sunday
10:00am to 5:00pm
The Box Office is also open before each event