SHAKESPEARE'S

THEAT

ER:

THE G

LOBE

WHAT WAS THE GLOBE?

The Globe was a theater built by Shakespeare and his associates in London's bankside district in 1598. Many of Shakespeare's plays took place here. The theater became one of four primary theaters in London. Others included the Swan, the Rose, and the Hope (“Shakespeare’s Globe”).

“It was an open-air, octagonal amphitheater which rose three stories high with a diameter of approximately 100 feet, holding a seating capacity of up to 3,000 spectators. The rectangular stage platform on which the plays were performed was nearly 43 feet wide and 28 feet deep. This staging area probably housed trap doors in its flooring and primitive rigging overhead for various stage effects” (“Shakespeare’s Globe”).

What did the globe look like?

(MODERN DAY REPLICA OPENED IN 1997)

WHY WAS THE GLOBE BUILT?

The Lord Chamberlain’s Men (Shakespeare’s acting troupe) needed a place to perform their plays so they could compete with other acting troupes.

WHAT HAPPENED TO IT?

Fifteen years after it was built, the theater was burned to the ground by a cannon shot. It was rebuilt and used until 1642 when the Puritans closed all London theaters. In 1642 Puritanical forces claimed that theaters were places of sin that brought down society. Two years later, it was demolished.

AFTER IT’S DESTRUCTION…

“In 1989, its foundations were re-discovered and a new Globe Theatre was completed near the site of the original. Appropriately, Queen Elizabeth II opened the new Globe in 1996. The first production in the new Globe was Shakespeare’s Henry V”(“Shakespeare’s Globe).

The spectators in the galleries had seats. This is where the wealthier people sat. Open to all for the modest fee of just one-penny (roughly 10 % of a worker’s daily wage)

THERE WAS NO ROOF ON THE GLOBE!?

There literally was no roof on the globe as stated before. So plays were performed typically in the early afternoon, lasting from 2 pm until roughly 4 or 5 pm

HOW WAS WATCHING THE PLAY?

Patrons really had to use their imaginations during plays back then. The theater lacked backdrops, lighting, acoustics, and props. All of the actors had to yell their lines in order to be heard by all, especially those in the balconies.

WHAT PLAYS WERE PERFORMED THERE?

Some of the famous plays that were enacted at the theater included:

“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” (“Shakespeare’s Globe Theater”).

WORK CITED PAGE

“Shakespeare’s Globe.” bardweb.net. Shakespeare Resource Center, 2 Mar. 2013. Web. 25 Mar. 2013.

“Shakespeare’s Globe Theater.” absoluteshakespeare.com, 2005. Web. 25 Mar. 2013