Shakespeare's Globe theatre (reconstructed), Southwark, 2003. Photo by GaryReggae. Licensed under Creative Commons, courtesy Wikimedia Commons.
Shakespeare's Globe is a reconstruction of the Globe Theatre, an Elizabethan playhouse in the London borough of Southwark, located on the south bank of the River Thames, but destroyed by fire in 1613, rebuilt 1614 then demolished in 1644. The modern reconstruction is an academic best guess, based on available evidence of the 1599 and 1614 buildings. It was founded by actor-director Sam Wanamaker and opened to the public in 1997. Today the site also includes a reconstruction of the Blackfriars Theatre.
The original Globe[]
The original Globe Theatre was built in 1599 by the playing company Lord Chamberlain's Men, to which Shakespeare belonged, and was destroyed by fire on June 29, 1613. The fire was caused by an accident with a cannon during a production of Henry VIII.[1] The theatre was rebuilt by June 1614 (the exact opening date is not known), but was officially closed by pressure of Puritan opinion in 1642 and demolished in 1644 .[2] The current theatre is based on the 1614 rebuilding, about which more information survives, but with a larger stage and broader staircases.[3]
History[]
The modern reconstruction of the Globe Theatre, in London.
In 1970, American actor and director Sam Wanamaker founded the Shakespeare Globe Trust and the International Shakespeare Globe Centre, with the objective of building a faithful recreation of Shakespeare's Globe close to its original location at Bankside, Southwark. Many detractors maintained that a faithful Globe reconstruction was impossible to achieve due to the complications in the 17th century design and modern fire codes; however, Wanamaker persevered in his vision for over 20 years, and, eventually, a new Globe theatre was built according to a design based on the research of historical advisor John Orrell.[4] The design team was composed of architect Theo Crosby of Pentagram, structural and services engineer Buro Happold, quantity surveyors from Boyden & Co. The construction was undertaken by McCurdy & Co.[5]
The theatre opened in 1997[6] under the name "Shakespeare's Globe Theatre" and has staged live plays every summer. Mark Rylance became the inaugural artistic director in 1995, and was succeeded by Dominic Dromgoole in 2006.[7]
The new theatre on Bankside is approximately 230 m (750') from the original site, measured from centre to centre.[8] The Thames was much wider in Shakespeare's time, and the original Globe was also on the riverbank; however, the original site is now more than a block inland from the riverside. The site for the reconstructed Globe near the present bank of the Thames was chosen to recreate the atmosphere of the original theatre.
Like the original Globe, the modern theatre has a thrust stage that projects into a large circular yard surrounded by 3 tiers of raked seating.
The modern Globe from the River Thames.
The only covered parts of the amphitheatre are the stage and the seating areas. Plays are staged during the summer, usually between May and the first week of October; in the winter, the theatre is used for educational purposes. Tours are available all year round.
The reconstruction was carefully researched so that the new building would be as faithful a replica of the original as possible. This was aided by the discovery of the remains of the original Globe Theatre as final plans were being made for the site and structure. Performances are engineered to duplicate the original environment of Shakespeare's Globe; there are no spotlights, plays are staged during daylight hours and in the evenings (with the help of interior floodlights), there are no microphones, speakers or amplification. All music is performed live on period instruments; the actors can see the audience and the audience can see each other, adding to the feeling of a shared experience and community event.
The building itself is constructed entirely of English oak, with mortise and tenon joinery,[9] - no structural steel was used. It is, in this sense, an "authentic" 16th century timber-framed building. The seats are simple benches (though cushions can be hired for performances) and the Globe has the only thatched roof permitted in London since the Great Fire of 1666.[9] The modern thatch is well protected by fire retardants, and sprinklers on the roof ensure further protection. The pit, however, has a concrete surface[9] as opposed to the earthen ground covered with strewn rush in the original theatre. The "authentic" theatre has extensive backstage support areas for actors and musicians and is attached to a modern lobby, restaurant, gift shop and visitors' centre. Seating capacity is 857[10] with an additional 700 "groundlings" standing in the pit,[11] making up an audience about half the size of a typical audience in Shakespeare's time.
Jacobean theatre replica[]
The Globe's replica Jacobean theatre
As the modern Globe was was under construction an indoor theatre, a "simulacrum" of the 16th-century Blackfriars Theatre on the opposite side of the Thames, was built next door.[12] Initially used as a rehearsal space and for education projects, funding has now progressed to a stage where fitting out as a public theatre can begin, with a proposed opening in 2013. Although the original building, which provides the pattern, was erected in 1596, during Elizabeth's reign, local residents successfully petitioned against it and the Lord Chamberlain's Men, Shakespeare's playing company, did not begin to use it until 1608, 5 years into Jacobean era.[13] As no reliable plans of this structure have been traced a design by John Webb, a pupil of Inigo Jones, from about 50 years later, believed to be representative of the older theatre, has been used.[12]
Other replicas[]
Globe-Theater, Schwäbisch Hall, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.
Replicas and free interpretations of the Globe have been built around the world:
- United States
- Ashland, Oregon: OSF Elizabethan Theatre
- Cedar City, Utah: Adams Shakespearean Theatre
- Dallas, Texas: Old Globe Theatre
- Odessa, Texas: The Globe Theatre of the Great Southwest[14]
- San Diego, CA: Old Globe Theatre[15]
- Williamsburg, Virginia: Globe Theatre, in Busch Gardens Williamsburg[16]
- Germany
- Neuss am Rhein: Globe Neuss[17]
- Rust, Baden, Germany: Europa-Park
- Schwäbisch Hall, Baden-Württemberg: houses a replica of the interior of the Globe Theatre.
- Italy
- Rome: Globe Theatre[18]
- Japan
- Tokyo: Panasonic Globe Theatre
In popular culture[]
The theatre was used as a stand-in for the original Globe in the Doctor Who episode "The Shakespeare Code".
References[]
- Carson and Karim-Cooper 'Shakespeare's Globe: A theatrical Experiement' Cambridge University Press, 2008, 9780521701662
- Day, Barry: This Wooden 'O': Shakespeare's Globe Reborn. Oberon Books, London, 1997. ISBN 1-870259-99-8.
- King, T.J. (1971). Shakespearean Staging, 1599-1642. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. ISBN 0674804902.
- Nagler, A.M. (1958). Shakespeare's Stage. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. ISBN 0300026897.
- Rylance, Mark: Play: A Recollection in Pictures and Words of the First Five Years of Play at Shakespeares's Globe Theatre. Photogr.: Sheila Burnett, Donald Cooper, Richard Kolina, John Tramper. Shakespeare's Globe Publ., London, 2003. ISBN 0-9536480-4-4.
- Schoenbaum, Samuel (1991). Shakespeare's Lives. Oxford: Clarendon Press. ISBN 0198186185.
Notes[]
- ↑ Nagler 1958, p. 8.
- ↑ Gurr, Andrew (2008). Encyclopædia Britannica: Globe Theatre.
- ↑ Bowsher, Julian; Miller, Pat (2010). "The New Globe". The Rose and the Globe — playhouses of Shakespeare's Bankside, Southwark. Museum of London. p. 162. ISBN 978-1-901992-85-4.
- ↑ Martin, Douglas (2003-09-28). "John Orrell, 68, Historian On New Globe Theater, Dies". New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DEFD6133DF93BA1575AC0A9659C8B63&n=Top/Reference/Times%20Topics/Subjects/D/Deaths%20(Obituaries). Retrieved 2007-12-11.
- ↑ McCurdy & Co website
- ↑ Phelan, Peggy (2006). Hodgdon, Barbara; Worthen, William B. eds. A Companion to Shakespeare And Performance. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell Publishers. p. 14. ISBN 1-4051-1104-6.
- ↑ "Dominic Dromgoole appointed Artistic Director". The Shakespeare Globe Trust. http://www.shakespeares-globe.org/information/latestnews/20061030/3524/. Retrieved 2007-03-19.
- ↑ Measured using Google Earth.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 McCurdy, Peter. "The Reconstruction of the Globe Theatre". Reading, England: McCurdy and Company. http://www.mccurdyco.com/globefab.html. Retrieved 19 December 2009.
- ↑ This number can be derived by counting all seats on the detailed seating plans that are shown after selecting an event and start the booking procedure at "Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, London". online. Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, London. 2009. https://tickets.shakespeares-globe.org/. Retrieved 2009-11-29. and adding another 20 for the "Gentlemen's Rooms" ("Shakespeare's Globe". Gentlemen's Rooms. Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, London. 2009. http://www.shakespeares-globe.org/theatre/hospitality/. Retrieved 2009-11-29.)
- ↑ "Shakespeare's Globe :: Seating Plan and Ticket Prices". Shakespeare's Globe. 2009. http://www.shakespeares-globe.org/theatre/boxoffice/seatingplanandticketprices/. Retrieved 2009-08-02.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Shakespeare's Globe (20 January 2011). "Shakespeare’s Globe Announces Plans to Build an Indoor Jacobean Theatre". Press release. http://www.shakespearesglobe.com/uploads/ffiles/2011/02/401601.pdf. Retrieved 24 October 2011.
- ↑ Bowsher; Miller (2009: 19)
- ↑ The Globe Theatre of the Great Southwest
- ↑ The Old Globe, San Diego.
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ Globe Theatre Neuss
- ↑ Italy gets Globe Theatre replica.
External links[]
- About
- Shakespeare's Globe Theatre website
- Plays performed at the reconstructed Globe (by season) (Shakespeare's Globe)
- Globe Theatre Study Guide
- Building a Piece of History The Story of the New Globe Theatre By Zachary T. Oser
- Satellite photo of the rebuilt Globe Theatre
- Rose Theatre Website
- 3D Model of Globe Theatre done by Wesleyan University's Learning Objects Studio
- Shakespeare's Globe at the Shakespeare Resource Center
- Doctor Who Episode guide for 'The Shakespeare Code'
- Shakespeare's Globe 2008 'Totus Mundus' season
- Tokyo Globe Theatre (Japanese only)
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