Globe Theatre

Globe Theatre
en:Wenceslaus Hollar · Public domain · source
Name	Globe Theatre
Location	London, Southwark
Opened	1599
Rebuilt	1614
Closed	1642
Capacity	c. 3,000
Type	Elizabethan playhouse
Architect	unknown (built by Burbage company)

Globe Theatre was a major Elizabethan playhouse associated with William Shakespeare, the Lord Chamberlain's Men, and early modern theatre in London. Built in 1599 on the south bank of the River Thames, the playhouse hosted premieres of plays by Christopher Marlowe, Ben Jonson, and other playwrights of the English Renaissance. The Globe became emblematic of theatrical practices under Elizabeth I and James I and was destroyed by fire in 1613, rebuilt in 1614, and closed under the English Civil War and the Parliamentary ban on stage plays in 1642.

History

The Globe's origins trace to a troupe reorganized after the 1597 lease dispute that led to the dismantling of The Theatre in Shoreditch and the transfer of timber to Southwark under the leadership of Richard Burbage and his father James Burbage. The new playhouse was funded by sharers including William Shakespeare, John Heminges, Henry Condell, and members of the Lord Chamberlain's Men who sought a permanent venue near the Bankside entertainment district with rivals such as the Rose Theatre and the Swan Theatre. The Globe opened c. 1599 and quickly became central to performances for both popular groundlings and aristocratic patrons linked to the Royal Court. The 1613 performance of Henry VIII (play), attended by courtiers of King James I, ended in a cannon misfire that ignited the thatch and led to the 1613 fire; rebuilding followed in 1614 under new legal arrangements and continued until the puritanical ordinances championed by members of Long Parliament led to closure in 1642.

Architecture and Design

The Globe was designed as an open-air, polygonal amphitheatre roughly 27 by 27 metres, featuring a thrust stage projecting into a yard surrounded by timber-framed galleries used by patrons including Earl of Southampton supporters and Sir Robert Cecil’s circle. Its construction employed Elizabethan carpentry techniques known from projects like The Theatre and the shipyards along the River Thames; the stage had a tiled tiring house with painted heavens and machinery for theatrical effects used in productions by Inigo Jones collaborators and artisans of the Blackfriars workshops. The building’s thatched roof and plastered walls reflected practices seen in contemporaneous structures such as the Rose and were described in accounts involving Philip Henslowe and Edward Alleyn. Capacity estimates (c. 3,000) derive from comparisons with inventories and lawsuit records involving Nicholas Brend and later lessees like Sir Matthew Brend.

Productions and Performances

The Globe hosted a repertory system featuring works by William Shakespeare, Ben Jonson, John Webster, Thomas Middleton, and Christopher Marlowe. Known premieres likely included As You Like It, Twelfth Night, Julius Caesar (play), and parts of the Henriad cycle, staged for audiences that included courtiers of Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton and members of James I’s retinue. Performance conventions—use of boy actors from companies like the Children of the Chapel for female roles, cue scripts held by stage managers such as John Heminges, and musical interludes by lutenists connected to the King’s Musick—shaped the distinctive Elizabethan soundscape. The Globe’s yard allowed the “groundlings” to stand and interact directly with actors, a social dynamic also recorded in legal depositions involving Admiral’s Men rivals and diarists such as Samuel Pepys, who later described Restoration theatres.

Cultural Impact and Legacy

The Globe’s association with William Shakespeare made it a focal point in the construction of English literary canons promoted by editors like Nicholas Rowe and Alexander Pope and by theatrical historians such as John Ward and Samuel Johnson. Its plays influenced contemporaneous European dramaturgy connected to Commedia dell'arte exchanges and the transnational circulation of texts via printers like Richard Field and Edward Blount. The Globe’s imagery has been mobilized in national narratives during periods like the Victorian era revival of interest in Shakespeare spearheaded by figures including Charles Kean and institutions such as the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. Scholarly interpretations by critics such as A.C. Bradley, Stephen Greenblatt, and E. K. Chambers have foregrounded the Globe in discussions about performance practice, audience reception, and early modern material culture.

Archaeology and Reconstructions

Archaeological excavations in the 1980s led by teams associated with Greater London Archaeology uncovered foundation traces on the modern Bankside and corroborated documentary claims about shape and dimensions, paralleling findings from earlier digs linked to Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA). These discoveries informed the construction of the modern reconstruction, often referred to as the New Globe, established by the Shakespeare Globe Trust and opened under the direction of Sam Wanamaker’s legacy. Reconstructive debates have involved historians such as John Orrell and conservationists connected to English Heritage over choices like thatch roofing, timber framing, and roof thatching permitted by City of London regulations. Reconstructions remain active sites for research into staging practices, including experimental performances by compagnies inspired by Royal Shakespeare Company methods and by scholars engaged with performance studies and digital modeling initiatives led by university departments at King's College London and University of Warwick.

Category:Theatre in London