Shakespeare Globe Trust

Shakespeare Globe Trust
Name	Shakespeare Globe Trust
Formation	1970
Type	Charitable trust
Headquarters	Bankside, London
Leader title	Artistic director
Leader name	Emma Rice (2016–2017)

Shakespeare Globe Trust

The Shakespeare Globe Trust is a London-based charitable foundation established to create and manage a reconstruction of the Elizabethan playhouse associated with William Shakespeare and to promote performance, scholarship, and public engagement with early modern drama. The Trust brought together theatrical practitioners, architects, historians, and patrons drawn from circles around John Heilpern, Sam Wanamaker, Peter Hall, Trevor Nunn, and supporters linked to institutions such as the British Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum. Its projects intersect with cultural bodies including the National Theatre, the Royal Shakespeare Company, and international partners like the Folger Shakespeare Library and the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.

History

The Trust was founded in 1970 as a vehicle to realize the long-standing campaign led by actor-director Sam Wanamaker to rebuild an open-air playhouse on or near the site of the original Globe. Early efforts involved collaboration with archaeologists from Museum of London Archaeology and heritage bodies such as English Heritage and the Greater London Council. The project mobilized patrons from the worlds of theatre and politics including figures associated with Harold Wilson’s premiership, fundraising alliances with private benefactors, and diaspora donors linked to the United States Congress. After protracted planning, planning approvals and reconstruction work proceeded during the 1980s and 1990s, intersecting with conservation debates involving the City of London Corporation and debates about authenticity raised by scholars from King's College London and Queen Mary University of London.

Mission and Activities

The Trust’s stated remit combines practical theatre-making, historical reconstruction, scholarly research, and public education. It programs seasons of plays that foreground works by William Shakespeare alongside contemporaries such as Christopher Marlowe, Ben Jonson, Thomas Middleton, John Webster, and revivals of masques associated with Inigo Jones. The Trust produces touring ensembles that have performed at venues including the C Stratford-upon-Avon Royal Shakespeare Theatre, the Barbican Centre, and international festivals like the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and the Festival d'Avignon. Research collaborations have linked the Trust to archives at the British Library, the Bodleian Library, and the Huntington Library to support textual editing, rehearsal practice, and historically informed staging.

The Globe Theatre (Reconstruction)

The reconstructed Globe, sited on Bankside near the River Thames, is intended as a working interpretation of the second Globe playhouse associated with Richard Burbage and the Lord Chamberlain's Men. Architectural advisers included specialists who consulted sources such as the Visscher panorama and plans from the Survey of London. Construction employed traditional timber-framing techniques using materials sourced in conversation with conservationists from English Heritage and craft guilds associated with the Worshipful Company of Carpenters. The building recreates the thrust stage, open yard, and surrounding galleries that shaped performance practices of the Elizabethan Theatre, while accommodating modern requirements introduced after scrutiny by the London Fire Brigade and heritage assessors from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

Governance and Funding

The Trust is governed by a board that has included trustees drawn from institutions such as the Royal Society of Arts, the Curtis Institute of Music, and legal advisors linked to the Inner Temple. Funding streams combine charitable grants, philanthropic gifts from individuals connected to families like the Gordons and patrons from the United States, box office receipts, corporate partnerships with brands that have sponsored seasons, and project grants from public funders such as Arts Council England. Capital campaigns ran alongside endowment-building efforts endorsed by philanthropic foundations comparable to the Paul Mellon Centre and benefactors associated with the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation.

Education and Outreach

The Trust operates an education program that offers workshops, lectures, and courses aimed at schools, university departments, and community groups linked to University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, Goldsmiths, University of London, and conservatoires including the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Initiatives include actor-training residencies, teacher resources aligned with syllabuses set by examination boards such as AQA and collaborative research projects with centers like the Oxford Shakespeare and the Shakespeare Institute. The Globe’s touring and digital outreach have partnered with media organizations such as the BBC and streaming platforms to widen access to productions and lectures.

Facilities and Collections

On-site facilities include the open-air playhouse, an indoor Sam Wanamaker Playhouse modeled on Jacobean private theatres, rehearsal rooms, conservation workshops, and a learning centre that houses study collections. Archival holdings, managed in cooperation with institutional partners like the British Library and the V&A, encompass promptbooks, costume sketches, production photographs, and curatorial files documenting reconstruction. The Trust’s conservation practice liaises with specialists from the Institute of Conservation and catalogues objects in dialogue with digital initiatives undertaken by repositories such as the National Archives.

Category:Theatres in London Category:Charities based in London