The Globe Theatre

The Globe Theatre
en:Wenceslaus Hollar · Public domain · source
Name	Globe Theatre
Location	Bankside, London, Southwark
Type	Elizabethan playhouse
Opened	1599
Closed	1642
Rebuilt	1614 (after fire), 1997 (replica opened)
Owner	Lord Chamberlain's Men (original), Shakespeare's Globe Trust (replica)

The Globe Theatre was a late 16th-century Elizabethan playhouse on Bankside associated with the actor William Shakespeare, the playing company the Lord Chamberlain's Men, and the theatrical culture of London during the reign of Elizabeth I of England and James I of England. It served as a venue for premieres of major works by Shakespeare such as Hamlet (play), Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth (play), and was central to dramatic life alongside rivals like the Rose Theatre, the Swan Theatre, and the Blackfriars Theatre. The original structure burned in 1613 during a performance of Henry VIII (play), was rebuilt in 1614, and was ultimately closed in 1642 under the authority of the Long Parliament during the period leading to the English Civil War.

History

The Globe opened in 1599 after members of the Lord Chamberlain's Men dismantled timber from The Theatre in Shoreditch and transported it across the River Thames to Bankside, an area governed by the Liberty of the Clink and frequented by patrons from Southwark and Westminster. Shareholders including Richard Burbage, Cuthbert Burbage, William Kempe, and John Heminges established ownership patterns common to Elizabethan companies; this business model intersected with legal disputes involving the Burghley family and urban regulation under the City of London. The 1613 fire during a performance of Henry VIII (play)—sparked by a cannon shot—led to reconstruction in 1614 with involvement from figures tied to the King's Men and the Lord Chamberlain's Men successor arrangements. During the 1640s parliamentary ordinances targeting "stage plays" precipitated closure; subsequent demolition was influenced by property interests linked to Samuel Pepys's circle and topographical changes recorded by John Stow.

Architecture and Design

The Globe's timber-framed, polygonal design reflected precedents like the Swan Theatre and the inner-city Curtain Theatre, incorporating a thrust stage, tiring house, and open yard known as the "pit" used by groundlings; contemporary descriptions derive from eyewitness accounts such as Nicholas Bottomley and the theatrical papers preserved by Henslowe and colleagues. The stage projecting into the yard allowed staging innovations evident in Twelfth Night, A Midsummer Night's Dream, and The Tempest (play) that exploited scenic effects, trapdoors, and rigging managed by carpenters and flymen trained under Tudor masons associated with commissions for Canterbury Cathedral and royal masques like those of Ben Jonson. Materials—oak beams, thatch roofing, plaster, and lath—match building practices recorded in the Parish Registers and contracts similar to those used by Christopher Wren predecessors; archaeological excavations on Bankside correlated with finds cataloged by the Museum of London.

Productions and Repertoire

The repertoire staged at the Globe encompassed tragedies, comedies, histories, and romances by playwrights tied to the company, notably William Shakespeare, as well as works by contemporaries such as Christopher Marlowe, Ben Jonson, John Fletcher, Thomas Dekker, and George Chapman. Playbill practices, actor lists, and promptbooks maintained by actors like Richard Burbage and managers like John Heminges enabled repertory rotation exemplified by season records that scholars cross-reference with entries in the Stationers' Register and marginalia in folios like the First Folio. Performances integrated music by composers associated with court masques, stage combat reflecting techniques from Italian commedia dell'arte troupes, and costuming sourced from mercers and tailors who also supplied the royal wardrobe under Queen Elizabeth I and King James I.

Social and Cultural Context

As a public playhouse in Bankside the Globe attracted a cross-section of London life, drawing groundlings, gentlemen, foreign visitors, and officials connected to Westminster and the Temple. The theatre intersected with issues involving sanitation regulated by the Bishop of Winchester's peculiar jurisdiction, moral critiques voiced by clergymen in Paul's Cross, and regulatory actions by aldermen of the City of London concerned about crowd control and the spread of plague during outbreaks recorded in the Bills of Mortality. Patronage networks linked to noble households—such as those of the Earl of Southampton and the Duke of Buckingham—shaped casting and finance, while satirical treatments of civic figures appear in plays that reference institutions like the Star Chamber and events such as the Spanish Armada.

Reconstruction and Modern Replica

The 20th-century movement to reconstruct a working replica culminated in the establishment of the Shakespeare's Globe project led by Sam Wanamaker, with archaeological, architectural, and documentary evidence guiding a rebuild on a site near the original Bankside location. The modern Globe, opened in 1997 under governance by the Shakespeare's Globe Trust, employs craftsmen trained in traditional techniques analogous to those taught at institutions like the Royal Institute of British Architects and collaborates with actors and directors from the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre. Productions at the replica stage historically informed performances of Hamlet (play), Romeo and Juliet, and seasonal festivals that engage audiences through practices documented in the First Folio and research by scholars at King's College London and University of Birmingham.

Legacy and Influence

The Globe's influence extends to global Shakespeare performance, pedagogy, and cultural heritage, inspiring reconstructions in cities such as Ashland, Oregon, Stratford, Ontario, and Regensburg, and informing academic fields at institutions like Oxford University, Cambridge University, and the University of Edinburgh. Its role in shaping modern conceptions of staging impacted directors including Peter Brook, Garry Hynes, and companies like the RSC and the Globe Theatre Company while informing debates over text, performance, and editorial practices in editions of Shakespeare produced by the Cambridge University Press and the Folger Shakespeare Library. The Globe endures as a symbol invoked in cultural policy discussions, heritage listings, and international festivals such as the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and the Avignon Festival.

Category:Elizabethan theatres Category:William Shakespeare