Embedded Files
IMAGE: Print depicting the Globe Theatre, from an original painting engraved by Hollar Wenceslaus, 1647, London, England. Museum no. S.261-1978. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
The Globe Theatre
When Shakespeare was born, there was not a single theatre in London.
When Shakespeare was born, there was not a single theatre in London.
However, within 30 years of his birth, theatre was one of the most popular forms of entertainment around. Acting became a profession and an estimated 50,000 Londoners attended plays each week!
However, within 30 years of his birth, theatre was one of the most popular forms of entertainment around. Acting became a profession and an estimated 50,000 Londoners attended plays each week!
Thrice Rebuilt!
Thrice Rebuilt!
Shakespeare and his business partners built the Globe Theatre around 1598-1599. Like most theatres at the time, it was a round, wooden construction with a stage, galleries, a ground viewing area, and covered balconies for the gentry.
In 1613, the Globe Theatre burned down during a performance of Henry VIII, when a cannon shooting caused the thatch to catch fire. The theatre was rebuilt in 1614, only to be pulled down in 1644 as a result of the Puritans' influence on Parliament.
In 1970, American actor Sam Wanamaker established the Shakespeare Globe Playhouse Trust, which lead to the construction of a replica of the Globe Theatre around 1995. This theatre is now part of a larger complex of constructions called the International Shakespeare Globe Centre. It is still operating today on the south bank of the Thames River.
IMAGE: London theatres (c. 1600). Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Visit the modern day Globe Theatre, and take a virtual tour!
IMAGE: The original Globe Theatre, complete with stage “apron”
To learn more about the history and construction of the Globe Theatre, visit the No Sweat Shakespeare website.
Elizabethan theatRE & THE GLOBE
Elizabethan theatRE & THE GLOBE
In this video, Professor Stephen Greenblatt explores how Shakespeare’s plays would have been performed in his own time.
VIDEO: The Globe Theatre and Performance during Shakespeare's time
This video gives a good overview of theatre during the Elizabethan Era.
Theatre during these times was a rowdy affair, with loudly bustling audiences and girls roaming the crowded floors to sell oranges, hazelnuts, wine and beer.
Although women were present in the audience, they were forbidden from participating as actors or writers. All female roles were played by males -usually adolescent boys.
VIDEO: Theatre in the Elizabethan Era
The audience
The audience
Who attended Shakespeare's plays?
Who attended Shakespeare's plays?
Theatre was not for the wealthy alone. Shakespeare's performances attracted people from all classes. Unlike today, theatre was not a formal environment. It was rowdy, loud, and more like a market place than what we think of as theatre today!
The Globe Theatre could cater to an audience of over 1500 people. However, since many people mingled outside the theatre during performances, the number of people in and directly around the theatre was more like 3000.
'Common folk'
'Common folk'
An accidental education for the poor and illiterate
A single penny was enough for someone to be granted access to a performance. People who took this option were derogatively called "penny stinkers" and, later, "groundlings", and watched from the ground area surrounding the stage.
Nevertheless, the fact that the theatre was so accessible to the poor, made it one of the main vehicles through which the largely illiterate population of London could access a form of literary education.
Nobility, gentry and wealthy folk
Nobility, gentry and wealthy folk
For two pennies, someone could gain entry to the first tier of gallery seating.
Three pennies would buy entry into the more exclusive balconies. These were popular among genteel ladies, who preferred not to be seen visiting public theatres. These ladies often held masks infront of their faces to further achieve anonymity.
The wealthiest nobles often paid for a seat on the edge of the stage. This gave them the best and closest view in the theatre.
The London theatre closureS OF 1642
The London theatre closureS OF 1642
It is difficult to say with certainty what Elizabethan theatres looked like, because in 1642 - 1644 (around the start of the English Civil War), under the influence of Puritan ideology, Parliament ordered all theatres to be destroyed.
It is difficult to say with certainty what Elizabethan theatres looked like, because in 1642 - 1644 (around the start of the English Civil War), under the influence of Puritan ideology, Parliament ordered all theatres to be destroyed.
September 1642: Order for Stage-plays to cease:
"...Public Stage-plays with the Seasons of Humiliation, this being an Exercise of sad and pious Solemnity, and the other being Spectacles of Pleasure, too commonly expressing lascivious Mirth and Levity: It is therefore thought fit, and Ordained, by the Lords and Commons in this Parliament assembled, That, while these sad causes and set Times of Humiliation do continue, Public Stage Plays shall cease, and be forborn..."
IMAGE: Depiction of Puritans
Page updated
Report abuse