The+Globe+Theatre



Aaron Zaro and James Flanagan

Hello! On this page, we will provide you with a short summary of the Globe's history and a few links to sites and documents with better presentation of these facts and more. Enjoy! __TIDBITS AND FACTS:__
 * Built in 1599 in Southwark.
 * Owned by Richard and Cathbert Burbage.
 * Other patrons owned shares of the Theatre and the company, including William Shakespeare.
 * Plays of Shakespeare, John Ford, and Beaumont and Fletcher were prodeced here.
 * Although it has not been proven, tradition states that Shakespeare not only wrote and directed plays that appeared on the stage; he may also have acted in the Globe Theatre.
 * In 1613, the Theatre burned down when a cannon went off in a production of //Henry VIII//.
 * Rebuilt the next year.
 * Tore down in 1644.
 * Remnants of the original foundation were discovered in 1989.

__SHORT HISTORY:__ (and by that I mean "short" in the loosest of terms) The story of the original Globe's construction might be worthy of a Shakespearean play of its own. The Lord Chamberlain's Men had been performing in the Theatre, built by James Burbage (the father of Richard Burbage) in 1576. In 1597, although the company technically owned the Theatre, their lease on the land on which it stood expired. Their landlord, Giles Allen, desired to tear the Theatre down. This led the company to purchase property at Blackfriars in Upper Frater Hall, which they bought for and set about converting for theatrical use.

Unfortunately, their aristocratic neighbors complained to the Privy Council about the plans for Blackfriars. Cuthbert Burbage tried to renegotiate the Theatre lease with Giles Allen in autumn of 1598; Allen vowed to put the wood and timber of the building "to better use." Richard and Cuthbert learned of his plans and set in motion a plot of their own. It seems that the company's lease had contained a provision allowing them to dismantle the building themselves.

In late December of 1598, Allen left London for the countryside. The Burbage brothers, their chief carpenter, and a party of workmen assembled at the Theatre on the night of December 28. The men stripped the Theatre down to its foundation, moved the materials across the Thames to Bankside, and proceeded to use them in constructing the Globe.

The endeavor was not without controversy. A furious Giles Allen later sued Peter Street, the Burbage's carpenter, for in damages. The courts found in favor of the Lord Chamberlain's Men and ordered Allen to desist from any further legal wrangling. The Globe would play host to some of Shakespeare's greatest works over the next decade. In an ironic epilogue, the troupe won the right in 1609 to produce plays at Blackfriars, and subsequently split time between there and the Globe.

In 1613, the original Globe Theatre burned to the ground when a cannon shot during a performance of Henry VIII ignited the thatched roof of the gallery. The company completed a new Globe on the foundations of its predecessor before Shakespeare's death. It continued operating until 1642, when the Puritans closed it down (and all the other theatres, as well as any place, for that matter, where people might be entertained). Puritans razed the building two years later in 1644 to build tenements upon the premises. The Globe would remain a ghost for the next 352 years.

The foundations of the Globe were rediscovered in 1989, rekindling interest in a fitful attempt to erect a modern version of the amphitheater. Led by the vision of the late Sam Wanamaker, workers began construction in 1993 on the new theatre near the site of the original. The latest Globe Theatre was completed in 1996; Queen Elizabeth II officially opened the theatre on June 12, 1997 with a production of Henry V. The Globe is as faithful a reproduction as possible to the Elizabethan model, seating 1,500 people between the galleries and the "groundlings." In its initial 1997 season, the theatre attracted 210,000 patrons.

http://www.bardweb.net/globe.html

LINKS TO HELPFUL SITES: All you could ever want to know about the Old Globe Theatre, Shakespeare, and Elizabethan plays, and then some! http://www.william-shakespeare.info/william-shakespeare-globe-theatre.htm Also, a descriptive timeline of the Globe's history from the same site: http://www.william-shakespeare.info/william-shakespeare-old-globe-theatre-history-timeline.htm

More on how and why the Globe Theatre was built, and a brief background of actors and actresses at the time. http://absoluteshakespeare.com/trivia/globe/globe.htm

A page on what the productions in the Globe were like and some information on the new Globe Theatre. http://www.angband.demon.co.uk/Globe/index.html

Cited Sources