The Globe was built during Shakespeare's early period in 1599 in a London suburb named Southwark. Southwark was on the south bank of the Thames

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1 THE GLOBE THEATRE

4 The Globe was built during Shakespeare's early period in 1599 in a London suburb named Southwark. Southwark was on the south bank of the Thames River, just across the river from the center of the city. This was a major entertainment area of the time. The Globe was the principal playhouse of the Lord Chamberlain s Men (who would become the King s Men in 1603).

5 In Shakespeare s day, the theater was somewhat disreputable. Actors generally formed groups and obtained the patronage of a noble, so they wouldn t be arrested as vagabonds.

6 It was built from the timbers of the theater where Shakespeare formerly played, called The Theatre. It was owned by a syndicate made of up of Richard and Cuthbert Burbage who shared in half the profits and expenses, and a group of actors, Shakespeare among them, who divided the other half. Most of Shakespeare's post-1599 plays were originally staged at the Globe, including Julius Caesar (first), Macbeth, and Hamlet.

10 Structure of of the the GLOBE GLOBE Structure Because there was no lighting, all performances at the Globe were conducted, weather permitting, during the day (probably most often in the mid-afternoon span between 2 P.M. and 5 P.M.). The theater had a total capacity of between 2,000 and 3,000 spectators.

11 The Globe was a three-storied building. It had a small hut on top of the roof. The owners of the theater raised a flag from a flagpole on the top of the hut on the day of performances. Londoners could look across the river and see which theater would have a production.

12 The Globe enclosed an open courtyard. The theater patrons named this courtyard the pit. Because most of the Globe and all of its stage was open air, acoustics were poor and the actors had to shout their lines, stress their speech, and engage in exaggerated theatrical gestures.

13 People who paid the lowest ticket price (1 penny) stood in this area; they were referred to as the groundlings. Almost surrounding the pit were three seating galleries. Audience members who paid for more expensive tickets (2 pennies) could sit in these galleries.

17 In addition to being able to sit while watching the play, the audience members in the gallery were protected from the sun and rain by a thatched roof. A large platform, called the main stage, protruded from one end of the pit. Most of the action of the play occurred here.

18 The theater owners cut a trap door into the main stage floor. The trap door could be opened to allow scenes in which ghosts and demons would appear or disappear; it could also become a grave, as in a famous scene from Shakespeare's play Hamlet. A roof, supported by two large columns, covered the stage area This roof protected the actors and their costumes from the rain.

19 Paintings of the sun, moon, and stars covered the underside of the roof. The roof area above the stage became known as the heavens because of this decoration. In some plays, technicians lowered actors portraying angels or spirits from the heavens onto the main stage as if the actors were descending from Heaven.

21 In back of the main stage was a small room. A curtain hung between this room and the main stage. The name of this room was the innerbelow. The curtain was opened to reveal scenes to the audience. The innerbelow was the location of interior scenes in the plays.

23 Above and to the rear of the main stage (on each side of the main stage) was a balcony that was used when actors needed to overlook some action on the main stage below. In back of this balcony was another small curtained room, called the inner-above, that was used in much the same manner as the innerbelow.

25 In Shakespeare's time, the audience did not expect the plays to be realistic. Very little scenery was used. Since the stagehands did not need to move the scenery, the plays contained many short scenes and a variety of locations.

27 Though the theaters of the time did not use scenery or special lighting, they did use colorful costumes, musical accompaniment, and special sound effects. Changes of scene were indicated in the speeches that Shakespeare wrote into the text of the plays.

29 The original structure of the Globe Theatre stood until June 29, 1613, when its roof was set on fire by a cannon fired in a performance of Henry VIII and the Globe burned to the ground. The Globe was rebuilt in 1614.

31 In 1642, however, a quarter-century after Shakespeare's death, a new, Puritanical and antitheater government assumed power in England and closed down all of the country's theaters.

32 Two years later, under orders from Oliver Cromwell, the Globe was tore down, the grounds leveled, and public housing units constructed on the site. In 1997, a new Globe Theatre was built in London. It opened under the name "Shakespeare's Globe Theatre" and now stages plays every summer (May to October).

33 The new theatre is 200 yards from the original site. As in the original, both the stage and the audience are outdoors. Plays are put on during the summer; in the winter, the theatre is used for educational purposes, and tours are available.

34 The New Globe (1997)

36 THE END

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