Shakespeare's Globe Theatre

The present Globe Theatre, located on the banks of the River Thames is a careful reconstruction of the original theatre of that name in and for which William Shakespeare wrote many of his plays. The reconstruction was the dream of the American actor Sam Wanamaker CBE, who tragically did not live to see his dream completed. The theatre overlooks the River Thames from its southern bank and is adjacent to the new Tate Gallery of Modern Art which opened in May 2000.

In 1996 the first full production opened on a temporary stage within the partially built shell of the Globe. Two Gentlemen of Verona ran for a little over one month during which time many aspects of the building were tested, and various theories either confirmed or abandoned. The play proved to be an overwhelming sucess playing to packed houses throughout its short run. When the season ended the company took the play to New York for a number of performances.

In the years to follow there have been a number of Globe productions that have been taken into other international venues, including theatres in Italy and Japan. To reciprocate, each year since 1997 the Globe has played host to a foreign language production of Shakespeare during its International week (or fortnight). These have included productions from South Africa, India, Cuba, Brazil and Japan.

Shakespeare's Globe theatre was formally opened in 1997 and over 200,000 people attended the four major productions during its May - September season. Since that time Shakespeare's Globe has continued to go from strength to strength and has established itself as a major cultural landmark. For the latest news on events at the Globe please follow the "What's On" link on the navigation bar to the left, or to find out more about what makes the globe such a unique experience continue reading.

The Globe is not intended to be static museum, rather it is a living, breathing theatre in which the plays of Shakespeare and his contempories can be performed in the settings they were written for. There are many differences between the Globe and other modern day theatres, some of which may take the theatre going public some time to become accustomed to. The most obvious of course is that it is an open air theatre. The "groundlings", by which term we refer to that part of the audience which stands in the yard before the stage, are completely exposed. If it rains, they get wet, if it is a hot day, they slowly roast. The rest of the audience are for the most part sheltered under a thatched roof, as indeed are the performers on stage. But even so protected the sun often reaches in to bake the front rows and the entire place can get very cold during late evening shows. There is no central heating and no air conditioning since such things did not exist in Shakespeare's day, so come prepared.

In the original Globe, every performance was held during the day. To simulate such conditions the current auditorium is floodlit when the sun goes down. This means that the performers always get as good a view of the audience as you get of them, and you can see everybody else as well. There is a great feeling of intimacy as a result.

There are often no long intervals during the plays, rather there are several short breaks. For example, in Julius Caesar there were four five minute pauses. In addition however, refreshments and programmes are sold continuously throughout the performances and the audience may get up and stroll around at their leisure.

There is no such thing as a late comer. The audience may arrive at any time and will always be allowed to assume their places. If people wish to see only one act, or maybe they have a meeting they can't get out of that overruns, then there is no difficulty about them turning up whenever they are ready, and indeed leaving at any time they so choose.

The audience is expected to get involved. Any play involving a crowd scene will almost undoubtedly use the audience as that crowd, one should therefore react according to the content. It is perfectly acceptable to boo and hiss the bad guys, and of course to cheer the good. Mark Antony in Julius Caesar got a lot of cheers after his rabble rousing speech.

The stewards who show you to your seat, sell you programs and answer as many of your questions as we are able are all volunteers, we are not paid. So please try to be nice to us.

For more information about Shakespere's Globe theatre, please explore the links on the top left side of this page.