Biography
The theatre began in ancient Greece, and reached one of its highest peaks in Elizabethan England. Read about the building of the original Globe and that of its successors here
Globe Theatre: the Basics
The theatre known as Shakespeare's Globe, at Bankside on the south bank of the Thames, is a re-creation on the site of the original, where the playwright's own company, the King's Men, once set up camp. It was the brainchild of US actor and director Sam Wanamaker, opening in 1997, and is closely modelled on its Elizabethan forebear.
Early Theatres
Drama was invented by the Ancient Greeks, in Athens, more than 2,500 years ago. Plays were performed each spring in a festival in honour of Dionysus, god of wine and wild emotion. A Greek theatre was a large, open-air structure, with curved rows of seating rising up the slope of a hillside. It is from this seating area, called the "theatron" (viewing place), that we get the word "theatre".
The First Globe
In April 1597, William Shakespeare's company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men, faced a difficult situation. Its playhouse, the Theatre in Shoreditch, had been built on rented land, and after 21 years, the lease had run out. The landowner, Giles Allen, hated plays and refused to renew the lease. He declared that he intended to tear down the playhouse, and use its valuable oak timbers ''for a better purpose''.
The Second and Third Globes
A year after the fire that destroyed the Globe, a second Globe was erected on its site. Similar to the first in structure, but noticeably lacking in thatch (the roof was sensibly tiled), this theatre survived longer than its predecessor, albeit without Shakespeare as one of its in-house playwrights…
The Modern Globe Theatre
TV historian Dan Snow takes us on a tour of the rebuilt Globe Theatre on London's Bankside
