Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, is a reconstruction of The Globe Theatre, an Elizabethan playhouse in the London Borough of Southwark, on the south bank of the River Thames. It is approximately 230 metres (750 ft) from the site of the original theatre and was completed in 1997. Jack Shepherd's 'Prologue Production' of The Two Gentlemen of Verona starring Mark Rylance as Proteus, opened the Globe to the theatregoing public in August 1996, a year before the formal opening Gala.
The original Globe was owned by actors who were also shareholders in the Lord Chamberlain's Men. Two of the six Globe shareholders, Richard Burbage and his brother Cuthbert Burbage, owned double shares of the whole, or 25% each; the other four men, Shakespeare, John Heminges, Augustine Phillips, and Thomas Pope, owned a single share, or 12.5%.

The Globe was destroyed by fire on June 29, 1613. The fire was caused by a accident with a cannon during a production of Henry VIII. The theatre was rebuilt by June 1614, but was officially closed by pressure of Puritan opinion in 1642 and demolished in 1644 .

In 1970 American actor and director Sam Wanamaker, founded the Shakespeare Globe Trust, and International Shakespeare Globe Centre with the objective of building a faithful recreation of Shakespeare’s Globe close to its original Bankside, Southwark location. While many had said that the Globe reconstruction was impossible to achieve, he persevered for over twenty years, and eventually a new Globe theatre was built according to a design based on the research of historical advisor John Orrell.
As in the original Globe, the theatre has a thrust stage that projects into a large circular yard surrounded by three tiers of steeply raked seating.

The only covered parts of the amphitheatre are the stage and the (more expensive) seated areas. Plays are staged during the summer, usually between May and the first week of October, and in the winter the theatre is used for educational purposes. Tours are available all year round.

The reconstruction was carefully researched so that the new building would be as faithful a replica of the original as possible. This was aided by the discovery of the original Globe Theatre as final plans were being made of the site. There are some concessions to modernity, including, the addition of lights (plays in Shakespeare's time were held during the day), sprinklers on the roof to protect against fire, a modern lobby, visitors' centre and additional backstage support areas.

Capacity is 1,380, with a further 700 "groundlings" standing in the pit, making up an audience about half the size of a typical audience in Shakespeare's time.

 

If you get the opportunit, then take a walk to the theatre along the South Thames path, it has unrivalled views and there's a notable absence of traffic. River buses stop nearby which run from Westminster and as far east as Greenwich.

 

21 New Globe Walk, Southwark, London, SE1 9DT

Call: 020 7902 1400