The Globe Theatre

In may of 1599 the first globe theatre was finished being built. Shakespeare’s plays were normally performed here.

The globe was a huge, open-air circular theatre that could hold over three thousand people. There was usually 2 performances each day.

The first Globe burned to the ground in 1613, apparently by flaming material shot from a cannon used for special effects during a performance of Henry VIII that ignited the thatched roof of the gallery. It was rebuilt immediately, this time with a tiled roof, and reopened in July of the following year.

Like all the other theatres, it was closed down by the Protestants in 1642, and was destroyed in 1644 to make room for tenements. Its exact location remained unknown until remnants of its foundations were discovered in 1989 beneath Anchor Terrace on Southwark Bridge Road. There may be further remains beneath Anchor Terrace, but the eighteenth century terrace is listed and may not be disturbed by archaeologists.

In 1970 an actor named Sam Wanamaker started to rebuild the Globe near it’s original site in London. It is an accurate replica – down to being build with animal hair and putty but can only hold 1500 because of safety reasons, even if it is one of the biggest theatres in London.

It opened in 1997 under the name 'Shakespeare's Globe Theatre' and now stages plays every summer (May to October). Mark Rylance was appointed first artistic director of the modern Globe (1995-2005). Dominic Dromgoole recently took over as the new artistic director.

The new theatre is 200 yards from the original site, and was the first thatched roof building permitted in London since the Great Fire of London of 1666.

Simple Shakespeare for primary school students