The globe theatre, one of the most renowned theatre in the world- associated with the great English poet and playwright-William shakesphere.

Shakespeare called his theatre a ‘wooden O’, which inspired the Globe Theatre to be a 360° auditorium. It consists of a central yard with no roof. Seats are arranged in galleries all around the wide, open stage, so spectators and performers can see each other at all times.

History:

The first Globe was built by the company Shakespeare was in – the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, in the early 1599. It was located on the south bank of the River Thames in London, in the district of Southwark.

The first production that took place there was- As you like it, followed by works by Shakespeare, Jonson, Beaumont, Fletcher and others. Unfortunately,due to an incident in 1613 during a performance of Henry VIII, a cannon went off to mark the entrance of the king, and a stray spark set the thatch roof aflame. Thus, in just one hour, the theatre was turned to ashes. The reconstruction of the Globe began immediately, and it was finished by June 1614 and hosted plays till 1642. But the Puritans, who found theatre vulgar and intolerable, led to the shutting down of the theatre.Two years after this incident, it was demolished to make way for tenement dwellings.

Modern construction:

In 1970 the American actor Sam Wanamaker, who was driven by the notion of reconstructing a replica of the Globe, established the Shakespeare Globe Playhouse Trust. Seventeen years later a groundbreaking ceremony was held on a Bankside site near that of the original Globe, and in 1989 the foundations of the original building were discovered buried beneath a historic 19th-century building.

 The modern day globe theatre is located approximately 750 feet from the site of the original theater. 

However, the new globe theatre wasn’t exactly the replica of the original one. There were some adjustments made to the original design-they changed the planned 24 sides to 20, for instance, and, using the angles revealed by the archaeologists, they made the whole polygon 99 feet (30 meters) in outside diameter. By referring to a number of extant Elizabethan buildings for clues to the structure, style, interior, and roofing, scholars and architects completed the design of the Globe Theatre reconstruction. 

There were many other features that were added to keeping in mind the safety which include-constraints of fire-safety regulations which entailed making the stairways and access doors wider, increasing the number of entrances to the yard, positioning sprinkler valves in the ridging of the thatched gallery roofing, and including conduits for electrical wiring. Due to this the capacity of the audience the Globe could hold was reduced down to 1600, that is half of the original Globe.

Architecture and design:

The design of the original Theatre responded to a mix of traditions. It was 30 meters in diameter and had 20 sides, giving it its perceived circular shape.  The rectangular stage, at five feet high, projected halfway into the yard and the circular galleries. The pillars were painted to look like Italian marble, the sky painted midnight blue, and images of the gods overlooked the balcony.

The original capacity of the Globe was 3000 which was then reduced after the new construction.

The Globe Theatre Architecture included the features of the existing blood sport rings, such as the Bear Garden, which were used but with the addition of a fixed stage. The fashionable and practical Black and White Half Timbered style of architecture was emulated. The Globe Theatre was framed with massive upright, vertical timbers. These vertical timbers were supported by diagonal timbers. The wattle walls were daubed with mortar and whitewash was then applied. This process resulted in the highly distinctive black and white half-timbered Elizabethan style of architecture.

The Globe Theatre Architecture also featured a thatched roof. The material used to make a thatched roof was either straw or reeds. Bundles of straw or reed were piled on to the frame of the roof. The bundles had a circumference of between 24 to 27 inches and could range from 3 to 7 feet long. The thatched roof was a real fire hazard and in 1613 the original Globe theatre was burnt to the ground. A new Globe Theatre was built quickly, keeping in mind the fire hazard-it boasted a tiled roof.

Significance:

The Globe Theatre is an open-air playhouse which is considered one of the most famous theatres in the world. Many of Shakespeare’s plays were written so that they could be performed in the theatre, and he was a part of the company that constructed and owned it. The theatre was built during a time whereby there was an entertainment vacuum in London, and was thus hugely popular amongst the masses for the variety of plays that graced its stage.

Not only featuring Shakespeare’s plays, but this magnificent piece of architecture also had a lasting impact on the field of theatre and literature.

Even after being destroyed many times, the globe theater stands as it is. It shows the influence it had on people which compelled them to preserve such a splendid site. It denotes a memento to the great Shakespeare and his well-known plays.

Nevertheless, this piece of work will keep on inspiring the field of theatre and play as long as it exists, as it did in the past.

Written by: Teeya Patil