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The Globe

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Location

The Globe was built in the district of Bankside, in the Borough of Southwark. The Globe was located in London, south of Maiden Lane, on what is now Park Street in London (McCudden 143). Archaeological findings place the Globe due southeast of the Rose and about 115 metres south of the Thames River. It originally stood in an area just south of Maiden Lane. It lay west of modern-day Porter Street.

History

The Globe was originally built in Bankside, Southwark in 1599. The Lord Chamberlain’s Men, led by Richard Burbage and by his father, James Burbage, before him, had been performing at the Theatre, which had been built by the Burbage family on land leased from Giles Allen. In 1597, Allen refused to renew the lease, and although James Burbage had purchased the Blackfriars in 1596, with the plan of using it as an indoor theatre, the wealthy residents of the Blackfriars neighborhood had prevented that from happening. James Burbage died in 1597, leaving the Theatre and the Blackfriars to his sons, Cuthbert and Richard. With Allen’s refusal to renew their lease, however, the Chamberlain’s Men were left without a useable theatre, and they were forced to rent the Curtain. But while Allen owned the land on which the Theatre was built, the terms of the lease actually gave the Burbages the right to dismantle and move what they had built on it. Therefore, in December of 1598, while Giles Allen was out of town, they dismantled the Theatre and transported the lumber across the river. Their builder, Peter Streete, stored the lumber for them until the Chamberlain’s Men leased land in Bankside, near their competitor, the Rose theatre, and used the timbers from the Theatre to build the Globe.
Because the Chamberlain’s Men were in difficult financial straits, the first Globe was built using cheaper materials. The roof, for instance, was thatched with reeds rather than being covered in tile. This would prove to be the demise of the first Globe. In 1613, during a performance of Shakespeare’s Henry VIII, a prop cannon was fired. Although the cannon did not actually contain a cannon ball, it did contain gunpowder, packed down with wadding. A piece of this wadding landed on the roof and the thatch caught fire. Within an hour, the Globe had burnt to the ground. Poet and playwright Ben Jonson commented on this event in his poem, An Execration upon Vulcan:
But oh these Reeds, thy meere disdaine of them,
Made thee beget that cruell stratagem:
(Which some are pleas’d to stile but thy mad prank)
Against the Globe, the glory of the banke,
VVhich though it were the Fort of the whol parish,
Fenc’d with a Ditch and forkt out of a Marish:
I saw with two poore Chambers taken in,
And rais’d ere thought could urge: this might have bin.
See the worlds ruines, nothing but the piles.
Left, and wit since to covet it with tiles
(Jonson sig. B3v)
The King’s Men, as the company was then called, rebuilt the Globe, and since their finances were now much better, they did have the wit Gap in transcription. Reason: ()[…] to cover it with tiles. The second Globe had a tile roof and was more extravagantly decorated. The Globe continued to be a successful venue, albeit mostly a summer venue, until 1642, when all the London theatres were closed (Egan; Gurr).
The Fire at the Globe, 1613 by Cyril Walter Hodges. Image courtesy of the Folger Digital Image Collection.
The Fire at the Globe, 1613 by Cyril Walter Hodges. Image courtesy of the Folger Digital Image Collection.

Architecture and Archeology

There is much uncertainly surrounding the specific architectural details of the Globe. For instance, scholars debate the actual size and shape of the famous theatre. Initially scholars attempted to extrapolate the dimensions and shape of the playhouse from etchings, more specifically, etchings from the Bohemian artist Wencelaus Hollar. In the western section of the Long View of London from Bankside (1647), an etching created by Hollar that surveys the London landscape,the Globe is prominently featured along the river bank (Hollar; Hodges 11). Although Hollar confuses the Globe Theatre with the nearby bearbaiting enclosure and mislabels both, scholars still speculated about the size and shape of the playhouse by comparing Hollar’s depiction of the theatre with the dimensions of other well known buildings in the landscape at the time. Based on this pictorial evidence, Cyril Walter Hodges, experienced illustrator and Shakespearean scholar, argued that the playhouse had sixteen sides, though he admitted that it might have had twelve (Hodges 45). He also determined that the playhouse was about 31 feet high and 92 feet in diameter (Hodges 49).
London from Bankside by Wenceslaus Hollar. The labels on the Globe and the bear-baiting ring have been switched. Image courtesy of the Folger Digital Image Collection.
London from Bankside by Wenceslaus Hollar. The labels on the Globe and the bear-baiting ring have been switched. Image courtesy of the Folger Digital Image Collection.
Architectural scholarship on the Globe Theatre was shaken by the discovery of a fraction of the playhouse’s original foundation in 1989 (McCudden 143). During 1988–1991 a significant archaeological dig was performed at what was purported through historical documentation to be the original sites of the Rose and Globe theatres. The dig uncovered what has proved to be definitive evidence of the existence of both theatres. Although most of the remains of the Rose were uncovered, the Globe’s unearthed remains only showed a few yards of the outer walls of the theater (Bowsher and Miller xiv). The Globe site could not be fully excavated due to existing architectural and civic concerns (Gurr 400-401). Archeologists excavated the north-east portion of the theatre, a space approximately 12m X 9m 140ft X 30ft of the Globe (McCudden 143). The excavation of a portion of the Globe revealed that the structure was supported by three parallel walled foundations. The two outer walls were created using interlaced brick, while the inner wall was formed from timber and a chalk motar (McCudden 143).
Even after this archeological discovery, scholars remain uncertain about the exact shape and dimensions of the theatre. Archaeologist Simon McCudden and prominent Shakespeare scholar Andrew Gurr have both suggested that the Globe had twenty sides, but others have argued that it had either sixteen or eighteen sides (McCudden 144; Gurr 97; Bowsher and Miller 126-129).
While there is not universal agreement on the size and shape of the Globe, the archaeological dig did reveal much about the materials used in the playhouse.
It is assumed that peg tiles were used on the 1614 roof from what little demolition remains were recovered (Bowsher and Miller 116-117). Mortar/plaster substances and peg tiles from the inner area of the uncovered wall remains led experts to theorize that the 1614 structure used these materials in wall constructions (Bowsher and Miller 113). The foundations of the 1599 Globe appear to have consisted chiefly of chalk rubble mixtures, while the 1614 structure had a brick foundation with supportive peg tiles inlaid between the bricks (Bowsher and Miller 113).
Although scholars do not agree on the exact shape and size of the Globe Theatre, we know that the playhouse was an open air amphitheater surrounded by a three-story gallery overhang, which could hold around three-thousand people. In the centre was a thrust stage, and an area called the pit or yard where audience members could stand and watch the drama. A roof over the stage was supported by columns or stage trees (Hodges 49; Egan).
Unlike other theatres of the time, the Globe used two stair turrets to provide access to the galleries. Archeologists excavated one of the stair turrets in an archaeological dig in 1989. The foundation for the turret was built with chalk mortar, or clunch which formed the base of the outer walls, and attached to surrounding brick work (Gurr 97).
The discovery of these stair turrets presented theatre historians with a new admission system than they had seen employed in playhouses previously. Other theatres, such as the Rose, used a system of gates where one payment would be made at the entrance gate, another payment would allow audience members to enter the scaffolds, and a third was for quiet standing (Gurr 99). This design required the theatre to create three or four lobbies or gatherers in order for patrons to access various areas of the theatre. The Globe’s use of the stair turrets allowed the theatre company to employ only two main lobbies from which patrons could access the either the yard or the galleries. This system allowed the company to economize on the space within the theatre and gain higher profits (Gurr 99). Furthermore, the stairwell ensured that only the patrons who had paid more accessed the galleries. Those who had paid only to stand in the yard went in one direction, while the audience members who had paid for a seat in the galleries went in the other direction, and up the stairs (Gurr 99).
These conclusions have been drawn from the section of the Globe that archeologists were able to excavate. Archeologists believe the remains of the theatre continue underneath various present-day structures such as the Barclay-Perkins Brewery (Orser 253). Although there are parts of the foundation that continue to the east, the majority of the remains continue westward (Orser 254).

Playing Companies

Because the 1572 Acte for the punishment of Vagabondes and a similar but more restrictive 1598 statute declared that actors or players who did not work for a patron, or Personage of higher degree, could be declared beggars or vagabonds and placed in a workhouse, actors in late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries had to be part of a group of players sponsored by a member of the nobility (Gurr 27). The company that performed at the Globe, and which Shakespeare was a part of, was the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, patronized by Henry Carey, the Lord Chamberlain. In 1603 they became the King’s Men, with King James serving as their patron (Best; Gurr 28). They were one of the leading companies of the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries (Best; Dutton 73; Gurr 41-49).
The playing companies were usually made up of sharers, or members who shared in both the profits and expenses of the company, and hirelings, who were paid on a weekly basis. However, when the Burbages found themselves in need of a new theatre for the Chamberlain’s Men and with limited financial resources, they created a new type of shareholder. The Burbages paid fifty per cent of the cost of building the Globe, and their five sharers, Shakespeare, Heminges, Kempe, Phillps, and Pope each paid 10 per cent. This innovation made the players not only sharers in the profits and expenses of the playhouse but also housekeepers or landlords, who earned a share of the half of the gallery takings that were usually the right of the owners. Kempe later left the partnership, giving each of the remaining sharers an increased share (Gurr 44-46).
Players and companies of players contended with many difficulties. If they were not sponsored by a member of the nobility, actors could be declared vagabonds. If an epidemic of the plague broke out in London, the London theatres would be closed and the companies would have to travel, which was generally less profitable (Gurr 28-29). Additionally, companies had to receive a license from the Master of the Revels in order to perform or print any play. While this license sometimes gave the companies a certain protection from local authorities, it also meant that performing plays that contained offensive materials such as satirical religious or political contents could result in the punishment of the transgressing companies and their actors (Best; Gurr 73-77). The Chamberlain’s Men and the King’s Men were censored and punished on more than one occasion. For instance, in 1601, the performance of Shakespeare’s Richard II by the Lord Chamberlain’s Men at the Globe the night before the Essex rebellion resulted in paying a fine of 40 shillings (McCrea 175). Another example of the censorship and punishment resulted from the performance of Thomas Middleton’s A Game at Chess in 1624 by the King’s Men at the Globe. This play contained offensive political contents; it portrayed a Christian king on the stage, which was illegal at that time. As a result of this offensive performance, the Globe was closed and Thomas Middleton, the playwright, and other actors were scolded and fined (Howard-Hill 104).

Players

The players of the Globe, like most actors of the time, had an unusual role in society—though most were deemed rogues and scoundrels in everyday life, they somehow flourished professionally. Some of the players achieved high respect among the gentry and nobility. For example, tragedian Richard Burbage was a friend of the Earl of Pembroke, a powerful and wealthy nobleman (Gurr 86).
The First Folio of Shakespeare records the name of twenty six of the principal actors in all these plays: William Shakespeare; Richard Burbage; John Heminges; Augustine Phillips; William Kempe; Thomas Pope; George Bryan; Henry Condell; William Sly; Richard Cowley; John Lowin; Samuel Crosse; Alexander Cooke; Samuel Gilburne; Robert Armin; William Ostler; Nathan Field; John Underwood; Nicholas Tooley; William Ecclestone; Joseph Taylor; Robert Benfield; Robert Gouge; Richard Robinson; John Schanke; and John Rice (Shakespeare). Many of these actors would have performed at the Globe. Of these, a few deserve special note.
Richard Burbage (1567-1619) was arguably the most notable of the tragedians in the Chamberlain’s Men. He was instrumental in the 1598 disassembly of the Theatre and subsequent building of the Globe. He and his brother, Cuthbert, held a 50% share in the Globe. Burbage’s roles included those of Hamlet, King Lear, Richard III, Jeronimo, and Othello, and he is listed as a player for every play in the King’s Men’s repertoire from 1599 to 1618 for which lists of players survive (Gurr 91).
Robert Armin was perhaps the best known of the Globe’s comic actors. Though his predecessor in the Chamberlain’s Men, Will Kempe, was equally skilled in a very different type of comedy, he left the company in 1599, and it is unlikely that he ever performed at the Globe (Gurr 44; Pignataro 78). Armin was not a handsome man. His appearance made him unsuitable for a tragic lead role, but because his intellectual and witty style of fooling, Shakespeare wrote characters such as Feste in Twelfth Night and King Lear’s Fool for Armin (Gurr 89; Pignataro 78-79).

Plays Performed

The majority of Shakespeare’s plays are recorded as having been performed at the Globe. In fact, many scholars believe that the first play to open in the Globe was Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar (Pignataro 78). Not directly associated with the Globe are Shakespeare’s early histories and comedies. These include all three parts of Henry VI, The Merchant of Venice, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Much Ado About Nothing, and Richard III (Gurr 236-241). The Tempest is also not directly associated with the Globe (Gurr 241), but perhaps because by the time of this late play, the Globe was primarily a summer venue. The lack of documentation, however, does not necessarily mean that these plays were not performed at the Globe (Gurr 232).
While the Globe is now famously associated with Shakespeare, his plays were not the only ones performed there. Another play performed in the Globe’s opening season was the now lost Cloth Breeches and Velvet Hose (Knutson 63), a dramatization of an allegorical story by Robert Greene that warns against the dangers of luxury (Knutson 61). A second allegorical play, A Larum for London, depicting a sinful village under siege by an army symbolic of the scourge of God, is cited by both Knutson and Gurr as having been performed at the Globe (Knutson 63-72; Gurr 238).
The Globe did not favor one play or playwright for long. Shakespeare’s plays were performed quite often, but the popularity and reception of a play was important. If a play was popular and brought in an audience, then the Globe would bring in money. To bring in audiences, plays were seldom performed consecutively. Instead there might be six plays, by different playwrights, performed in a week (Watkins and Lemmon 22). If the Globe changed the play every night, then it was likely they would draw in an audience every night.
The list of playwrights whose plays were performed at the Globe is extensive, and includes the names of some of the great playwrights of the time. Some of the playwrights whose plays are known to have been played at the Globe include Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher, John Ford, Philip Massinger, Richard Brome, and John Webster. It is clear that although Shakespeare is the playwright most associated with the Globe many other playwrights have made the Globe the theater in which their works have come to life.
While we have no record of all the plays performed at the Globe, the Database of Early English Playbooks (DEEP) records that the plays in the following chart were published with a title page attribution declaring that the play had been performed at the Globe. The year in the first column refers to the year of the publication including this title page attribution.
Year▼ Author▼ Title▼ First Publication▼ First Production▼ DEEP Number▼
1608 William Shakespeare Richard the Second 1597 1595 DEEP 222
1608 Anonymous The Merry Devil of Edmonton 1608 1602 DEEP 509
1608 William Shakespeare King Lear 1608 1605 DEEP 515
1608 Thomas Middleton (?) A Yorkshire Tragedy 1608 1605 DEEP 521
1609 William Shakespeare Romeo and Juliet 1597 1595 DEEP 236
1609 William Shakespeare Troilus and Cressida 1609 1602 DEEP 536
1609 William Shakespeare, George Wilkins Pericles, Prince of Tyre 1609 1602 DEEP 544
1609 William Shakespeare, George Wilkins Pericles, Prince of Tyre 1609 1608 DEEP 545
1610 Anonymous Mucedorus (and Amadine) 1598 1590 DEEP 261
1611 Anonymous Mucedorus (and Amadine) 1598 1590 DEEP 262
1611 William Shakespeare, George Wilkins Pericles, Prince of Tyre 1609 1608 DEEP 546
1612 Anonymous The Merry Devil of Edmonton 1608 1602 DEEP 510
1613 Anonymous Mucedorus (and Amadine) 1598 1590 DEEP 263
1615 William Shakespeare Richard the Second 1597 1595 DEEP 223
1615 Anonymous Mucedorus (and Amadine) 1615 1590 DEEP 264
1617 Anonymous The Merry Devil of Edmonton 1608 1602 DEEP 511
1618 Anonymous Mucedorus (and Amadine) 1598 1590 DEEP 265
1619 Anonymous Mucedorus (and Amadine) 1598 1590 DEEP 266
1619 William Shakespeare King Lear 1608 1605 DEEP 516
1619 Francis Beaumont, John Fletcher A King and No King 1619 1611 DEEP 668
1620 Francis Beaumont, John Fletcher Philaster, or Love Lies a-Bleeding 1620 1609 DEEP 675
1621 Anonymous Mucedorus (and Amadine) 1598 1590 DEEP 267
1622 Francis Beaumont, John Fletcher Philaster, or Love Lies a-Bleeding 1620 1609 DEEP 677
1622 William Shakespeare Othello, the Moor of Venice 1622 1604 DEEP 692
[1623] William Shakespeare Romeo and Juliet 1597 1595 DEEP 237
1623 John Webster The Duchess of Malfi 1623 1614 DEEP 711
[1625] Thomas Middleton A Game at Chess [1625] 1624 DEEP 722
[1625?] Thomas Middleton A Game at Chess [1625] 1624 DEEP 723
[1625] Thomas Middleton A Game at Chess [1625] 1624 DEEP 725
1626 Anonymous Mucedorus (and Amadine) 1598 1590 DEEP 268
1626 Anonymous The Merry Devil of Edmonton 1608 1602 DEEP 512
1628 Francis Beaumont, John Fletcher Philaster, or Love Lies a-Bleeding 1620 1609 DEEP 678
1629 John Ford The Lover’s Melancholy 1629 1628 DEEP 731
1630 William Shakespeare Othello, the Moor of Venice 1622 1604 DEEP 693
1630 Philip Massinger The Picture 1630 1629 DEEP 753
1631 William Shakespeare The Taming of the Shrew 1594 1591 DEEP 185
1631 William Shakespeare Love’s Labor’s Lost 1598 1595 DEEP 258
1631 Anonymous Mucedorus (and Amadine) 1598 1590 DEEP 270
1631 Anonymous The Merry Devil of Edmonton 1608 1602 DEEP 513
1632 Philip Massinger The Emperor of the East 1632 1631 DEEP 783
1632 Richard Brome The Northern Lass 1632 1629 DEEP 787
1634 William Shakespeare Richard the Second 1597 1595 DEEP 224
1634 Anonymous Mucedorus (and Amadine) 1598 1590 DEEP 271
1634 Francis Beaumont, John Fletcher Philaster, or Love Lies a-Bleeding 1620 1609 DEEP 679
1634 Thomas Heywood, Richard Brome The Late Lancashire Witches 1634 1634 DEEP 829
1636 Thomas Heywood A Challenge for Beauty 1636 1635 DEEP 849
1637 William Shakespeare Romeo and Juliet 1597 1595 DEEP 239
1639 Anonymous Mucedorus (and Amadine) 1598 1590 DEEP 272
1639 Francis Beaumont, John Fletcher Philaster, or Love Lies a-Bleeding 1620 1609 DEEP 680
1639 Philip Massinger The Unnatural Combat 1639 1624 DEEP 911
1639 Henry Glapthorne Albertus Wallenstein 1639 1639 DEEP 921
1652 Francis Beaumont, John Fletcher Philaster, or Love Lies a-Bleeding 1620 1609 DEEP 682
1655 Anonymous The Merry Devil of Edmonton 1608 1602 DEEP 514
1655 William Shakespeare King Lear 1608 1605 DEEP 517
1655 William Shakespeare Othello, the Moor of Venice 1622 1604 DEEP 694
[1656?] Anonymous Mucedorus (and Amadine) 1598 1590 DEEP 273
1652 [1661 (?)] Francis Beaumont, John Fletcher Philaster, or Love Lies a-Bleeding 1620 1609 DEEP 683

Audience

Since the playhouse was in the liberties of London, the audience was outside of the control of potentially hostile city officials. It also meant that the audience was near other theatres, bear baiting arenas, brothels, and leper colonies. It was far from an elite neighborhood, but it was a location that gave them freedom and allowed them to attract a diverse audience. Poorer Londoners could pay a penny to stand in the yard, and wealthier theatre goers could venture across the river and pay more to sit in the galleries.

Modern Reconstructions

Because of its association with Shakespeare, the Globe has fascinated modern audiences, scholars, and theatre professionals. Several theatres have been built that imitate either the exterior of the Globe, the interior of an Elizabethan playhouse, or both. Modern globe theatres exist in Japan, Italy, Germany, England, Australia, and the United States of America (Gurr 27). Perhaps the best known of these, and possibly the most historically accurate, is Shakespeare’s Globe, in London, England, located just a short distance from the site of the first two Globe theatres.
This modern reconstruction of the Globe was the idea of Sam Wanamaker, an American actor, director, and producer, whose first job in the theatre was acting in a Shakespeare play in a reconstruction of the Globe at the Great Lakes World Fair in Ohio in 1936 (Shakespeare’s Globe Trust). In 1970, Wanamaker founded what would become the Shakespeare Globe Trust, which was dedicated to the reconstruction of Shakespeare’s Globe. Sam Wanamaker died in 1993, after twenty-three years of fundraising and planning the reconstruction alongside Theo Crosby, the Shakespeare Globe Trust architect (Gurr 32-47; Shakespeare’s Globe Trust). Unfortunately, both Wanamaker and Crosby died before the completion of the theatre; however, the third Bankside theatre was completed in 1997 and is now a venue for performances of both Shakespearean plays and new plays (Mulryne and Shewring 11; Shakespeare’s Globe Trust).
While the size and shape of the original Globe is uncertain, the architect, builders, and the Shakespeare Globe Trust attempted to make the theatre as historically accurate as possible. When possible they used the same type of materials as were used for the first Globe. They used green oak, and joined the timbers together using wooden pegs. Because of modern safety concerns, they had to use modern scaffolding and cranes, and the thatched roof had to be lined with fire-retardant material. The modern Globe also had to have more exits than the original, and the theatre has to employ stewards to look after the audience in the event of a fire or other emergency (Greenfield 81-96; Shakespeare’s Globe Trust). The modern Globe also seats fewer patrons, since modern audiences prefer to purchase a ticket for a numbered seat rather than crowding in on the benches. Audience members still stand in an open air yard around the stage of the new Globe (Shakespeare’s Globe Trust).
Although great effort was expended in making the new Globe as historically accurate as possible, there is still doubt about how similar it is to the first two Globe theatres. Performance studies expert Tim Fitzpatrick argues that Wanamaker’s Globe is larger than the original Globe. The original globe might have been 86 feet wide, while Wanamaker’s Globe measures 100 feet in diameter. Fitzpatrick has also suggested that the stage posts may have been closer together and further upstage. The new Globe is as close an approximation of the original Globe as was possible after years of research, debate, and speculation, but we cannot know if it is entirely accurate. Despite any possible inaccuracies, Wanamaker’s Globe offers visitors an insight into what it may have been like to perform or view performances in Shakespeare’s Globe (Fitzpatrick 432-451; Shakespeare’s Globe Trust; Gurr 27-47).

Locating the Globe Today

Modern-day Southwark Bridge Road runs along and partially overlaps the western side of the original theatre site. If contemporary tourists wish to walk in the area of the original Globe, they need only to find the intersection of Park and Southwark Bridge Roads, then a stroll east down Park Street would take them along the northern part of the original Globe, while alternately, heading south from the intersection would have them passing over the western parts of the theater (Bowsher and Miller 2, 4-5, 86).
Conjectural, cut-away view of the interior of the Globe by Joseph Quincy Adams. Image courtesy of the Folger Digital Image Collection.
Conjectural, cut-away view of the interior of the Globe by Joseph Quincy Adams. Image courtesy of the Folger Digital Image Collection.
Conjectural, cut-away view of the interior of the Globe by Cyril Walter Hodges. Image courtesy of the Folger Digital Image Collection.
Conjectural, cut-away view of the interior of the Globe by Cyril Walter Hodges. Image courtesy of the Folger Digital Image Collection.
Conjectural diagram of the Globe by Joseph Quincy Adams. Image courtesy of the Folger Digital Image Collection.
Conjectural diagram of the Globe by Joseph Quincy Adams. Image courtesy of the Folger Digital Image Collection.

References