Shakespeare's Globe Reviews (London, England)

Shakespeare's Globe Theatre

Manchester, England, United Kingdom

June 13, 2012

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Best of IgoUgo The theatre is easy to find on the Southbank of the Thames, not far from the Millennium Bridge and the Tate Modern. It is good for adults and children alike to get a glimpse of Elizabethan London. The theatre was recently reconstructed and built ...Read more The theatre is easy to find on the Southbank of the Thames, not far from the Millennium Bridge and the Tate Modern. It is good for adults and children alike to get a glimpse of Elizabethan London. The theatre was recently reconstructed and built with materials and techniques from that time.

It is open every day between 10am and 5pm. In winter, guided tours are offered every day. From May to September, which is their theatre season, tours are only available in the mornings. The entrance, which includes the tour costs £13.50 for adults and £8.00 for children. It is not really suitable for very young children - at 8, I think our son was as young as I would go for this.

The tour does not need to be pre-booked. You can buy your ticket at the admission desk, they never sell out apparently. The tours last about half an hour and run constantly. We arrived at 11:25 and still got to go on the 11:30 tour on a Saturday morning.

Our tour guide was very informed and informative. The tour was really interesting, although to be honest, I thought she was just a little too bossy. She informed us at the beginning that we were not to take photos while she was speaking as it would be too off-putting for her. She told us in no uncertain terms where we could sit, and if anyone wandered even a little way from the group, they were briskly reminded to return. That said though, I did very much enjoy the tour.

Shakespeare's Globe was one of the most important public theatres ever built and he premiered many of his most famous plays here. The American film-maker Sam Wannamaker worked for 20 years to raise funds to recreate this theatre as it existed in Elizabethan times. The building is not on the original site of the Globe, though this is not far away. Apparently a listed building exists on the exact site and they were not allowed to pull it down, so used this site instead. It is a beautiful location though - right on the edge of the Thames.

The building has a thatched roof. This is the first new thatched roof in the city of London, since the Great Fire of London in 1666. The roof has been specially treated with a fire retardant and the spikes on top of it are powerful water sprays, should they be needed. The theatre and seating are beautiful. The roof covers the seated area, but in the standing area around the stage, it is completely open to the elements. Everything is made of oak and the decorative paintings on the stage and in the gentlemen's boxes are wonderful.

The theatre season here runs from May to September. The performances are critically acclaimed and sell out. They use only natural light, no microphones and the minimum of scenery - just as in the times of Shakespeare. The theatre is not an exact replica, it seats 1,500 and not 3,000 as in the early 1600's. You do get a wonderful feel for what it must have been like there in those days though.

The plays last around 3 hours, they rent cushions for the seats, but in the standing area you have to stand - exposed to the elements as well!

After the tour, you can have a look at the exhibition. It is very interesting and tells the story of the Globe's construction and craftmanship. There is a lot to read, our 8 year old was not that impressed, but they do have some interactive exhibits.

There is a little shop selling high quality souvenirs. This place is a charity and receives no government funding, so all money they raise on the tours, in the shop etc. and ticket sales goes directly to the theatre and keeping it open. There is a bar/restaurant and also a lovely little cafe selling delicious home-made food. We had lovely vegetable soup and sandwiches - I would definitely recommend eating here. The only downside was the distinct lack of seating area to eat your food - it was cramped to say the least.

The Globe is a wonderful and educational place to visit. As well as the half hour tour, we spent about an hour exploring the self-guided exhibition. The tour also goes on whatever the weather - if it is raining, you do spend a lot of it in the open-air, so come prepared! Close

From journal 4 Nights By the Thames in London

Enjoyable theatre

by artslover

Calgary, Alberta

October 8, 2010

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We went to see a Saturday afternoon performance of Henry IV, Part 1. It was delightful. The story is basically a coming of age story of Prince Hal, who must mature to become King Henry V. Over the two plays, he changes from loveable madcap to ...Read more

From journal London attractions

Shakespeare's Globe and Theatre Museum

by tvordj

Dartmouth, Nova Scotia

January 2, 2009

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Best of IgoUgo On the Thursday of my 2001 trip to London i decided to go to the Globe and after arriving at Liverpool Street station in the morning with Nikki, and after my usual cuppa tea first thing, I made my way to the Southbank area. I got to the new Globe ...Read more On the Thursday of my 2001 trip to London i decided to go to the Globe and after arriving at Liverpool Street station in the morning with Nikki, and after my usual cuppa tea first thing, I made my way to the Southbank area. I got to the new Globe theatre by about 10. There was a tour of the theatre at 10:30 so I spent a half hour looking at the first bit of
the exhibition in the adjoining building.

This part of the museum went into the history of the rebuilding of the Globe, a project spearheaded by American actor Sam Wanamaker who worked tirelessly raising money for 20 years. The original Globe was one street away from the present location but that property was not available. Around the outside of the theatre are bricks in the pavement that were sold for £300 in exchange for which the owner's name is carved in the brick for all to see. You can still buy a normal smaller brick for a pound if you wish. The theatre, which can hold 900 in the seating area and 600 in the Yard which is a bit of a squash admittedly, is entirely self supporting and the most expensive ticket is only £20.

The original Globe was built in 1599 and was actually moved to Bankside from a location North of London and was owned by Richard Burbadge along with the company of performers. A very early co-op! You would get to the theatre by ferry boat and there were no tickets sold in advance. Royalty would not have attended as portrayed in some movies. They would summon the troupe for a private performance at one of the Royal Palaces.

The tour took the better part of an hour. We were taken outside for an explanation of how the theatre was built using methods and materials identical to those from the early 17th C. This building is the only thatch building in London and they had to have special permission from the fire department to do it. It is lined with sprinklers for safety. Inside the building we heard about how it would have been to attend a play in such a theatre in late Elizabethan times. There is no metal used in the construction of the wooden theatre other than some ornamental pieces on the doors and some used in the floor and seating structure. The beams supporting it are aged oak and the plaster is a mixture of water, sand and lots of goat hair, just the way it would have been 400 years ago. The brick base is made of copies of 17th C style brick as well. Because there were no existing plans of the interior, it's a "best guess". There are however, lights for evening performances.

The stage is thrust out into the audience instead of in a picture frame sort of setting so you can see the actors no matter where you sit or stand. The "Yard" or floor is standing room only and you can buy tickets to see a play from the Yard for five pounds. In Shakespeare's day, this would cost you a penny.

The theatre is circular with pine benches in three tiers of galleries. The stage is oak and sheltered by a magnificent canopy supported by two huge oak trees painted to look like marble pillars. The boards are painted each season depending on performance or theme although this season they were left bare to see how it would work as the plays this season were mostly done in modern dress. When I was there in late September the season had just finished. The theatre is open to the sky and plays are performed rain or shine with rain slickers provided if necessary. No umbrellas as they would block the view. They also used the theatre for other types of performances from comedy to music. Every year one country is invited to do a production of a Shakespeare play in their own native language. This year's was in Brazil's Portuguese and one year there was a Zulu production of "The Scottish Play".

I went back and saw the rest of the theatre exhibition which I really enjoyed and I really recommend if you are a theatre fan at all. It details the history of theatre in London and the history of the South Bank area. There are loads of interactive multimedia displays on monitors, with interesting things like the various ways they used to produce sound and special effects in Elizabethan theatre. There was a display of musical instruments from that time, all hanging in a glass case and a nearby touch screen that you could use to find out about the different pieces including how they sounded. Downstairs there is an area that displays costumes and costume making, props, printing from that era, even a couple of sound booths with audio clips of various famous actors from this century performing. There were even scratchy sounding very old clips from the early part of the century. One modern actor was Sir John Geilgud though I was surprised that Sir Lawrence Olivier or Richard Burton weren't featured in addition.

There is a lot to see, a very good gift shop and a good café with a limited menu for a light lunch. There are lifts for people with mobility issues. The tickets are now 10.50 but include the tour. Try to go during the morning or when there is no matinee performance because the tour inside the theatre won't be on then.

http://www.shakespeares-globe.org/exhibitiontour/ Close

From journals London Under High Alert 2001, The London Bucket

Shakespeare's Globe

by callen60

Ozarks, Missouri

June 1, 2008

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Best of IgoUgo Sam Wanamaker was ticked, and I can’t blame him. The Globe Theatre had long since burned down, but he expected to find more of a tribute to this landmark than a plaque mounted on the side of a brewery. I wonder when he realized that this plaque had ...Read more Sam Wanamaker was ticked, and I can’t blame him. The Globe Theatre had long since burned down, but he expected to find more of a tribute to this landmark than a plaque mounted on the side of a brewery. I wonder when he realized that this plaque had formed his life’s work.

In 1997, after more than three decades of sharing his vision, cajoling, pleading, and fundraising, a faithful reconstruction of the principal site for Shakespeare’s performances finally opened. Unfortunately, Wanamaker wasn’t there to celebrate, having passed away three years earlier. But this place and its programming have quickly made Shakespeare’s Globe a center for celebrating and extending Shakespeare’s contribution to the English language and the wider world.

The building itself is a tremendous accomplishment, constructed using Elizabethan techniques—right down to the thatched roof, which required special permission (since no such construction techniques had been permitted since the Great Fire). Given the frequency with which fires destroyed theatres (the original Globe only lasted 15 years before going up in smoke during a performance of Henry VII), it’s probably a good thing that sprinklers and other modern technology were also incorporated.

Like the original, the reconstructed Globe stands on the South Bank, just east of the Tate Britain and a short walk after crossing the Millennium Bridge. Its well-known ‘O’ shape and beam and plaster construction is easily recognizable from across the river. A more modern building is attached on the east side, housing the Exhibition, gift shop and small cafeteria. Tours of the theatre take place every half-hour or more, and include admission to the exhibition.

This is an extensive—and recently expanded—introduction to Shakespeare, his time, the South Bank, the construction of the new Globe, and theatre in Elizabethan London. It’s laid out around the perimeter of the center, in a spiral route that’s a little reminiscent of New York’s Guggenheim. Most visitors spend time here while waiting for their tour, but if any of these topics intrigue you, 30 minutes won’t be enough. Your ticket is timed for a particular tour, but you can return to the Exhibition throughout the day. If we hadn’t come at the end of the afternoon, we would have done that, but we were fighting sore feet and empty stomachs as well as closing time.

Unless there’s a performance going on, you’ll be taken inside the theatre. Since we were here in mid-March—not usually a hospitable time for outdoor activity in London—I didn’t expect to see anything going on. It turned out that a group of high school students were preparing for a performance that they’d designed, and they were testing the acoustics on the stage, getting comfortable, and then helping staff finish set-up.

Your tour guide will probably stress the differences between theatre here, and theater as we’ve come to know it. There’s no microphones, much less scenery, and an intimacy with the audience that’s often the privilege of only a few in today’s elongated theaters. The Globe is relatively large—it holds 1,700, about a third of which are ‘groundlings’ that stand in the O’s center in front of the stage—but the circular design means that everyone is nearly equidistant.

After two visits, I’m still intrigued by the Globe, although neither January nor March allows you to see a performance here (the season runs from May to October, rain or shine). The new construction doesn’t meet one’s expectation for what an ‘old’ place should look like: its cleanliness and freshness seems out of place. Of course, even the original Globe was new once, and it couldn’t have deteriorated too far during its short lifetime. This project, and the productions staged within it, is not without critics: some view its insistence on doing Shakespeare now as Shakespeare did then as archaic and anachronistic. They have somewhat of a point: our understanding of theater may have moved on, but I find it hard to fault those who loved and love the Bard this much for trying to do it his way. Someday, I’ll return for one of the famous £5 groundling seats, preferably for one of the histories or tragedies. After taking part (i.e., standing through) that, I’ll think about revising my opinion. Until then, I’m a fan.
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From journal London: All That We Could Afford

Shakespeare's Globe Theater & Exhibition

by schutnik

Chesterfield, Missouri

January 24, 2006

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Best of IgoUgo Shakespeare's Globe Theater is a "must see" attraction. It is a very unique place. It combines The Globe Theatre Company, that holds open-air performances, and Shakespeare's Globe Exhibition, which provides historical information about the theater. ...Read more

From journal Three Days in London

Shakespeare's Globe Theatre

by Drever

Ayr, Scotland, United Kingdom

December 26, 2005

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Best of IgoUgo We had a guided tour of the Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, which we wouldn’t have missed for the world. That the theatre is here at all is all down to Sam Wanamaker, an aspiring actor. He worked for 20 years until his death to raise funds to ...Read more We had a guided tour of the Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, which we wouldn’t have missed for the world. That the theatre is here at all is all down to Sam Wanamaker, an aspiring actor. He worked for 20 years until his death to raise funds to re-create the theatre. Finally, in 1997, a replica of the theatre built in 1599 but burnt down in 1613 opened in Bankside as close to the original site as possible. Shakespeare chose this area because it was outside the jurisdiction and controls of London.
The Theatre is now a centre for the study of the great bard and a celebration of his life and works. Craftsmen used the material and techniques used in building the original in Elizabethan times. The green oak timbers provide a link back to Shakespeare's time, as some were then saplings. Only joints cut into the timber and wooden pegs hold them together. Lime, sand, and goat's hair plaster face up the walls and the roof is thatched.

The new Globe isn't an exact replica, seating 1,500 on wooden benches in the ‘bays’ with 500 ‘groundlings’ standing and not the 3,000 who originally squeezed in. Its thatched roof treated with a fire retardant won’t catch fire. A spark from a cannon fired during a performance ignited the thatch on the original and burned the theatre to the ground. A boy curious about the spikes now arranged along the roof of the building wondered if they were for the heads of actors who forgot their lines as he had seen spikes at the Tower of London formerly used for mounting severed heads. The Globe spikes are more mundane being water sprinklers!

The open-air Globe Theatre offers performances only during the summer season from mid-May to mid-September. Performances take place at 2pm as in the original theatre but with flood lighting added can now take also place in the evenings. As in Shakespeare's day the ‘groundlings’ surround the stage and can make their feelings about the performance crystal clear to the actors. With few props or furniture and no theatrical lighting or scenery, clothes are the Globe’s chief visual effect. These have to withstand the closest scrutiny from the audience.

The Shakespeare's Globe Exhibition housed in the Under Globe offers a comprehensive coverage of the Elizabethan theatre construction and its dramas. On display are clothes such as those worn in The Tempest. Other exhibits give a glimpse of the many crafts used in making the actors clothes and in cleaning and preserving them. Also there are occasional displays and workshops, some aimed at children.

When we visited a fair to commemorate the Great Frost Fair of 1621 held on the frozen waters of the Thames close to the Globe was in progress. A miniature of the actual 1621 Fair itself showed how it must have looked.

OPEN: Exhibition and viewing daily 10am-5pm. Tube: Mansion House, then walk across the Millennium Bridge. Close

From journal December in London: Theatres, Art, and Antiquity

Shakespeare's Globe Theatre

by ReachForAStar

Meridian, Idaho

July 18, 2005

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It's truly amazing being in the Globe Theatre. Even though it's not the original because of all the wars, they built it exactly how you've always dreamed it to be. There's an open roof, and they have such great marble on the stage. The acting is ...Read more

From journal London: The Trip of a Lifetime

Shakespeare's Globe Theater

by jl32

Chicago, Illinois

December 30, 2004

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I have sat just about everywhere you can imagine in this theater, from the groundling seats, which aren't seats at all, but permission to stand and take in the theater up close, all the way up to the Lord's Box, where you actually sit in the canopy ...Read more

From journal Summer in London

Shakespeare's Globe Theater

by kythe

Brighton, Massachusetts

August 21, 2004

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I went when it first opened. I was a groundling and it was so much fun. I'm short and I still found a good place to stand. The performance in the photo was the beginning of Henry V. Mark Rylance was in the starring role and his performance was ...Read more

From journal Wouldn't It Be Loverly to Go to London?

Shakespeare's Globe Theater

by Tolik

Tampa, Florida

July 27, 2002

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Shakespeare's Globe Theatre is more or less faithful reconstruction of the playhouse where most of Shakespeare’s later works were first performed. Open as a museum and working theater, it hosts authentic old-time performances of Shakespeare’s ...Read more

From journal London During the Golden Jubilee Celebration

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