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Editor Pick
Shakespeare's Globe and Theatre Museum
- January 2, 2009
- Rated 5 of 5 by
tvordj from Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
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/
From journal London Under High Alert 2001
Editor Pick
Shakespeare's Globe
- June 1, 2008
- Rated 4 of 5 by
callen60 from Ozarks, Missouri
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.
From journal London: All That We Could Afford
Editor Pick
Shakespeare's Globe Theater & Exhibition
- January 24, 2006
- Rated 5 of 5 by
schutnik from Chesterfield, Missouri
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. We were only able to visit the exhibition which provided an engaging and informed introduction to the theater of Shakespeare's time, and the London in which he lived and worked. The guide will tell you about the construction of the building that was based closely on historical documents that describe the Globe of Shakespeare's time. You will also learn about the roles of actors, musicians, and audience members in this unique theater. The Exhibition and guided tour of the theater are open daily.
Performances are held only from May to September. Check the website for a schedule of performances at Shakespeare's-globe.org.
My dream is to actually see a performance at this theater. We'll have to schedule our next trip during the theater season!
From journal Three Days in London
Editor Pick
Shakespeare's Globe Theatre
- December 26, 2005
- Rated 5 of 5 by
Drever from Ayr
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.
From journal December in London: Theatres, Art, and Antiquity
Shakespeare's Globe Theatre
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 fantastic. Even though you have to stand for a couple of hours, I suggest you buy the cheap tickets and be right next to the stage to experience Shakespeare right up close! It's a must!!
From journal London: The Trip of a Lifetime