Diving into theatrical history in the 21st century – Shakespearesglobe.com currently playing Shakespeare’s Cymbeline, soon to be performed Romeo and Juliet (Shakespeare). It is a very popular venue, and don’t miss the details about the new Sam Wanamaker theatre next door and open all year round!

The Globe Theatre at 21 Globe Walk, Bankside, Southwark, South London SE1 was in modern times the brain child of Sam Wanamaker who came to the UK in 1949, and who died in 1993. Building started in 1970 and finished in 1997 – they relied heavily on donations to complete the project and the rest is history as they say. It is an accurate copy of the original Globe which was built mainly to put on William Shakespeare’s plays in 1599 using timber from an earlier theatre. In June 1613 it
went up in flames and was rebuilt in 1614 putting on afternoon shows thereby using natural light, to an eager audience who paid one penny for standing room, two pennies to sit (with an extra one penny for a cushion) and six pennies for the gentleman’s boxes who could sit near the stage facing the audience and in that way show off their luxurious clothes. In those days these clothes included
silk, which was only allowed to be worn at that time by aristocrats. In 1642 like all theatres, the original Globe was closed by the Puritans and was pulled down in 1644. The Puritans originally occupied land North of the river and many later went to live in the USA. They were strongly against the introduction of women on the stage which did not happen until 1666 including Charles II’s partner Nell Gwynn. In the same year, the Great Fire of London happened which the Puritans said was the wrath of God for allowing women to ‘tread the boards’.

The Globe is the only building in London which has had a thatched roof built since 1666. However, it has a series of sprinklers fixed to it which of course the original did not. The Globe has a huge open area exposing it to the elements, mainly above the standing room but also has lighting now so plays can be put on in the evening. .
The theatre company is also did something totally novel – presented Hamlet to every country in the world in two years, so look on the website to see more on that past project.

Tickets for The Globe start at £5 for standing room and the maximum price for seated tickets needs to be googled. It regards itself as a not for profit theatre and wants as many people as possible to come to plays there. For the Exhibition & Globe Theatre Tour please google. There are also offers for students, child and family tickets and pre-booking is not required. Access to see the website to see
what is on at The Globe. The Sam Wanamaker Playhouse is next door and open all year round. Google this innovatory candle-lit venue to find out its latest shows – past works including The Knight of the Burning Pestle, combined wicked humour with charming songs and a cast of hilarious London characters – a comedy.
Check out The Globe! It’s so special it should almost be named the eighth wonder of the world!

Lets see! ENJOY!

PENNY NAIR PRICE