A history of the Globe Theatre

 Surname, 1
Student’s Name
Instructor
Institution
Date due
A history of the Globe Theatre
The Globe Theatre, normally associated with William Shakespeare, was located in London. The history pertaining to the Theatre is a bit interesting when one tries to scrutinize its invention, the duration in which it existed together with the purpose for its establishment and finally its end as it is apparent in this paper. One tends to realize the exact history about the Globe after pointing out various aspects during the time when the Globe was in operation and also the times when it closed down (Nagler).
One of the writers who have tried to scrutinize and analyze some of the events associated with the Globe Theatre is George Cumberland (1754–1848). He was an English Art Collector, poet and also a writer. It is alleged that he was an experimental printmaker. George was an amateur watercolorist and belonged to the earliest group of the Bristol School of Artists. George has also tried to highlight the history pertaining to the life of Shakespeare and his writings. The writer’s work has proved to be more appealing as was not only an experienced writer, but also an historian in the making. It is easy to comprehend the events talked about in Georges books.
The Globe theatre was built in the year 1599 by a playing company owned by Shakespeare. It was octagonal-shaped and structured in such a way that its open-air stage could
Surname, 2
handle as many as three thousand people. The audience could just sit or even stand on the ground to watch and they were the groundlings. A few who could not afford simply seated in the gallery boxes. There also existed some specially-constructed the trap-doors and also the gallery just above the balcony scenes, entrances and exits.
The owner of The Globe Theatre, James Burbage, thought of moving the theatre in order for him to avoid paying a higher rent. The Globe proved not enough to accommodate the scores of those who came to watch the plays of the upcoming Shakespeare. Fortunately James managed to get new site across Thames River. The site was situated somewhere near the famous London theatres namely The Rose and Swan. James secretly negotiated with a carpenter called Peter Street, to come and loosen the building joints during the night (Imamoto).
However, on 20 January, 1599, Burbage’s friends and actors responded negatively as they gathered outside the theatre. In a forcible and riotous manner, they did what left many mouths agape. They carried away the timber and wood. They crossed the frozen Thames still carrying the pieces belonging to the dismantled structure up to the particular place it was to be built.
Apparently in the year 1613, a time when Shakespeare’s ‘Henry the Eighth’ premiere was in progress, a canon went ahead and fired during a scene that was in progress. There followed a fire on the roof and in less than an hour, the Globe had burnt into ashes. The fire led to a mass destruction of property even though most of the costumes, Shakespeare’s plays and props were rescued for the blazing building. Persistence led to the building of another theatre in 1642. Fate occurred once more when the Puritans came into power, frowning on entertainment of whichever
Surname, 3
type. Consequently the new government in power ordered that all theatres should immediately close. The Globe was not an exception and in the year 1644, it closed down.
With the assistance of Sam Wanamaker and the Shakespeare Globe Playhouse, interest in the Globe returned at around the year 1970. Subsequently studies were carried out for the approximation of the site prerequisite for the establishment of the theatre and finally construction of the new Globe began in the year 1989. Surprisingly, while the construction was in progress, workers happened to uncover the foundations belonging to the former Globe. Apparently it dawned to them that the new theatre had been located 100 yards from the old Globe.
Official reopening of the Globe took place in 1999 with a live performance by ‘Henry the fifth’. It is also important to note that the same had been performed in the former Globe. Currently people can also see the plays in the same theatre just like they were performed in those times of Shakespeare’s era. The Article’s copyright ‘A History of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre’ in Children’s’ History is actually owned by Meg Green Malvasi. Also one ought to know that the permission for the re-publishing of Shakespeare’s Globe theatre either in print or online must be a grant by the particular author in writing.
Surname, 4
Works Cited
Gray, Terry A. Theatre. 21 09 2009. 15 03 2011 .
Imamoto, Becky. The Globe Theatre: A Pathfinder. 09 November 2000. 15 March 2011 .
Nagler, A. M. Shakespeare's Stage, New Haven. Yale University Press, 1958.