8-3TheGlobe

media type="custom" key="3681565" = = = What is the Globe Theater? What is it's History and Legacy? =

Answer Prepared by Laura H.
Shakespeare’s plays were something to be celebrated. Of course, those plays needed a place to be performed. That place was the Globe Theater. In 1697, in London, the Globe Theater was built. People were amazed at it’s monumental size and stature, and how many people it could hold at once. The Globe was an amphitheater, which allowed for more seating. As soon as productions had started, the Globe was a huge success. People were coming from all over to see the famed William Shakespeare’s plays, and simply to enjoy the theater.

We know a lot more today because of people who wrote about the globe who were actually there. From the article Shakespeare's Globe, by J.M. Pressley, first hand accounts of seeing the globe say that it was three stories high, and had no roof. It also had an open courtyard, and some galleries that could hold up to 1,500 people. Then there was the stage, which protruded from the back wall out into the courtyard. It had a thatched roof above it, but no sides or curtain. The stage also had two wings near the back that the actors would wait before they went on.

The productions, as well as the theater, carried on their shows for quite a while. According to the article The Old Globe Theatre History, in 1572 the churches began disapproving shows and plays. The public was also upset by the rowdy nature of the plays, and how the large groups of people could encourage the spread of the plague. So sooner than later, all theaters and shows were forced out of London, and were told to move to the South side of the Thames River. After the move, the Globe proceeded to be burnt to the ground. In 1614, it was rebuilt, and was referred to as the Globe 2.

In 1642, when mostly Puritan religion reigned over London, they enacted a law that said there was to be no more plays or performances of any kind. Although the Globe was wiped it, it shall always be remembered as the famed spot where some of the most wonderful plays in history were performed.