8-2TheGlobe

The Globe Theatre was the playhouse which was owned by Shakespeare and his group of players, who were later known as the Chamberlain's and then the King’s Men. The company was owned by James Burbage and later, his sons Cuthbert and Richard who ran and sponsored this group of actors that traveled and preformed together across the country. The Globe was built by Peter Smith and his workers. It was one of the most spectacular theaters London had ever seen. The “Globe”, as it is commonly reffered to as, was located on the South bank of the Thames river in Southwark. It was required to be on the South side, because, “many civil officials were hostile to the performance of drama and repeatedly petitioned the royal council to abolish it,” as quoted from the preface of a Midsummer Night’s Dream, which was edited by Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine while the book was written by William Shakespeare, an orginal owner of the Globe Theatre. The South bank of the river was also home to many brothels and gambling houses and it is believed that the Globe also was a brothel and gambling house. However, the Globe was not the only location that the King’s Men preformed at. They played at court, at universities, at residences of legal societies called Inns of Court, and occasionally, they went on tour throughout the country. The Globe was one of four major theatres in the area, along with the Swan, the Rose, and the Hope and it created a great deal of revenue with each play. The pricing for each level went up one penny, so you would deposit one penny at entrance , another heading up the stairs to the first gallery , and for the exclusive few , another penny at the to of the stairs to the second gallery. The Globe Theater audience never had time to get bored, because in just two weeks Elizabethan theaters could often present “eleven performances of ten different plays” with the techniques of “cue acting” and “cue scripting”. Which meant that actors were told their lines and stage directions, by a man whose job it was, before heading on stage. The Globe Theatre was a huge success and was used until 1642. The first proper theater in the London area was the Theatre, it had a 21-year lease that allowed the Lord Chamberlain’s Men to preform there and use the Theatre. In 1596, there was a dispute over the renewal of the lease and negotiations had begun to acquire a disused hall in the precincts of the old Blackfriars priory, to use as an indoor theater, but that deal fell through. However, In February of the next year the owner, James Burbage, died and the next month the lease expired. In Christmas 1598, the company sought a drastic solution: they leased land on the South bank, dissassembled the Theatre and carried its timbers over the river- this was possible because that year there was a horrible winter and the Thames froze over. The materials were moved across and construction was able to begin. By 1599, the Globe was up and running and home to the presentation of many great Shakespearian plays. The Globe’s time came to an end in 1613, when it was burned down during a preformance of “Henry VII” by a cannon shot which ignited the roof of the gallery. Fortunately, Lord Chamberlin’s Men were able to rebuild a new Globe on the foundation of the previous one, before Shakespeare’s death. Another theater also opened around this time called Blackfriars, it was the first indoor theater and Chamberlain’s spent some time there as well. The new Globe Theatre continued functioning until 1642, when it was closed down under Britain’s Puritan government. The Puritans were a religious group ‘who wanted to completely change the Church of England, with its Roman Catholic type of structure and traditions, for another reformed and plain church model,' according to “The Old Globe Theatre History” websi t e. All other theaters and places of entertainment were closed at this time also. Since the building was of no use, it was demolished to make room for tenements in 1644. The Globe was never rebuilt after Puritan rule until in 1997, when it was re-opened with Sam Wanamaker being the genius behind it. Wanamaker was a man that was born in Chicago in 1919 and spent his entire life in acting with Shakespearian plays and Broadway, his goal was to recreate the Globe Theatre and he achieved it but it wasn’t opened until after he died. ** Works Cited ** "Shakespeare's Globe." Shakespeare Resource Center. 18 Feb 2009. J.M. Pressley and the Shakespeare Resource Center. 14 Apr 2009 .
 * WHAT IS THE GLOBE THEATRE? WHAT IS ITS HISTORY AND LEGACY? ** **Answered By Nishad A. **  

Shakespeare, William. A Midsummer Night's Dream. New York. Washington Square Press, 1993 Print. Smith, Irwin. Shakespeare's Globe Playhouse. United States: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1956. Print.

"The First Globe." Shakespeare's Globe. The Shakespeare Globe Trust. 14 Apr 2009 . "The Old Globe Theater History." William Shakespeare. William Shakespeare Info. 14 Apr 2009 <[|http://www.william- shakespeare.info/william-shakespeare-globe-theatre.htm] >.

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