New Shakespeare's Globe
The Story
When the
American actor Sam
Wanamaker visited London after World War II, he looked on Bankside for
the splendid memorial to the birthplace of the greatest plays in the
English language, and found nothing but this plaque on the wall of a
brewery on Park Street in Southwark.
When he came to live in London in the early ninteen-fifties he started a campaign to recreate the Globe. Over forty years later his dream was fulfilled though sadly he didn't live to see it completed. Shakespeare's Globe now stands on the Bankside of the river Thames close to the site of the original, and every summer since 1997 we have experienced Shakespeare's genius in the setting for which it was intended. Each summer Shakepeare's Globe stages a season of the Bard's plays with works by other playwrights old and new. My Globe Seasons page lists most of the plays for each year. Each entry links to my review of the ones I've seen or a brief description of those I haven't. When a new season is announced I add to the list with previews.
The Building
In 1997 close to the site of the original playhouse, Queen Elizabeth officially opened the new theatre known as Shakespeare's Globe on London's Bankside overlooking the River Thames. It is a faithful reproduction of the original and, was built thanks to decades of work by the American actor Sam Wanamaker.
The 2016 season, is the twentieth at Shakespeare's Globe. The season entitled “Wonder” consists of four mainstream Shakespeare productions. It is the first season under the artistic director Emma Rice. I personally am not happy with the results. The theatre should be renamed Emma Rice's Globe. She apparently knows better than the Bard how his plays should be written and performed.
Links
Internal
Original Globe
In 1598 Shakespeare's acting company carried the timbers from the dismantled Theatre across the Thames to Bankside. There they used the timbers as the frame of their new playhouse they called the Globe. In 1613 it burnt down but they again rebuilt it. For more details click on the link.
What we believe the original Globe looked like
In 1989 the Museum of London excavated a small section of the Globe's foundations. Here's what they found.
The Globe's great rival playhouse, its star Edward Alleyn and owner Philip Henslowe
New Globe
The American actor Sam Wanamaker worked hard for decades to make the new Globe a reality, but he didn't live to see it built. Here's the story of how the new Shakespeare's Globe came to be built on London's Bankside in the 1990's
A list of links to previews and my reviews of every season since 1997 at Shakespeare's Globe. Also links to other Blobe pages.
Globe Main
Recommended Books
My list of recommended books about the Globe, the Rose and other playhouses of the time may be found in the Globe Playhouse section of the Well Furlong Book Shop . If you so wish, you may go on to buy many of the volumes in our Book Shop directly from Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk.
External
The official Shakespeare's Globe site