Globe Theater
"A seventeenth century English theatre in
Southwark, London"(). Also known,
as an Elizabethan theatre was most notable
for the initial and contemptuous
productions of the dramatic works of English
writers, William Shakespeare, Ben
Johnson, Beaumont and Fletcher, and
others. "In 1576, a carpenter named James
Burbage built the first theatre
in England, which he called, simply, The
Theatre, the first time the word
was used to refer to a building specifically
designed for the staging of
plays"(). It was built in partnership with
Shakespeare and others. It was
constructed in the Renaissance era, and drew very
large crowds. Due to its
advancements in technology, props, and its use of
music, the Globe always
packed in very large crowds of people, even royalty. The
Globe was built
by James Burbage in 1576, and rebuilt in 1598, by his sons.
James built
the "The Theatre," and it prospered for nearly twenty-one years.
In 1597,
James Burbage died, leaving the Theatre to his two sons. Things began
to get
rough for the Theatre after James died. "The landowner Giles Allen
caused an
unexpected problem"(). Giles raised the rent and refused to renew
the lease,
so one cold night in December 1598, with much assistance from others,
the
Burbage brothers disassembled the "Theatre," and piece by piece they
took it
by ferry across the Thanes River to the opposite shore. In a short
period of
time the Theatre was rebuilt, only now it was to be called the Globe
theatre.
The original "Theatre" stood approximately forty-feet tall, and was
said to
be more than one-hundred feet in diameter, built in a circular shape
with
twenty-four sides. The yard went seventy feet between post centers. The
stage
was forty-nine feet six inches across, and was about five feet tall.
The
overall gallery depth was fifteen feet six inches; overall floor height
from one
floor to another was fifteen feet six inches. The balcony floor was
eighteen
feet six inches, above the yard, and thirteen feet six inches above
the stage.
And the doors stood eleven feet tall"(). The stage was quite
large, and its
exterior definitely displayed its great immensity. After the
"Theatre" was
built the, and became established, "it became known as the
"Wooden O
Playhouse,"() because of its twenty four sided shape and its
open roof, from
the top it had the appearance of an "O". After the opening of
the
"Theatre", many people were excited to have a new place to go and
be
entertained, however, many people were unhappy with the establishment.
Many of
the locals were outraged, calling it a "public nuisance"— a
disturbance!
The churches thought that the company-players were just
that, players, because
they did not create a usable product, one that one
could put their finger on,
like the blacksmiths ironworks, or the cobblers
shoes. Granted, the Globes plays
did lure play goers away from their work,
but it was not their fault that they
had such loyal, and royal fans. People
became outraged for whatever reason, and
the playhouse’s future was up in the
air. Soon the "Theatre" was shut
down, the land that the "Theatre" was built
on belonged to the most
rehensable man, he raised the rent to a very unfair
amount and they were forced
to shutdown. Although they were forced to close,
they had plans to reopen soon.
In late December 1598, the Burbage sons
had the "Theatre" unassembled and
being that it was December, it was very
cold outside. The Thames River was
frozen, which made it easier on the haul,
because they could use sleds to get
the "Theatre" across piece by piece. It
took four days to accomplish, but
eventually they had the entire theatre
across the Thames. The timbers,
framework, and anything of value that could
be saved were. The "Theatre" was
rebuilt in quite a timely manner. The new
theatre was a sight to see it was
quite beautiful. The seating capacity was
some where between two and three
thousand. Under the gallery was special
seating where royalty and nobles sat in
chairs. Most people were in the
"pit," in the front of the stage, they had
to stand, and visibility was poor
due to the rather tall stage. To be a
groundling and stand in the yard, it
cost a penny. The people that stood in the
yard or in the pit consisted of
apprentices and servants, or anyone who had a
penny to spare. For a penny
more (two cents) one could sit in a chair or on a
bench, and watch the play.
And for yet another penny, (three cents) one could
sit under the gallery on a
cushioned chair (usually only royalty). Just outside
the gates to the
playhouse, there were many stands. "Bawdy houses, pubs, and
taverns that did
booming business" (). Pimps and prostitutes plied their
trades, venders
hawked their wares, and pickpockets, and thieves, and swindlers
thrived.
"Hazelnuts, ale, apples, beer, water, oranges, nuts, gingerbread, and
such
were hawked as refreshments, or as a token of disapproval"(). Audiences
would
not hesitate to loudly criticize players, but they would be just as quick
to
attentively listen to a great performance. Since all of the
Southwark’s
property belonged to the Bishops of Winchester, the church
profited greatly,
pocketing the revenue from the pimps and brothels. "Since
the Fathers
considered play going immoral, they prohibited the theatre
managers from luring
customers through advertising. But the managers
ingeniously triumphed over
Puritan strictures; as two o’ clock neared, a
raised flag and a trumpet
fanfare proclaimed that the performance was about
to begin"(). The flag
indicated the day’s feature. For example, black
signified tragedy, white
signified comedy, and red signified history. If one
wanted to go to a show but
were on the opposite shore, wherry boats
transported patrons across the Thames
to Southwark. Shrewdly the wherry men
would withhold the price of transport
until they were halfway across the
river, and were unable to escape the fare.
There is said to be a time
when the playhouses were so popular, that over two
thousand wherry boats
traveled to and from the theatre district. Once one got
across the Thames,
then one would walk to the entrance, where then one would
drop their
admission into a box (hence box office). Ticket prices varied,
depending on
the location of ones seat. The most exclusive of guests would sit
on the
stage. The players were called the Chamberlain’s men, later known as
the
King’s men. The cast consisted of all males, males of all age were allowed
to
perform, however, no females were allowed to perform. Males played
all
characters, male and female. Because of this, the cast became known as
the
Chamberlain’s men. After much trouble with the plague (Black Death)
the
Chamberlains became known as the King’s men. The plague was a very
devastating
problem among the theatre. The Black Death spread so quickly
through the
country, that throughout the reign of Queen Bess and even King
Henry the VIII,
at first wind of the plague, theatres were to close, for it
was law. This hurt
business greatly, because they could be closed for several
months at a time.
Other than the plague, the Globe theatre had other hard
times as well. Since the
Globe was a twenty four sided circular shaped
structure, with only a minimal
thatched grass roof, and an open center, any
time that the weather was adverse
they would be forced to close down. They
would have to stay closed for as long
as the weather persisted. This could go
on for sometimes months. The only other
times that the theatre was not open
was in the winter when the weather was too
cold to bear, and on Sundays. The
theatre in general was a "fair weather"
only operation. The Globe was forced
to close for many various reasons. None
quite spelled disaster like the time
that the Globe burned to the ground.
Trouble came in 1613, during a
performance of Shakespeare’s Henry the VIII
play. A fire started when a
cannon discharged, and the thatched grass roof
caught on fire. The whole
building burnt down in less than an hour. The
surprising fact is that, "every
person, all three thousand, got out safely. No
one was injured"(). Almost a
year later in 1614, the theatre was rebuilt. It
stood for another thirty
years, until 1644, when the Puritans "razed" it.
The Puritans took it
over because they believed that the theatres were evil, and
should not exist.
They took it over and tore it down. Now that’s all that
stands in its place
is a small pub. What started out to be a small time theatre,
was nothing of
he sort. James Burbage built the "Theatre," after he passed
his sons rebuilt
it and called it the "Globe," they later had to rebuild
after a fire, and
finally many years the Puritans took it over, putting an end
to the legend of
the Globe theatre. The Globe was a well-known theatre where
many famous play
writers like Ben Johnson and William Shakespeare put on
performances. It was
infamously associated with William Shakespeare, however,
the Globe was
popular for many reasons. The Globe was the first theatre of its
type. It was
very advanced for its time; the Globe would captivate audiences
with the use
of a wide variety of props and music, when such things were not
readily
available. The Globe drew large crowds of people from all over, it was
not
uncommon to see famous people and even royalty at performances. The Globe
was
a special theatre with lots of memorable attributes, and none of it
would
have been possible if it were not for the loyal/ royal fans. Thanks to
them,
both the myth and the legend of the Globe theatre will live on.