Shakespeare's Globe

An open-air reconstruction of the 1599 theatre where most of Shakespeare's plays were first performed

Address 21 New Globe Walk, London SE1 9DT
Website www.shakespearesglobe.com

A meticulous reconstruction of the open-air playhouse that Shakespeare's company opened in 1599 — thatched roof, plaster-and-timber walls, raised stage, and a circular standing yard for the "groundlings". The original burned down in 1613 when a stage cannon set the thatch alight during Henry VIII; this 1997 rebuild was the first thatched building permitted in the City of London since the Great Fire of 1666.

Summer performances run from late April to early October — outdoor, often weather-affected, and far more interactive than a conventional theatre. Standing tickets cost about £5 and put you within touching distance of the actors; for that price they remain one of the great theatrical bargains in Europe. Bring a coat: the building is roofless and the river wind cuts through.

In winter, performances move to the candle-lit Sam Wanamaker Playhouse next door — a Jacobean indoor theatre, smaller, magical in its own way. Daytime tours of the main theatre run year-round.

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A story
The reconstruction is the work of one stubborn American actor — Sam Wanamaker — who first visited the original Globe site in 1949 expecting to find a memorial and instead found nothing more than a small plaque on a brewery wall. He spent the next 44 years raising money, lobbying, and chivvying authorities into the project. The new Globe opened in 1997, four years after Wanamaker's death. The original theatre, also called the Globe, was 230 metres from the current site; the new building had to move because the original ground is now under a listed terrace of Georgian houses.