Shakespeare performed his plays here Constructed in 1599

On the banks of the Thames River• Near London

Shape: Octagonal Play time: 2 hours

Cost: One penny

The Globe

The Globe, con’t.

Seating: Pit: General crowd Galleries: A small additional fee would get you these seats Box Seats: Royalty or noblemen only

The capacity for the play performance was 3,000 Sound effects were made in the huts Ghosts could appear on stage through trap doors

The Globe Theatre History

The first Globe Theatre had a thatched roof. It burnt down in 1613.

The second Globe Theatre was built with a tiled roof, but was torn down in 1644.

A replica was built in 1996 (and opened in 1997) near the original site.

DID YOU KNOW?

Gatherers stood at the door of The Globe Theatre with boxes to take admission. This is why a ticket office today is called a “box office.”The audience on the ground were called “groundlings”. Their seats were only a penny. They weren’t sheltered from the rain, but were closer to the action.The stage was 5ft. high to keep the audience off of it.

Parts of the Globe

The Pit- Sometimes referred to as “The Yard” where the groundlings watched the play for their one-penny admission.

The Stage- Major playing area jutted into the Pit, creating a sense of intimacy with the audience. Hangings curtained off space beneath.

Main entrance- Here the doorkeeper greeted playgoers and collected one penny from everyone.

Parts of the Globe

Lord’s Rooms- private galleries; six pennies let a viewer sit here, or sometimes even on the stage itself.

Middle Gallery- called “two-penny rooms” because the seats here were higher priced.

Inner Stage- A recessed playing area often curtained off, then opened for appropriate scenes.

Parts of the Globe

Flag- a white flag hoisted above the theatre meant a show would be performed that day. White-comedy, Black-tragedy, Red-history

Stage Doors- doors opening into the Tiring-House.

Hut- a storage area that also held a wench system for lowering enthroned gods or other characters to the stage.

Parts of the Globe

Tiring-House- The important backstage area which provided space for storage and business offices.

Stairs- Ascending to the first level, theatre goers reached the galleries by wooden staircases enclosed by stairwells.

Trap Door- Leading down to the Hell area where equipment included the winch elevator that raised and lowered actors or properties.

Parts of the Globe

Hell- The area under the stage, used for ghostly comings and goings or for more mundane storage of properties.

The Globe, con’t.

Flags, trumpets, and fliers told when there would be a play The flags also told the audience what type of play they would be seeing:

Red flag = history playWhite flag = comedy playBlack Flag = tragedy play

Costumes, con’t.

England had “Clothing Acts” which forbade certain classes of people from dressing like a higher class.

So, for an actor-a person of the lower classes- to dress like a nobleman or a king was something of a scandal.