The Globe Theatre

1
The Globe Theatre William Shakespeare
2
Elizabethan Theatre

• During Shakespeare's era, the Globe Theatre was
  not in the formal jurisdiction of London per se,
  but was located on the south side of the Thames
  River in the Southwark district. The Globe
  Theatre was part of what might be called the
  "sporting district" (if not the "red light
  district") of Greater London. Although condemned
  by London authorities, along with cock-fighting,
  bear-baiting and the bawdy attractions of
  taverns, the Southwark theater district operated
  outside the legal reach of the City's officials.
• Disaproved of players and playgoers
• Moral political reasons
• Fear of spreading plague

But while the Globe Theatre, and indeed, the
entire Elizabethan theater scene opened its doors
to the low life of the pits, it also accommodated
an audience of higher-status, well-heeled, and
better educated individuals.
3
Elizabethan Theatre Cont.

• The Theatre was the 1st stationary theatre.
• Cuthbert Burbage owned the Theatre, its
  structure and materials, but the land on which
  the Theatre was erected was leased by his father,
  and Cuthbert was unable to negotiate a renewal of
  the land lease.
• Burbage tore down the Theatre and used its
  timbers and other elements as the building
  materials for what would become the Globe
  Theatre. Before erecting the Globe at a nearby
  site, Cuthbert assured himself and his partners
  that they would have a stream of stellar content
  and the most renowned company of actors in
  England.

4
The Globe Theatre

• Burbage essentially built the Globe for the
  Chamberlain's Men, including their chief writer,
  William Shakespeare.
• The lease for the land and the ownership of the
  Globe was divided in two 50 percent of the
  assets were owned by Cuthbert and, Richard
  Burbage the other 50 percent stake was
  apportioned among five other members of the
  Chamberlain's men.

5
The Structure of the Globe

• The Globe was a small wooden O (really
  octagonal cylinder like)
• Could accommodate 3,000 people (todays largest
  theatre in London only seats 1160
• Thatched roof (straw) which had to be coated with
  special fire protectant (the roof was
  accidentally set on fire by a cannon during a
  performance of Henry VIII) The entire theatre
  burned in 1 hour. It was rebuilt a year later.

In 1644, 30 years after it was rebuilt, The Globe
was tore down.
6
The Structure of the Globe Cont.

• Because there was no lighting, all performances
  at the Globe were conducted, weather permitting,
  during the day,(Probably between 2 5PM). Even
  storms and night scenes were played on sunny
  days!
• Because most of the Globe and all of its stage
  was open air, acoustics were poor and the actors
  were compelled by circumstances to shout their
  lines, stress their enunciation, and engage in
  exaggerated theatrical gestures.

7
The Structure of the Globe Cont.

• The productions staged at the Globe were
  completely devoid of background scenery. Although
  costumes and some props were utilized, changes of
  scene in Shakespeare's plays were not conducted
  by stagehands during brief curtain closings.
  There was no curtains and no stagehands to speak
  of other than the actors themselves. Instead,
  changes of scene were indicated explicitly or
  implicitly in the speeches and narrative
  situations that Shakespeare wrote into the text
  of the plays
• Most times the actors dressed in Elizabethan
  clothes rather than the dress of the day.

8
The Stage of the Globe

• The stage of the Globe was a level platform that
  was raised about five feet off the ground.
• The stage was fitted with a number of mechanisms
  (trap doors in its floor for instance).
• The area beneath the stage is referred to as
  Hell

9
The Yard (Pit)

• The stage was surrounded on three sides by the
  "pit" in which "one-penny" spectators stood. hese
  one-penny (about .60 today) spectators were
  called groundlings.
• An Elizabethan groundling would pay one penny to
  see a 2 hour performance without intervals. In
  1999, you would pay 5 pounds and most
  performances have 1 or 2 intervals.
• There is no evidence that Elizabethan actors
  would have ventured into the yard, a smelly,
  dangerous place the stage was very high, and
  there were spiked railings between the yard and
  the lower gallery, to prevent groundlings from
  sitting without paying an extra penny.

10
The Yard Cont.

• Groundlings are free to move around, though on
  very busy days it can be rather difficult. In the
  original Globe, 1000 people could stand in the
  yard, and it got so smelly and hot that they were
  also nicknamed "stinkards". 
• The groundlings are the audience members who make
  performances at the Globe so memorable they
  mediate between stage and galleries, they have an
  immediate response to jokes, they are made part
  of the action, both imaginatively by the actors
  who see them as an army, a forest or a court, but
  also by their own verbal and physical
  participation throwing back the apple Jaques has
  just thrown into the yard, or helping Bassanio
  make his choice of caskets.

11
Galleries

• The stage was surrounded by an amphitheater three
  stories high, each having a gallery and seating
  for "two-penny" theatergoers. The higher one
  went, the more he paid.
• The best seats cost 1 shilling (7 today).

12
Galleries Cont.

• In the original Globe, you could sit  on the
  wooden benches of one of three galleries when it
  rained if you could afford to pay twopence rather
  than the one penny groundlings paid to stand in
  the yard. Your padded clothes would have provided
  some comfort, but as there was no limit on the
  number of people, it probably got rather cramped.

13
Galleries Cont.

• In the original Globe, richer patrons sat in the
  Gentlemen's Rooms, the part of the middle gallery
  closest to the stage. They could ascend to those
  choice seats without crossing the crowded, smelly
  yard. It cost them threepence, as opposed to the
  one penny groundlings paid to stand in the yard
  or the twopence you had to pay to sit on the hard
  seats of the gallery. From there, they would sit
  comfortably on cushioned seats and enjoy an
  excellent view of the stage. Because they were so
  close to the players, they would probably be able
  to concentrate better on the text of the play
  (remember the Elizabethans said they went to hear
  a play rather than see it). 

The Gentlemans Rooms
14
The Attic

• The attic contains a huge room that is used both
  for storage of props and costumes and as a
  rehearsal and audition space.
• In the Opening Season, it housed a cannon. It
  was fired during performances of Henry V
• In the 1998 season, bells were installed in the
  cannon's place.
• The trap in the Heavens ceiling is accessed from
  the attic. It is used for descents (Cynthia was
  gently lowered from there in the Masque of The
  Maid's Tragedy in 1997) and dropping of various
  props, e.g. flowers, drapes, leaves, etc.

15
The Heaverns

• The gilding and sumptuous decorations of the
  stage and its roof, known as the Heavens,
  portraying the sun, moon, stars and signs of the
  Zodiac, were created by using Renaissance
  techniques and pigments.
• Notice also the sculptors on the balcony. The
  Heavens and the sculptors are both examples of
  Ancient Greek Roman influence on the
  Renaissance.

16
More Ancient Greek Roman Influence
17
The Balcony The Tiring Room

• The balcony is first and foremost the musicians'
  room, offering the best acoustics and a good view
  for cueing. The musicians usually stand in the
  central section. Also used for scenes requiring
  an upstairs, the balcony scene in Romeo Juliet,
  etc
• Members of the audience sit in the side
  sections. In the Renaissance, the aristocracy
  favored these seats because they could be seen
  (and heard) as well as see the actors from very
  close. That is why they were called the Lords'
  Rooms.
• Behind the wall, the Tiring House is the part of
  the playhouse where Elizabethan actors would get
  dressed ('attired').

18
The Flag

• The Globe was capped by a small turret structure,
  from which a flag and a trumpeter would announce
  the day's performances.
• A white flag meant a comedy would be shown that
  day.
• A black flag indicated a tragedy.

The Globe Theatre as depicted in a set of
postagestamps depicting the Bankside theatres
issued by the Royal Mail on August 8, 1995
19
The Globe Theatre Today

• The reconstruction of the Globe Theatre, gleaming
  happily on the south bank of the Thames in
  London, is just about one of the prettiest sights
  anybody could wish for. The entire construction,
  except for various minor elements (mostly
  chemical fire retardants and a few electronic
  gadgets needed to pass municipal fire codes), was
  done in the "old fashioned ways" the Elizabethans
  would have used. There is not a nail in the
  entire theatre, only oak pegs. The lime wash is
  authentic, too, although the filler of horsehair
  in the plaster walls was fudged a little with
  other domestic animal hairs, to save as much
  money as possible. In fact, the entire thing was
  done with funding from private donations.

20
The Globe Theatre Cont.

• The Globe now presents theatrical productions on
  this stage during the summer months, and they
  break with Elizabethan authenticity by staging
  the plays at night and using stage lights, which
  is a necessity for bringing in modern audiences.
  When the new Globe opened a controversial
  decision was made to stage Shakespeare only in
  modern clothing. The Globe has now decided to
  present one production per year in Elizabethan
  costuming, but this, too, is not without
  controversy, because, "There is a feeling that,
  if you want authenticity, you must take the
  entire pill. Truly authentic Elizabethan staging
  would mean using boys in the women's roles,
  constructing costumes entirely by hand with no
  zippers or modern embellishments, and so on."

21
William Shakespeare1564-
22
His Life

• Little information known
• 1. The first attempts at biographical research
  were not begun until over a half a century after
  Shakespeare's death, and are therefore not based
  on first-hand accounts. Few biographies, even of
  the famous, were written during the period, and
  (though it may seem odd to us) drama was not
  considered serious literature at the time--so
  dramatists in general were not considered worth
  writing about.
• 2. In addition, the theatres were closed by the
  puritans in 1642, 36 years after Shakespeare's
  death, with the result that many records and
  manuscripts were lost.

23
His Life Cont.

• William Shakespeare was born in
  Stratford-upon-Avon, allegedly on April 23, 1564.
  Church records from Holy Trinity Church indicate
  that he was baptized there on April 26, 1564.

24

• This is the schoolroom where the boy Will Shaxper
  attended grammar school.
• There is great conjecture about Shakespeare's
  childhood years, especially regarding his
  education. It is surmised by scholars that
  Shakespeare attended the free grammar school in
  Stratford, which at the time had a reputation to
  rival Eton. While there are no records extant to
  prove this claim, Shakespeare's knowledge of
  Latin and Classical Greek would tend to support
  this theory. In addition, Shakespeare's first
  biographer, Nicholas Rowe, wrote that John
  Shakespeare had placed William "for some time in
  a free school." John Shakespeare, as a Stratford
  official, would have been granted a waiver of
  tuition for his son. As the records do not exist,
  we do not know how long William attended the
  school, but certainly the literary quality of his
  works suggest a solid education. What is certain
  is that William Shakespeare never proceeded to
  university schooling, which has stirred some of
  the debate concerning the authorship of his works.

• Tradition has it that Shakespeare occupied the
  second desk from the front on the left here.

25
Marriage Kids

• On November 27, 1582, a license was issued to
  permit Shakespeares marriage, at the age of 18,
  to Anne Hathaway, aged 26 and the daughter of a
  Warwickshire farmer. (Although the document lists
  the bride as Annam Whateley, the scribe most
  likely made an error in the entry.) The next day
  a bond was signed to protect the bishop who
  issued the license from any legal responsibility
  for approving the marriage, as William was still
  a minor and Anne was pregnant. The couples
  daughter, Susanna, was born on May 26, 1583, and
  twinsHamnet and Judith who were named for their
  godparents, neighbors Hamnet and Judith
  Sadlerfollowed on February 2, 1585.

26
Anne Hathoway

• Anne Hathaway's house is beautifully preserved
  just outside Stratford-upon-Avon. Young Will went
  a' courtin' here. Inside, there is a narrow
  "wooing bench" where he and Anne sat. Notice the
  thatched roof? England's laws now protect any
  thatched roof. If you own one, you have to
  maintain it. Although the outer layers are
  stripped away when regular maintenance is done,
  the innermost layers (if they are in good
  condition, as is usual) remain, which means that
  the thatch on the inside of this thing may be as
  much as 500 years old!

27
The Actor The Plays

• Acting Companies Names
• 1. Lord Chamberlains Men under Queen Elizabeth
  I
• 2. Kings Men under King James I

28
The Plays

• Shakespeare wrote nearly all of his plays from
  1590 to 1611
• First, was the Histories play and the Comedies
• Tragedies written after Shakespeares fathers
  death, son Hamnets death, and death of Queen
  Elizabeth I
• Tragedy -All focus on a basically decent
  individual who brings about his own downfall
  through a tragic flaw.
• Romances/Tragicomedies - plays in which the
  tragic facts of human existence are fully
  acknowledged but where reassuring patterns of
  reconciliation and harmony can be seen finally to
  shape the action.

29
The Plays

• Types of plays written by Shakespeare
• Histories HenryVIII, King Richard II, etc
• Comedies As You Like It, Taming of the Shrew
• Tragedies Macbeth, Hamlet, Othello
• Romances ( tragicomedies)- The Winters Tale, The
  Tempest

30
Shakespeares Grave

• This is William Shakespeare's grave at the altar
  inside Holy Trinity Church. The gravestone reads
  "Good friend, for Jesus' sake forbear to dig the
  dust enclosed here. Blessed be the man that
  spares these stones, and cursed be he that moves
  my bones." We do not know who wrote these lines,
  but tradition has it that Shakespeare himself
  penned them. Ironically, although his grave has
  been in this spot since his death, by the
  mid-eighteenth century the original gravestone
  had deteriorated and sunk down below the floor
  level, so it had to be replaced. We often joke
  about this, that the stone was not "spared" as
  the epitaph directs us, but one would assume that
  the actual intent may have been to deter any
  Gravedigger from discarding his bones into the
  charnel house and planting somebody else in his
  place.

Shakespeare died on April 23, 1616 the day and
month traditionally associated with his birthday!