Shakespearean Playhouses

The Theatre appeared to be the first of its kind and the Elizabethan theatres that
followed it shared a familiarity and connection to it. The Theatre was the home of
Shakespeare and his company until it was tore down in 1598. The Globe then became
their new theatre home. The Theatre housed many of Shakespeare's first performances
and earliest plays. The Globe would stage most of his later plays. Some of the timbers
used to construct the Globe were taken from the Theatre.
Before the Theatre was built traveling troupes would perform almost anywhere
that was made available to them. They might use town squares or the open rectangular
yards of inns. The inn-yards were used as make-shift stages built out of planks placed on
top of barrels. The audience was usually attracted to the performance by a
drum-and-trumpet parade through town. Admission was only a penny for standing room
in the yard. Higher nobility's paid extra and were allowed to go up by the courtyard stairs
into the galleries where they could drink and party.
James Burbage was the designer and builder of the playhouse built in 1576 and he
named it the Theatre. It was built on land leased by Burbage from Giles Alleyn. Alleyn
caused Burbage considerable grief and headaches over the renewal rights of his lease and
he eventually died before it was straightened out. His son Cuthbert then inherited the
problem. The lease was never renewed and Cuthbert along with five actors in the Lord
Chamberlain's Company joined into a partnership to build a new theatre. Members of the
new venture included Richard Burbage, Cuthbert's brother, Shakespeare, John Heminges,
Augustine Phillips, Thomas Pope and William Kempe, the greatest comedian of his time.
The company's first order of business was to find and lease a suitable place to
build a new playhouse. They needed one that would be outside the City's jurisdiction but
close enough to allow people to attend. They also needed to build in a location near
enough for the flag to be seen when it was time for performances. They found a place on
the far bank of the Thames at the southern end of London Bridge which had already
turned into the amusement center of London. There were two other theatres already
located there, the Rose and the Swan.
The company was able to secure a thirty-one year lease and immediately began
construction on the new Globe theatre using as much of the material as they could
salvage from the Theatre. The dismantling was done piece by piece and each timber was
marked and record by noted carpenter and builder, Peter Streete. Together with twelve
other laborers they carried all the wood and timber across the Thames and there erected
the new playhouse.
The Globe did not become an exact replica of the old Theatre, nor was it meant to
be. The new theatre was built with bigger inner stages - the rear stage on the first level,
and the chamber on the second. Prior to the construction of the Globe, inner stages were
very small and cramped, and their visibility was less than adequate. The Globe doubled
their size thus leaving room for more ornamented settings. The inner-stage scenes would
now be just as effective as the outer stage. This new stage design allowed the drama to
expand the number of significant scenes written for presentation on the inner stage.
The Globe became the most widely recognized of all the Elizabethan playhouses
due to its beautiful design and the reputation of its owners. From the very beginning the
Globe and its company took the spotlight in the drama. They had a wonderful group of
individuals who seemed to work in great harmony with each other. The men of the
company were all excellent actors and gave each performance their best efforts. Among
all this was Shakespeare who was in the prime of his creative abilities. The excellence of
this company was further distinguished when James I took the throne and gave them a
patent which authorized them to play as the King's Men. The celebrated distinction of
the Globe and The King's Men was not threatened until 1942 when Cromwell closed all
the playhouses.

"All the world's a stage."

Click here for an outside view of the Globe. Click here for an inside view of the Globe.

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