Globe THeatre

The Globe Theatre “Totus mundus agit historenem” (The world is a playhouse). That is the motto of the Globe Theatre, the best playhouse of all. William Shakespeare wrote and performed his greatest plays here with much delight. The Globe Theatre has a great history, intriguing stories, and a beautiful replica. The Globe Theatre was erected in the year in 1599 after much dispute. The Lord Chamberlain’s Men acting group, led by William Shakespeare and the Burbage brothers, needed a place to perform their plays to challenge their rivals, The Admiral’s Men, and it needed to be built fast. Their lease of their exhausted theatre, the Blackfriars Theatre, ended, and to build their new theatre, they stole wood from the Blackfriars itself. The Globe Theatre was built next to the River Thames in Southwark, England, an area which in today’s standard would be considered ghetto-like. Even with this fact, the famous playhouse attracted many citizens, from the rich to the poor, and established many intriguing stories. With a great history, come great stories. On September 21st, 1599, the first Shakespeare play was performed. It was the legendary play, by the name of Julius Ceaser, and was attended by a full crowd. Over the course of the Global Theatre, many other Shakespeare’s plays were performed. This includes The Tempest, Hamlet, King Lear, and Henry VII, which was one of the most disastrous plays in the course of the theatre. On June 29th, 1613, a cannon shot during the act hit the roof and burned the whole theatre down. However, one year later the Globe Theatre was rebuilt and was back in action, all the way until 1644. In 1642, Puritan forces made their way into England, and playhouses were considered not a place of fun and drama, but a place of evil sins. All of the playhouses were closed, and in 1644, the playhouse was destroyed by the Puritans and replaced with housing. An era of the greatest dramas ever performed was extinguished. However, as a famous

Cited: Alchin, Linda K. "Globe Theatre Built." Globe Theatre UK.org. 16 July 2005. Web. 28 Jan. 2013. Alchin, Linda K. "Globe Theatre Destroyed." Globe Theatre UK.org. 16 July 2005. Web. 28 Jan. 2013. Alchin, Linda K. "Globe Theatre Timeline." Globe Theatre UK.org. 16 July 2005. Web. 28 Jan. 2013. "Exhibition and Tickets." Shakespeare 's Globe.com. Shakespeare Globe Trust, 1 Jan. 2013. Web. 28 Jan. 2013. "Shakespeare 's Globe Theatre." Absolute Shakespeare.com. 2005. Web. 28 Jan. 2013.