Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, London

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Southwark is the entertainment centre, the location of Elizabethan theatres.

The 1st Globe Theatre was constructed in 1599 by English actor Richard Burbage in partnership with Shakespeare and others, but was destroyed in 1613 during a performance of Shakespeare’s Henry VIII.

The New Globe is 180 metres from the exact place where Shakespeare’s theatre stood, and was built with the same materials and building methods. Like the original, it’s a round building, 3 storeys high, with a wooden frame and plaster walls. A thatched roof leaves the middle of the theatre open to the sky.

The New Globe opened in 1997, and is used from May to September for performances of plays both by Shakespeare and other playwrights of his time. Performances take place in the daytime, as in Shakespeare’s time.

By the way, there are guided tours every half hour (the last tour is at 4.30pm):
Mon-Sat: 9am-12.30pm and 1-5pm,
Sun: 9-11.30am and 12-5pm

Ticket fee (August 2011):
Adult: £10.50
Child: £6.50
Student and Senior: £8.50

The re-creation (it is not a replica) of Shakespere's Globe theatre is a real must see if you have ant artistic, literary or cultural leanings in your soul.

The Guided tour is well worth taking, a refreshingly well presented informative and non-cliched affair.

It was fascinating to hear an explanation about how the whole stage area works as both a physical and a metaphysical space - something which I had never realised before.

The stage itself is the 'earth', and inded Shakespere famously said that "All the world's a stage". Trapdoors allow entry to a watery netherworl on the same level as the great unwashed watching in the pit. Meanwhile devices can be used to transport players up into the 'gods' the area above the stage. Once you understand this, the underside of the stage ceiling being painted with clouds and stars makes perfect sense.

When you add in the fact that the whole thing is called 'the Globe' (as in a world or universe) and it is circular in shape, thaen the thinking that went into its construction is just a bit on the impressive side. This is all the more true because the original theatre would have been erected in a matter of months - and on budget too !

Sam Wanamaker, that American impressario was the driving force behind re-creating one of the Theatres that Shakespere himself used on the modern South bank.

They have done a fine job, although it tour (highly recommended in my book) makes it clear that this is a re-creation rather than a replica. For a start, to fit with modern health and safety requirements it has more door than the original and those illuminated 'Fire exit' signs. It is also not exactly on the same site as the original.

The Globe in Elizabethan time would have been knocked up cheaply in a matter of months, but this edifice has taken years of painstaking work and several very large wads of cash.

On the outside, the modern stucture has exposed beams but this is proabably not how it would have looked. We tend to have an image in our minds of what such a building should look like - and we want it that we. Inside, there is a similar story - the seats are very plain and simple so the attention is firmly fixed on the stage. All sorts of lurid adornments would have been common in the past. The pit too is now a concerete surface - they didn't have bags of blue circle readymix then.

The stage area is authentic enough - but it doesnt allow the audience to buy seats on the stage itself or on a balcont behind. This was common practice in Shakespere's day and must have cost a fortune.

Having said all that, seeing Shakespere here is probably the closest thing you will find on the planet to what the experience would have been when Southwark was the Shaftsbury ave / Broadway of it's day.

This is a scale replica of the Globe. Its not in its exact spot...but close. The best way to appreciate this is to book to see a play being performed...as you;ll recreate the feeling of early english theatre performances...other than that its a replica!

Shakespeares Globe Theatre is right against the banks of the River Thames. You get a great view of it if you walk over the Millennium footbridge over the Thames from St Pauls Cathedral.

This is not original however, even if it looks very old. It is a very carefully built reconstruction made out of wood and is circular in shape as the name suggests.

Plays are actually held here, and although they are only held in the summer (there is a hole in the roof, so it may get a bit cold in winter), if you like Shakespeare, it is well worth trying to get a ticket (se the website below for more info) as they tend to use very good actors here.

There is also a visitors centre next door which has a permanent exhibition of William Shakespeare's work and the times he lived in.

This is actually a reconstitution of the Shakespeare Theater. The original one(Elizabethan theater) was about 300 meters away in which Shakespeare was an actor and a shareholder and is thought to have been finished at the end of the 15th century.
In 1613 it burned down during a performance and was rebuilt and used until around 1642.
The puritains then came to power in england and shut down all form of public entertainment. It was then demolished.
It wasnt until 1970 that the project of its resurection happened and reopenned in 1997 in a different location.
You can take a tour of the theater or obviously go and watch a play.

During the summer months, a selection of Shakespeare's plays are performed at the Globe, often twice a day. Get tickets in advance-- they will be sold out if you tried to get them just before the show!

Update February 2011: checked and updated ticket prices

An evening at the theatre is of course a “Nightlife” activity, but did you know that you can also visit the Globe Theatre for a tour during the daytime? This is hugely enjoyable, and you learn so much at the same time about the theatre of Shakespeare’s day.

Firstly you visit the Globe Exhibition, which explores the life of Shakespeare, the London he lived in, and the theatre of his day. You will see Elizabethan costumes and Renaissance instruments. You also learn about the construction of both the original Globe Theatre and this modern-day version.

Next, you will be taken on a tour of the theatre itself. When I went with friends a few years ago our guide was one of the theatre company’s actors, and he enhanced our tour with an account of the challenges of mounting productions in this unique space, and with our own private recital of Hamlet’s soliloquy! Do note though that if there is a matinee performance at the theatre you won’t be able to go inside – instead you will go to the nearby site of Bankside's first theatre: the Rose. This is is the only Elizabethan playhouse that has been excavated on a large scale by archaeologists, and is where Shakespeare learned his trade, and where the plays of Christopher Marlowe and Ben Jonson were staged.

The exhibition and tour cost £11.50 for adults, £10.00 for seniors (60+) and students (with valid ID) and £7.00 for children (5-15). A family ticket, covering up to 2 adults & 3 children costs £32.00. Prices are reduced on those days when the theatre cannot be visited and the Rose is substituted. Pre-booking, on the phone number below or online, is advised – both to guarantee admission, but also to confirm that the theatre itself will be open.