Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, London

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.

Situated almost right next to the millenium (wobbly) bridge and the tate modern the globe theatre is where William Shakespeare put on most of his plays.

There are showings almost every day at 3pm and 7:30pm and there are a few hundred standing tickets available for £5 for each of the shows.

Personally i have always found shakespeare, apart from two of his plays boring, mainly because i'd been forced to read them at school and also because i'd seen badly done productions of them. At the globe though shakespeare's work comes to life... the jokes are laugh out loud funny, the actors very skilled in their delivery...

The globe was finished in 2000 but was officially opened 4 years earlier... It is built to the almost same specifications as the original but has a few changes to enhance fire safety (good idea considering that the original was burned to the ground in 1613, because they used a real cannon for a special effect)

the globe was then rebuilt in 1614 and unlike many beliefs this one did not burn in the great fire of london in 1666 but was demolished by the puritans in 1644 as they banned all theatrical perfomances.

The new globe theatre does not sit on exactly the same spot as the original it has moved east about 300 yards. but this theatre is the first building in london since 1666 to have been build with a thatch roof (there was a law banning them after the great fire until 1994 when the globe was reconstructed)

if not for a performance then at least go and see the beauty of this place it's amazing...

if going to watch it, you can come and go as you please during the performance, if seated please please please... hire a cushion for £1 it really does help! it's not them trying to make money, it's actually tradition as the orginal globe charged 1 penny extra to hire a cushion.

basically if you do or don't like shakespeare please go to this theatre you won't have a better night out.

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!

If you want to know about England's famous playwright visit the Globe exhibition
There is a exhibition of actors dress, remember if the play is done in Elizabethan dress it means Elizabethan underwear. You'll be taken into the Globe theatre as well which has been constructed as close to what the old Globe theatre looked like.
The Globe is the first building in London to be granted a thatch roof since the Great Fire of London 1666, although this thatch roof is fire retardant.

Our guide was very informative & passionate about the globe which made her tales all the more interesting. This may be one of the only theatres where you can stand so close to the stage as to be able to touch & heckle the actors. The cheaper area is right by the stage but bear in mind you could be standing for 3 hours although you are allowed to lean on the stage.

tickets are £9, although we had 2 for 1 special offer with National rail. If you have a ticket for the show you can get GBP2 off the tour.

The site of the old Globe theatre is a few streets behind if you walk down the road behind the anchor you will come to the site.

3 more images

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. The exhibition has been greatly extended in recent years so even if you've been before you'll find plenty to interest you. You can have an audio tour gadget at no extra charge (and as well as English, these are available in French, German, Italian, Spanish and Japanese). And your ticket is valid all day, so if you prefer to do the tour before visiting the exhibition that's fine too.

Next, you will be taken on a tour of the theatre itself. When I went with friends for the first time, a few years ago now, 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! On my more recent visit (with VT's Regina1965) our guide was not an actress, but was very good just the same.

In the summer when there are matinee performances the tours don't run after about midday, but you can still visit the exhibition (at a reduced charge) or choose to go instead to the the Rose Theatre archaeological site to view the remains of the earliest theatre in Bankside, where some of Shakespeare’s earliest plays were performed. The Rose tour includes the Bankside area, allowing you to imagine this area during Shakespeare’s lifetime.

The exhibition and tour cost £13.50 for adults, £12.00 for seniors (60+), £11 for students (with valid ID) and £8.00 for children (5-15). A family ticket, covering up to 2 adults & 3 children costs £36.00. 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.

Update March 2013: information updated (including prices), new photo added

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.

1 more image

Tours of the Globe Theatre begin every 15-30 minutes during opening hours. There is no need for individuals to book. These tours last about 45 minutes. The guide runs through the history of the original Globe, reconstruction of the Globe, as well as talking about the plays that have been performed there. The tour takes you in to the stands (both ground and first floors) as well as in to the middle section when the peasants used to stand. Before taking the tour I really had no idea just how big and ornate a theatre it was, or the fact that it was just one of many theatres in that area during its time.

As well as the highly informative guided tour of the Globe Theatre, there is a museum which shows the reconstruction of the Globe, the recent productions that have run there, as well as information on the original Globe. It includes both static and interactive displays.

Plays will be showing at the Globe Theatre between 5th May 2006 and 8th October 2006.

Admission to the museum and for the guided tour is GBP 9.00 for adults, GBP 7.50 for seniors and students, and GBP 6.50 for kids.

4 more images

In 2002, I wanted to get to the Reduced Shakespeare but the London Eye took too long and we didn't have time to make it. So we definitely would not have had time to come over here for a Shakespeare play. Gilbert and Sullivan was a higher priority for me.

The Globe Theatre (which is the white half timbered building in the center just across the Centenial Bridge in photo 2) is a faithful reconstruction of the open-air playhouse designed in 1599, where Shakespeare worked and for which he wrote many of his greatest plays. Where possible, visitors are advised to arrive by public transport or by taxi (which means that there is no parking). My grandson would have liked to see a Shakespeare play here, but there were none at the time we visited.

The following plays will be performed in the Globe Theatre in the remainder of 2007

Love’s Labour's Lost
Othello
The Merchant of Venice

On the other side of the Globe (right side of photo 2 taken in 2002) is the Tate Modern. This wasn't a place that was very high on my list or places to visit although there were one of two things there that I would have liked to see.

£26 and £32 tickets available at £5 discount to children under 16 (family = 1 adult and up to 4 children). Standing tickets for 700 are £5

One of the really great experiences is to come and see a show at the reconstructed Globe - a real tribute to Sam Wannamaker who gave much of his life to it and a true pleasure. The plays are (generally) well done and the excitement of seeing Shakespeare and his contemporaries performed in that context is so good.The weather can often add a whole new twist to the words! "the quality of mercy . . . " in a thunderstorm is NOT "gentle rain"! Try to be a groundling for at least part of the play BUT book a seat for the aching back!

4 more images

If you like Shakepeare, or the theatre, this is a wonderful attraction. The whole history of the project to restore and rebuild this theatre is on the website. It has been open less than 10 years and they hold open air productions in the theatre. You pay an entrance fee and you can take a free tour of the theatre and hear all about how it was built.

The theatre exhibit in the museum details the history of the current building, the history of the south bank area and theatre, and there are a lot of interactive displays, touch screens, video clips. There are work rooms, a large printing press like that which might have been used to print the first folio in the 1600's. There are audio clips of famous actors right back to the turn of the 1900's. The cafeteria has a small but delicious menu and the gift shop is extensive with books and tapes and dvd's. Most of the video may only be viewable to Europe so ask first before you buy if you don't have a machine that can play PAL format.