The Globe Theatre

The Globe Theatre was a theatre in London, that was built in 1599 by Shakespeare's company, The Lord Chamberlain's Men. The globe was burned down but was built on he same site in 1614, but then closed again shortly afterwards in 1642. A modern reconstruction of the theatre names 'Shakespeare's Globe' was built in 1997 around 750m away from the original site

Shakespeare's Globe has a very unique layout in that it is an open air theatre that is entirely round. The theatre has 3 storeys and can hold around 3000 spectators. At the base of the stage there was an area that was often referred to at "The Pit", where "Groundlings" (as they were called) could stand and watch the play for a penny. Also on stage there was a hidden trap door which performers could access while performing. The main stage had two parts that were often referred to as the inner and outer stage. The outer stage was often used for all the main going on's within the play, where as the inner stage was used if either the characters were on stage but not necessarily the main focus , and also if a scene was set indoors or inside somewhere. Underneath the floor of both the inner and outer stage there was a cellar that was often referred to as "Hell" allowing for the dramatic appearance of ghost or any other supernatural apparition that was required for the play.


It is also worth noting that unlike a lot of  modern plays, there were no lighting changes or curtains to change set when necessary, meaning that most times, if a scene changed, no matter how dramatic or intense the scene would get the actors would never leave the stage, meaning it was down to the audience to imagine the scene had changed. Shakespeare's plays were often very descriptive regarding the scenery, which often helped for the imagination of the audience, as the scene was often described within the text.