Shakespeare

The Globe Theatre

Most of William Shakespeare`s plays were performed at the Globe theatre. The Globe Theatre was built in London in 1599 by The Lord`s Chamberlain which is Shakespeare`s playing company. It held around 3000 people, sitting and standing. It opened 1599 and it is believed that Henry V was the first play to be performed there. It was destroyed 14 years later by fire during the play Henry VIII. A cannon used as a prop misfired and ignited the wooden beams of the theatre. However a second Globe theatre was built in the same place just a year later. The new Globe theatre stayed open until the Puritans closed it down in 1642, it was then pulled down around 1644. A reconstructed Globe known as Shakespeare`s Globe stands just 230m from the original site of the Globe.