The original Globe Theatre was made out of oak,deal and stolen
playhouse frames. The 3 story building could hold 3000 people inside it, that's about 1000 per floor!
The Globe Theatre is a storied place. The original Globe was built circa 1598 in London's
Bankside district. It was one of four major theatres in the area.
It was an open-air octagonal amphitheater. The Globe theatre is about 30 metres in diametre. The rectangular
stage platform on which the plays were performed was nearly 12.9 m wide and 8.4m deep. The stage probably
had trap doors and old overhangs to produce lots of different stage effects.
The first Globe Theatre has an interesting origin. It seems that the Lord Chamberlain's Men originally performed
at a place appropriately named "The Theatre" (built by James Burbage in 1576) on the outskirts of London.But
after enduring complaints of their neighbors and a successful petition to the city fathers to keep the troupe out of Blackfriars,
the company literally took matters into their own hands. They returned to The Theatre, stripped it to the foundation, moved
the materials across the Thames to Bankside, and proceeded to construct the Globe. In 1613, the original Globe Theatre
burned to the ground. Responsibility has been placed on a cannon shot during a performance of Henry VIII that ignited
the thatched roof of the gallery. Construction was begun on the original foundation, and a new Globe was summarily completed
before Shakespeare's death. The new Globe continued operating as a theatre until 1642, when it was closed down by the
Puritans (as were all the theatres and any place, for that matter, where people might be entertained). In 1644, the Globe
was razed in order to build tenements upon the premises. The current Theatre is built not far from the original site. It was
finished in 1966 and opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 1967.
