A name commonly associated with William Shakespeare, possibly the greatest bard and playwright of the English language, the Globe Theater has a fame of its own. It was first built in 1599 by Shakespeare’s company The Lord Chamberlain’s Men. Shakespeare himself had a share in the Globe’s finances, although he was one of the minority partners. It was built using the wood from an earlier theatre, known only as The Theatre, although new timber was also used to make the building bigger. It is said that its first play was Henry V. in 1613 the theater burned down during a performance of Henry VIII. A cannon reportedly misfired and set fire to the entire theater, although no casualties were reported. The following year it was rebuilt, owing mostly to popular demand, based on the popularity of Shakespeare’s and other playwright’s plays. It was unfortunately closed in 1642, like all theaters at the time, by the Puritans, and subsequently brought down.
But this would not be the end of The Globe. Its role in English history and its pull on the collective imagination of its people were too great to let a theater like this be forgotten. But it was the actions of one man – actor, director and producer Sam Wannamaker, who was also a great admirer of the works of William Shakespeare – that would ultimately see the theater brought back to its glory. In 1970, Sam Wannamaker launched the Shakespeare Globe Trust, which would go on to gather over 10 million dollars towards the building project. Thanks to his efforts, the Globe Theater has now been rebuilt close to its original site and following plans that are as historically accurate as possible.
Sadly, Sam Wannamaker wouldn’t live long enough to see his dream come true, for he died in 1993. But in 1997 the new Globe Theater was opened in a ceremony presided by none other than Queen Elizabeth II.
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