Shakespeare's Globe Theatre

Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in London, opened in 1997, is a modern reconstruction featuring the city's only thatched roof permitted since the Great Fire of 1666. The original Globe was built in 1599 by the Lord Chamberlain's Men using timber carried across the River Thames from Shoreditch on December 28, 1598. A prop cannon burned down the original structure in 1613 during a performance of Henry the Eighth.

London · from the walk “London's Big Kid Adventure” · audio ~3 min · Generated

Shakespeare's Globe, 21 New Globe Walk, London SE1 9DT

How was the original Shakespeare's Globe Theatre destroyed in 1613?

Alright, look at this building right in front of you. Can you guess how old it is? It might Look like it's from the fifteen hundreds... but it's actually younger than your parents! The Globe Theatre officially opened in nineteen ninety-seven.......... But here's where the story gets wild. This is actually the Third Globe Theatre. The first one was built way back in fifteen ninety-nine by Shakespeare's own gang of actors, called the Lord Chamberlain's Men. And how they got it built is basically a heist movie.......... See, the actors were performing at another theatre up in Shoreditch. But their landlord, a grumpy guy named Giles Alleyn, wanted to cancel their lease and tear the whole place down. So what did Shakespeare's crew do? On the twenty-eighth of December, fifteen ninety-eight... they snuck in, took the entire building apart timber by timber, loaded it onto boats, and floated it across the River Thames! Can you imagine? Moving a whole Theatre across a river... at Christmas!......... They named it the Globe because, like Hercules carrying the world on his back, the actors had carried the theatre's framework on Their backs across the Thames.......... Now, here's a question. What do you think destroyed the original Globe? An earthquake? A flood? Nope... it was a Cannon! In sixteen thirteen, during a play about Henry the Eighth, a prop cannon misfired and set the thatched roof on fire. The fire spread so fast that the entire theatre burned to the ground in less than two hours! And here's the funniest part... according to one of the few surviving records, nobody was hurt... except for one man whose trousers caught fire. Someone put them out with a bottle of Beer!......... Now look up at the roof here. See that golden straw? This is the Only thatched-roof building in all of London. They had to fight for special permission to build it, because thatched roofs have been banned in London since the Great Fire of sixteen sixty-six!......... And check out those two massive pillars holding up the stage roof. Each one is made from a single oak tree. The builders had to measure more than a Thousand oak trees to build this place!......... One last mind-blowing fact. People who stand right here as groundlings sometimes actually faint during performances. The record? Fifteen people passed out during one showing of Titus Andronicus... one of Shakespeare's goriest plays! So if you ever come back to see a show... maybe pick a comedy.

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