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| Plan of the Globe Theater |
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| Inside View |
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| Outside View |
After six years of construction " The Globe Theater" was opened on June 12,1997 by Queen Elizabeth II.
This theater is located in an area of 1.2 acre land with the construction of a museum, a restaurant, a gift shop and a three hundred-seat lecture theater."The Globe"theater was built in the shape of a twenty-sided circular shaped building with ninety-nine feet in diameter. The thatched roof of the stage made of Norfolk reeda was coated with a special fire-protective liquid. The construction work was done by McCurdy & Co, Burkshire. The open area called "Pit" or "the Yard" had a raised stage thrust half way into it. The pit is surrounded by three tiers of roofed galleries with balconies overlooking the back of the stage. This theater can house nearly seven hundred people standing in the pit (called groundlings) and nine hundred people seated in galleries.Two sets of external stairs on either side of the theater provide access to balconies while the four main entrances lead the way to the yard and lower gallery. The stage is forty four feet wide and twenty five feet in depth and is five feet high supported by oak pillars painted like marble with golden leaves, called "Herculean Pillars".Two statues above the stage represent the figures of Tragedy and Comedy.
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| View of the roof called "Heavens" |
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| Statues above the stage |
The roof is called "Heavens" painted with the pictures of sun,moon and zodiac. There is a trapdoor in the middle of the ceiling for performers to descend onto the stage using some lever arrangement.Above the roof there is a porthole or opening which was used in Shakespeare's time for firing cannons and fireworks to produce special sound effects like thunder and lightning or to announce arrival of the royal persons. The stage wall (called "Frons Scenae" a name given by the Imperial Rome to the stage walls of their amphitheaters) has a central doorway along with two other doorways on either side for the actors to make their entrances. The central doorway leads to the dressing room called "a tiring house". There is a trap door on the stage for actors to enter from the cellar beneath the stage. The balcony above the stage is flanked by two balconies on either side for accommodating the prestigious and wealthy people.
Our elderly tour guide informed us that in Shakespeare's time common people used to pay one penny to stand in the pit and watch the play. Most of them used to drink and munch hazel nuts and garlic. So Shakespeare referred to them as "Pennystinks". The announcement about the performance of plays was done by sounding a trumpet. Our guide spoke in a jovial and entertaining manner, but gave very little information about the Elizabethan stage of Shakespeare's time. We were not allowed to see the Sam Wanamaker Play House as it was not included in our guided tour schedule. A little disappointed we went to the gift-shop. There were many books, stationery items, keychains, pictures and cards concerned with the great dramatist's life and plays. But when compared with Indian editions their cost is rather high. So we came out without buying any mementos to keep as cherished memories of this memorable visit.
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17th September, 2015 Somaseshu Gutala
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