Globe Theater

a theater in London, built in 1599. The theater building was in the form of an oval platform surrounded by a high wall. On the inner side of the wall were loges for the aristocracy and above them, galleries for wealthy townsmen. The remaining audience stood on three sides of the stage. Performances were presented by daylight, without entr’actes and almost without scenery. The stage had no curtain. Its distinguishing feature was its sharply projecting proscenium and the inner balcony (the so-called upper scene), where action also took place.

In 1613 the wooden structure of the Globe burned down, and the theater was rebuilt of stone, reopening in 1614. It was one of the most important centers of cultural life in the country. The troupe known as the Chamberlain’s Men played in the Globe, with R. Burbage as the chief tragedian, R. Armin as the chief comedian, and Shakespeare as the chief playwright. The troupe performed all the plays written by Shakespeare after 1594, and it also presented plays by F. Beaumont and J. Fletcher, B. Jonson, and J. Webster. The Globe closed in 1642 and was torn down in 1644.

In 1868, S. Parry built a new building in London under the same name. The new Globe Theater existed until 1902. It presented comedies, farces, and burlesques. In 1906 a theater called the Hicks Theater opened in London. It was renamed the Globe in 1908, and it was leased to various theatrical troupes and firms. It had a varied repertoire, including drama, musicals, and revues. There the Tennent company staged Shaw’s Candida (in 1937), Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest (in 1939), and Bolt’s A Man for All Seasons (in 1960, with P. Scofield). In 1965, E. Williams successfully presented the program Charles Dickens at the Globe Theater.