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Questions about Globe Theatre

Short answers, pulled from the story.

When was the Globe Theatre built and by whom?

The Globe Theatre was built in 1599 at Southwark on the south bank of the Thames by the Lord Chamberlain's Men, Shakespeare's playing company. Construction used timber salvaged from an earlier theatre called The Theatre, which had been built in Shoreditch in 1576 and dismantled in December 1598. The total cost of building the Globe was £700.

How did the Globe Theatre burn down?

The Globe Theatre burned down on the 29th of June 1613 during a performance of Henry VIII, when a theatrical cannon misfired and ignited the wooden beams and thatching. One surviving account notes that no one was killed; the only reported injury was a man whose burning breeches were put out with a bottle of ale.

What share of the Globe Theatre did William Shakespeare own?

Shakespeare initially owned a 12.5 per cent share of the Globe Theatre. Over the course of his career, as new shareholders were added, his stake diminished from one-eighth to roughly one-fourteenth, or about 7 per cent.

How many people could the Globe Theatre hold?

The Globe Theatre is estimated to have been a three-storey, open-air amphitheatre approximately 100 feet in diameter that could house up to 3,000 spectators. Groundlings paid a penny to stand in the yard, while more expensive stadium-style seats occupied three levels rising around them.

When did the Globe Theatre close and why?

The second Globe Theatre closed in 1642 when the Long Parliament issued an ordinance on the 2nd of September of that year closing all London theatres at the outbreak of the First English Civil War. The building was subsequently pulled down in 1644-45 to make room for tenements.

Where is Shakespeare's Globe and when did it open?

Shakespeare's Globe, the modern reconstruction of the original theatre, opened in 1997 approximately 230 metres from the site of the original Globe in Southwark, London. Its opening production was Henry V. The design is an academic approximation based on available evidence about the 1599 and 1614 buildings.