Shakespeare :: essays research papers

The Globe Theatre 1. Prehistory Shakespeare joined the Lord Chamberlain men in 1594. At that time the company didn't have an own theatre. Sometimes they played in ,,The Theatre" or in the ,,Curtain-Theatre". After James Burbage died in 1598, the lease of the land where ,,The Theatre" was built, was passed. His sons Cuthbert and Richard Burbage tried to convince the owner to renew the lease, but he didn't. So Cuthbert and Richard leased land at the south bank of the Themse. Half of the needed money was raised by the Burbage brothers, the other half was raised by five actors of the group, one of them was Shakespeare. As the owner wasn't in London for some days, the people of the company teared the theatre down and transported the material over the Themse to the new land. The Globe Theatre was established between pubs and brothels (Kneipen und Bordelle). The theatre building was finished in 1599 and the first performance was in the summer of 1599. 2.The construction of the Globe Theatre The G.T. was London's most important public theatre. The name of the G.T. came from a sign beyond the gate, where Hercules was shown together with a globe. Around the picture there was written the sentence: "Totus mundus agit histrionem", that means: "The whole world is a stage". The G.T. was made from wood. It was an almost round building. There was place for circa 1200 people. A roof made of straw protected the three galeries inside the theatre and also the dressing-room but not the stage. Even if it was raining, the actors had to play. The court was surrounded by the galeries. Most of the stage laid in the court. The stage was a large platform. At the back, on each side of the platform, were two large doors. In the centre of the platform was a recess or inner stage, which was usually concealed by a curtain. But there was no front curtain to hide the stage completely and separate the actors from their audience. 3.The actors and the audience The actors were all men. Even the female roles were played by boys. The actors had to learn 800 lines a day, that was the reason why they could play 70 roles after three years. They acted without any costumes or scenery, instead they played in their own clothes. There was no real owner of the theatre and no boss.