The Globe Theatre was a theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men.

3. The name of the Globe supposedly refersto
the Latin tag totus mundus agit histrionem
which was in turn derived from quod fere
totus mundus exerceat histrionem—
"because all the world is a playground"—
from Petronius which had wide circulation in
England in the Burbages' time.

4. The Globe Theatre is shown at the bottom centre of this London street map

5. Portrait of Richard
Burbage, Dulwich Picture
Gallery, London
In 1576 the first permanent public theatre,
called simply the Theatre, was erected by the
actor James Burbage. The construction of
building continued till the end of the century.
Shakespeare’s plays were first performed in
the Globe play house.
The theatre was built in 1599 with lumber from
the old demolished Theatre. The Globe was
built in 1599 using timber from an earlier
theatre, The Theatre, which had been built by
Richard Burbage's father, James Burbage
in Shoreditch in 1576.

6. It was for this Globe Theatre that
Shakespeare’s greatest tragedies were
written. The series of his tragedies
include Julius Caesar, Hamlet, Othello,
King Lear, Macbeth , Anthony and
Cleopatra was originally envisaged for
this stage in the years between 1599
and 1607.

8. GLOBE THEATRE
The Globe Theatre was the playhouse for which most of Shakespeare's plays were originally
written. It had been built in 1599 and was burned down in 1613. Again, it was reopened in 1614,
and finally demolished in 1644 when the Puritans ordered to shut down all theatres. They were
reopened in the Restoration period, from 1660 onwards. ( Architecturally, the Globe was a roughly
circular more or less precise or polygonal) building with an internal 'tiring house' construction
partly overshadowing the stage. The stage itself (an 'apron stage') projected out into a central
courtyard which was open to the sky.
The roof as shown in Hodges's drawing is thatched. The story goes that the Globe burned down
in 1613 because the reed caught fire. (When the Globe was rebuilt it was fitted with a shingled
roof).
The playhouse flag was flown to indicate either that a performance was in progress or about to
begin. Performances usually began at 2 p.m. The main seasons in London were predominantly
autumn and spring (in other words, the playhouse was actually closed for most of the year). A
modern reconstruction of the Globe with the production of Henry V .The New Globe, or 'Globe 3',
was opened in London in 1997. Today it is notably one of the major tourist attractions in London .

9. Second Globe Theatre, detail from Hollar's View of London, 1647.

10. Globe Theatre
The Globe Theatre was a theatre in London associated with Shakespeare. It was built in
1599 by Shakespeare's playing company, The Lord Chamberlain's Men. Unfortunately, the
original Globe Theatre was consumed by fire on the 29th of June, 1613. A theatrical
cannon set off during the performance, misfired. Fire devoured igniting the wooden beams
and thatching. According to one of the few surviving documents of the event, no body was
hurt except a man whose burning breeches were put out with a bottle of ale. None was
severely injured in the event.
It was rebuilt in the following year.A second Globe Theatre was built on the same site,
opening in 1614 and closing in 1642.A modern version of the Globe Theatre was built in
1997, named 'Shakespeare's Theatre‘. The Globe Theatre was a tremendous success as it
held many large plays suited for large audiences. The success of theatres becoming the
preferred past time led to a law being put in place that theatres had to be closed on
Thursdays, for the animal hunting businesses. Plays were such a big event, that when the
show was about to start at the Globe Theatre, a trumpet would sound to let people know to
take their final positions. The Globe Theatre was essentially a semi-circular shape that had a
ground floor for standing and higher seats built in a globe-like fashion. The structure of the
globe theatre allowed massive props such as cannons to be fired and used on stage.

11. LAYOUT
The floors above were used to store costumes,
props, and as management offices. The balcony
housed the musicians it was used for scenes which
needed an upper space, such as the balcony scene
in Romeo and Juliet. Rush matting covered the
stage, although this may only have been used as and
when the setting of the play demanded it. The ceiling
under this roof was called the "heavens” as it was
painted with clouds and the sky. A trap door in the
heavens was used to allow performers to descend
using some kind of a rope and harness.

12. As shown in Hodges's drawing, distances were small. The actors did not have to shout to make
themselves understood as they were in close contact with their audience visually

13. The stage itself is situated on a raised platform. There is a trap-door in the middle of it leading down to the
'hell'.
 The space underneath the stage -- the 'hell' -- is hidden from view by boards or lengths of cloth.
 The tiring house construction is partly connected to the Globe's back wall, and partly supported by two pillars
in front (often integrated into a play as trees, masts, or hiding places). On top of the tiring house is a "hut"
containing pulleys and other machinery for letting down ('flying in') or pulling up ('flying out') objects or people
(for instance, Ariel in The Tempest). (The 'fly floor' is usually also a feature of modern stage designs.) The
ceiling of the tiring house shows painted representations of the sun, moon, clouds, and planets.
There are two main stage doors through which the characters enter or exit.
 There is another opening between the two doors which is a 'discovery space', possibly a 'chamber'
suggesting a night chamber, a sickbed scenes, etc. It was the only space that could be concealed by a curtain
which can be considered as an interesting feature in view of the role of the curtain in later stage designs
 There is also a first-floor chamber or balcony one level up which is used both as an occasional acting area
as well as a space for the musicians.
At the back of the tiring house, are the tiring rooms as well as store rooms for props, wardrobes, etc.

14. Let us examine how far the architecture of the modern stage
(often called a 'picture frame stage') influenced 19th and 20th
Century drama. The transition from the 16C-17C Globe theatre
stage to the modern picture frame stage is best illustrated by
using two (highly simplified) models (Pfister 1988: 20).

15. STAGE DIRECTIONS
Stage directions that cannot be so translated are obviously addressed to the reader only are
termed autonomous stage directions (Issacharoff 1989: 20). stage directions may either be
'readerly', catering to the needs of ordinary readers, or 'actorly', catering to the needs of theater
practitioners. Today, most printed playscripts are readerly versions, whose secondary text describes
stage and action from the point of view of the audience and generally avoids technical jargon stage
directions.

16. In the opinion of the city authorities, the Globe
playhouse had a relatively bad reputation because it
was considered a dangerous environment which
encouraged uncontrolled mixing of people from all
classes and casts of life, which included prostitutes and
pickpockets.
According to critics , deviating interests of the Globe
Theater's heterogeneous audience are mainly reflected
in Shakespeare's choice and treatment of themes,
characters, and language.

17. upstage The area at the back of the stage is distantly away from the audience.
downstage The area close to the audience.
The terms upstage and downstage refer to the fact that many stages are (or were) angled (or
'raked') downwards. Hence 'up' actually means in the back, and 'down' means close to the ramp.
Consequently, to 'upstage' somebody means to play so well or so conspicuously as to push another
actor from a position of interest (a downstage or center-stage position) into the background (an
upstage position) this is commonly called 'stealing the show'. As Lathan (2000) points out, "in most
modern theatres it is the audience seating that is raked, not the stage".
center stage The central area of the stage which is usually the space holding the main focus of
interest.
forestage A special part of the downstage area located between the curtain and the ramp. This is
normally used by actors for taking their bows or 'curtain calls'; but it is also a possible acting area for
prologue and epilogue speakers.
pit A sunken area between the ramp and the auditorium, usually for accommodating an orchestra.

18. REFLECTION OF GLOBE ARCHITECTURE IN SHAKESPEARE’S PLAYS
No curtain; fast moving action. There were considerably no breaks between scenes; a change of
scene was indicated by one set of actors exiting through one of the two stage doors, while the next
scene's characters entered through the other. No change of location had to be signalled because the
tiring house facade provided a general scenery that was suitable to all occasions for practical reasons.
'passe-partout scenery'. The doors, the trap-door, the balcony area, the pillars, the curtained
chamber, and the general tiring-house backdrop provided a highly functional scenery that could be
exploited whenever a play demanded it. With no extra effort of scenery or decoration, the stage could
suggest a variety of locations namely the deck of a ship, a town hall, a street, a royal court, a
forest, a battlefield, a graveyard, the walls of a castle, in short, practically anything. Examples:
In As You Like It, Orlando sticks a love-poem on a tree.
The ghost of Hamlet's father calls out to Hamlet from "beneath".
Stage direction: Enter Julia above at a window.
Othello suffocates Desdemona in her bed.
From the battlements of a castle, Richard II talks to the commander of a rebel force.
verbal decor/word scenery A setting created in words; an indication, in a character's speech, of the
current location, season, time of day, etc. Verbal decor complements the functionality of the Globe
stage, avoiding the necessity of elaborate or ad-hoc scenery. Note the functional use of
props and verbal decor in the following example:
Enter Banquo and Fleance with a torch.
Banquo. How goes the night, boy? (Macbeth II.1)

19. REFERENCES
1. www.year9englishblogspot.in
2. Issachacharoff, Michael.1989. Discourse as Performance. Stanford:
Stanford UP
3. Pfister, Manfred. 1977.Das Drama: Theorie und Analyse. München:
Fink.---. 1988.
4.A Guide to the Theory of Drama Manfred Jahn
5. Shakespeare’s Life and Times: A Pictorial Record by Mushat Frye
6. www.britannica.com