The Globe Theatre
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The Globe Theatre

Location/Layout:   
    The Globe Theatre was a important place in Egland where Shakespeare's plays were preformed. The Globe Theatre was built in London, England in the year 1599. The theatre was built by James Burbages and the Lord Chamberlan's Men (Shakespeare's actors). The Globe was specifically made to preform Shakespear's plays. The building could seat 2000 spectators. Sadly, the Globe Theatre was burned to the ground in June 29, 1613 by a connon that had misfired during a production of Henry the 8th play. The Lord Chamberlan's Men had built a second Globe Theatre in July 1613, But was closed down by the  Puritans in 1644 because they thought the theatre was not good to society and instead of going to the theatre people should be praying. A modern reconstruction of the Globe Theatre was made in 1997 to show Elizabethan plays every summer. This theatre was called Shakespeares Globe.

Plays:
    William Shakespeare was a important part of the Globe Theatre with the plays he had written. Some of the plays that were preformed there were Midsummers Night Dreams, McBeth, Hamlet, Romeo and Jullet, Julius Caesar, Othello, and Titus Andronicus. At the Globe, plays were preformed every Sunday. The way the people would know there was a play happening is that a white colour would be raised form the Globe. There would be 3 copies of each play so more people could see the play and bring in more money. The plays were preformed by Shakespeare's group of actors called the Lord Chamberlan's Men. Back then women weren't allow in the productions. Instead, little boys played the roles of women. Most of Shakespeares plays were breathe-taking.

Audience:
    The audience was a big part of Shakespeare's plays. The best seat at the Globe was the middle stage bench because you could see the stage and the whole Globe, the middle benches were the most popular. Another seat that was nice was right infront of the stage. If the adience was enjoying the play it would be so quiet you could hear a pin drop. However, if the audience disliked the play they would heckle and throw tomatos at the actors and the stage. Shakespears plays were so amazing that the audience would spent a lot of money just to watch. The "groundings" (working class) could watch a play for a penny. The working class would sit infront of the stage called the pit. Most of the members of the audience were from out of town and woud have to pay a large toll to get over the river, but that did not stop them. If it were not for the audience Shakespears plays would have been pointless.

Royal Preformances: 
    One person that was very interested in Shakespeare's plays was the Queen Elizabeth I. She would demand to be the first one to see Shakespeares newest plays. The queen would pay Shakespeare a fortune to create something new. The days that the queen would want to watch was on the Christmas holidays, New Year Day and Shrovetide which was a holiday in England. The queen though of her to be on another level than the  public so she never went to public plays.

Here are some links to other great sites about the globe.
www.william-shakespeare.info/william-shakespeare-globe-theatre.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Globe_Theatre
http://absoluteshakespeare.com/trivia/globe/globe.htm



    
   


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