Download Introduction to Shakespeare

The Globe
Shakespeare performed his plays here
Constructed in 1599
On the banks of the Thames River
• Near London
Shape: Octagonal
Play time: 2 hours
Cost: One penny
The Globe, con’t.
Seating:
Pit: General crowd
Galleries: A small additional fee would
get you these seats
Box Seats: Royalty or noblemen only
The capacity for the play performance was
3,000
Sound effects were made in the huts
Ghosts could appear on stage through trap
doors
The Globe Theatre History
The first Globe Theatre had a thatched roof. It
burnt down in 1613.
The second Globe Theatre was built with a tiled
roof, but was torn down in 1644.
A replica was built in 1996 (and opened in
1997) near the original site.
DID YOU KNOW?
Gatherers stood at the door of The Globe
Theatre with boxes to take admission. This is
why a ticket office today is called a “box
office.”
The audience on the ground were called
“groundlings”. Their seats were only a penny.
They weren’t sheltered from the rain, but were
closer to the action.
The stage was 5ft. high to keep the audience off
of it.
Parts of the Globe
The Pit- Sometimes referred to as “The Yard”
where the groundlings watched the play for their
one-penny admission.
The Stage- Major playing area jutted into the
Pit, creating a sense of intimacy with the
audience. Hangings curtained off space beneath.
Main entrance- Here the doorkeeper greeted
playgoers and collected one penny from
everyone.
Parts of the Globe
Lord’s Rooms- private galleries; six pennies let
a viewer sit here, or sometimes even on the
stage itself.
Middle Gallery- called “two-penny rooms”
because the seats here were higher priced.
Inner Stage- A recessed playing area often
curtained off, then opened for appropriate
scenes.
Parts of the Globe
Flag- a white flag hoisted above the theatre
meant a show would be performed that day.
White-comedy, Black-tragedy, Red-history
Stage Doors- doors opening into the TiringHouse.
Hut- a storage area that also held a wench
system for lowering enthroned gods or other
characters to the stage.
Parts of the Globe
Tiring-House- The important backstage area
which provided space for storage and business
offices.
Stairs- Ascending to the first level, theatre goers
reached the galleries by wooden staircases
enclosed by stairwells.
Trap Door- Leading down to the Hell area
where equipment included the winch elevator
that raised and lowered actors or properties.
Parts of the Globe
Hell- The area under the stage, used for
ghostly comings and goings or for more
mundane storage of properties.
The Globe, con’t.
Flags, trumpets, and fliers told when there
would be a play
The flags also told the audience what type
of play they would be seeing:
Red flag = history play
White flag = comedy play
Black Flag = tragedy play
Costumes, con’t.
England had “Clothing Acts” which
forbade certain classes of people from
dressing like a higher class.
So, for an actor-a person of the lower
classes- to dress like a nobleman or a
king was something of a scandal.