"Literary Links" - The Original Globe Theatre

 "Literary Links" is a series of posts celebrating Britain's wonderful links with great authors, dramatists and poets.

Just one street back from the modern Globe Theatre is the site of the original Globe where so many of William Shakespeare's plays first saw the light of day.

Site of the Original Globe Theatre Plaque

The first of Shakespeare’s plays to reach the stage in the Globe was probably Julius Ceasar.  Eleven other plays were to follow including  Hamlet, Othello, Macbeth and the Tempest before the building burned down in 1613.   That little tragedy was sparked by Shakespeare’s play Henry VIII.  A cannon was shot during the performance and caught the theatre’s thatch alight!  

The Globe was rebuilt only to become a casualty of the Puritans dislike of this evil pastime and the order that all theatres be closed (1642). 

If you look behind the plaque there are a series of historical boards about the Globe and if you peer through the fence you can see where the results of archaeological digs are commemorated with different coloured cobbles. 

This is an excerpt from the tour London River Walks - South Bank which explores the southern bank of the River Thames.  The full tour is found on  www.obelisktours.co.uk