"Literary Links" is a series of posts celebrating
Britain's wonderful links with great authors, dramatists and poets.
Before you
stands the beautiful reproduction of the Globe Theatre – one of the most famous
theatres in the world. This is NOT the
site of the original Globe Theatre -see next week's post to see that location and learn of Shakespeare's early work.
In 1949,
some 307 years later, the American actor Sam Wannamaker (1919-1993) arrived in
London and came on a Shakespearean pilgrimage to visit the great Bard’s famed
stomping grounds. He was astonished to
find nothing but a plaque. Thus the seed
was sown in which he fought through apathy, criticism and opposition from
councils, English Heritage and even fellow actors to recreate Shakespeare’s
famed Globe theatre.
In 1970 he
founded the Shakespeare Globe Trust and began fund raising with all his
might. His vision was to create a
faithful reproduction using medieval building techniques and matching the
appearance of the original as far as possible.
The oak beamed structure is held together by mortice and tenon joints
and 6,000 wooden pegs, plastered in between with a mixture of sand, lime, water
and goat hair, and topped off with thatch from Norfolk.
The interior
courtyard is open to the heavens, and the ‘groundlings’ still stand for the
entire performance. The following 1599
account compares the original seating and ticket prices,
“Whoever cares to stand below pays only one English penny,
but if he wishes to sit he enters by another door, and pays another penny,
while if he desires to sit in the most comfortable seats which are cushioned,
where he not only sees everything well but can also be seen, then he pays yet
another English penny at another door.”
The seating
arrangement is similar today, although you will find the prices have gone up
slightly.
Sam Wannamaker
died in 1993, four years before the theatre was completed. It is rather sad he did not witness the
opening of his masterpiece, but he died content knowing the site was secured
and building well under way.
A second
theatre, located behind the Globe’s replica, was opened in 2014 and quite
fittingly is named in Sam Wannamaker’s honour.
This Globe
Theatre enterprise, along with the Tate Modern has transformed this decaying
backwater into a major player on London’s tourism map.
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
