An introduction to Shakespeare and the Globe theatre for 14-16 year olds.

1. William Shakespeare
Introducing the
Bard and the
London Theater
Scene of his Day

2. William Shakespeare 1564-1616
 It is said that Shakespeare
was born at Stratford-upon-
Avon on April 23, 1564.
 He had three brothers and
four sisters and was the
oldest child of the family.
 He married Anne Hathaway
in 1582: he was 18 and she
was 26. They had 3 kids by
the time he was 21.
 He wrote his first play
around 1591, fifteen years
after the opening of the first
theatre in London (The Red
Lion).
 Shakespeare owned two
theaters and wrote at least
38 plays. He was an actor
before he was a writer.

3. Shakespeare’s Plays: Tragedies,
Comedies, and Histories
 Tragedies: The fall of a great man. Not by fatal
“tragic” flaw, but through choice of action that
puts him out of his comfort zone (Hamlet, King
Lear, Macbeth).
 Comedies: Not simply comical, in the modern
sense, but often tensions between traditional
roles—male vs. female, poor vs. rich, old vs.
young—often ending in marriage, the revision or
restoration of tradition (Much Ado About Nothing,
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, As You Like It).
 Histories: Based on the lives of English Kings
(Henry IV, Henry V, Richard III).

4. Shakespeare’s Company
 The Lord Chamberlain’s
men formed in 1594,
included Shakespeare
and Richard Burbage
(the most popular actor
of his day).
 James I made them his
company, and they were
then called the King’s
Men—the best and most
successful acting troupe
in London.
 Acting companies
traditionally had 10-15
members who acted and
managed the plays.
Young boys performed
the roles of women.

5. LONDON & THE
THEATER IN
SHAKESPEARE’S
DAY
 The theater was the most widely available entertainment to
which people of every class had access.
 Professional theater life was considered a fringe culture,
existing on the margins of society. Actors were like rock
stars.
 Actors were considered homeless vagabonds and, as such,
were subject to arrest (like rock stars).
 Plays were often acted out in any space available; thus the
income for actors and playwrights was undependable and
rarely enough to live on.
 Wealthy aristocrats, who enjoyed drama, would support
acting companies with their own money—actors under the
care of these “Lords” could not be arrested for their vagrant
lifestyle.

6. BANKSIDE
The Entertainment District:
Taverns, Theatres & Prostitutes,
Oh My!
 Bankside London, on the Thames River, was
a notorious area of the city.
 The Globe Theatre was situated in this area
where people went out to drink and gamble,
and where prostitution flourished.
 The theatre was not a symbol of high culture
in those days, it was bawdy and violent
entertainment, considered by many to be full
of dangerous ideas and suggestive sexual
themes.

7. BANKSIDE

8. The Globe: The Glory of the Bank
 Based on design of The
Rose theatre.
 First London theatre built
and owned by an acting
company (1599).
 All the decisions made in
its construction were
made by the actors and
writers who would use it
as a performance space.
 Shakespeare plays first
performed at the Globe:
Julius Caesar, Hamlet,
Twelfth Night, Othello,
King Lear, and Macbeth.

9. THE GLOBE THEATRE
A Reconstruction of Shakespeare’s Theater
Built in 1996

10. On Stage at the Globe
 http://www.shakesp
earesglobeonscree
n.com/

11. The Audience
 There were only two doors,
and the Globe held up to
3,000 people.
 People from all classes
visited the theatre on a
regular basis.
 Cheapest seats cost one
penny; “groundlings” stood
in the yard.
 For an extra penny, you got
a “cushion seat” in the
gallery.
 For extra money, the view
was obstructed; however,
in those days people didn’t
go to see a play, they went
to hear a play.

12. Stage Effects
 Both the stage and the
heavens (the area
above the stage) held
trap doors.
 Sheep and cow blood
was used for fight
scenes. A small bag
could be filled and
popped at the right
moment for the right
effect.
 Gunpowder was used
for musket fire and
special controlled
explosions.

13. The Threat of Theatre
 The puritans, and city authorities, did
not like play going.
 Only the support of the King or Queen
kept the theatre open.
 The theatre represented freedom of
thought, freedom of expression, and
openly played with gender roles and
human sexuality.

14. A Tale of Three Globes
 Original Globe burnt down
(6/29/1613) during the
third performance of
Henry VIII after cannons
firing blanks set fire to the
thatch roof.
 The King’s Men
(Shakespeare’s acting
company) rebuilt the
Globe in 1614. This Globe
was torn down in 1644.
 Modern Globe was built
by an American named
Sam Wanamaker, using
Elizabethan construction
techniques, opened in
1997.