|
The Theatre had played host to the most renowned troupe of theatre actors and writers of the time: the Lord Chamberlain's Men. However, when James Burbage was unable to renew his lease on the land, Burbage and the Chamberlain's Men were forced to find a new playhouse in which to perform. The Burbage family formed a syndicate with five members of the Chamberlain's Men and with their combined wealth built and managed a new theatre on the south bank of the River Thames in Southwark. This new playhouse was called the Globe Theatre. James Burbage's Theatre was deconstructed and any salvageable parts were transferred across the River Thames to use in the new playhouse.
The syndicate hired the leading builder of the time, Peter Streete, to both deconstruct the Theatre and build the Globe. The deconstruction of the Theatre commenced on 28th December 1598, and the Globe Theatre was completed about six months later in the summer of 1599. The Theatre's foundations and fittings were abandoned but the frame, balustrades and planks used in the floors of the galleries and stages were saved and reused in the Globe.
For the first ten years of the Globe's existence, the Lord Chamberlain's Men (who became the King's Men on 19th May 1603 under the patronage of King James I) performed solely at the Globe Theatre. The plays performed at the Globe Theatre during this period include The Taming of the Shrew, Love's Labour's Lost, Romeo and Juliet, Richard II, Othello, Macbeth, Pericles, The Winter's Tale, and Henry VIII. In 1608 or 1609 the King's Men began to perform at another venue called the Blackfriars Theatre which Richard Burbage had bought in 1596. From this time onwards the Globe was used for summer performances whilst the private, or roofed, Blackfriars stage was employed during the winter.
On the afternoon of 29th June 1613, the Globe Playhouse caught fire during a performance of William Shakespeare's King Henry VIII (or All is True) and was burned to the ground. A new or second Globe Theatre was built on the same site to replace it, but this time it was roofed with tiles instead of thatch. The second Globe was used for theatrical performances until 1642 when it was closed by Oliver Cromwell.
|
