Shakespeare's Globe
Groundlingswere those people of the audience who paid a mere penny to attend. The groundlings were closer to the stage than were people of the gallery audience, but they had a less satisfactory view. Three tiers of seats, the galleries, rose around the perimeter of the yard and were protected by a thatched roof. Theatre-goers in the galleries looked down on a wooden stage, raised a few feet off the ground. At the back of the main stage were two doors that led to a dressing room and were used for most of the actor’s entrances and exits. Built into the main stage were one or more trapdoors leading to an area below the stage. Actors playing ghosts or witches would appear and disappear through the trapdoors. Above the stage was a small building known as ‘the heavens’ where the stage crew could produce thunder and other sound effects. Although the Globe was not a large theatre, it could accommodate more than two thousand spectators, about eight hundred of whom stood in the yard. Performances were given in the afternoon, the stage being lit by daylight. Costumes were colourful and often expensive, hut the sets were simple, and scenery was hardly used at all. The companies strove for special effects, however such as birds and goddesses descending from the roof by means of ropes and pulleys. Women’s roles in the plays were acted by men or, more commonly by boys. Partly because of the absence of scenery to change and the absence of a curtain across the main stage, the plays proceeded at a brisk pace. Actors spoke their lines more rapidly than they do today. A good voice and excellent diction were imperative, and Elizabethan audiences spoke of ‘hearing’ plays rather than ‘seeing’ them. The plays had to have dramatic power to hold a popular and sometimes unruly audience. Shakespeare’s plays certainly had that power as they still do today. The original Globe was built in 1599 on the south bank of the Thames, and rebuilt 14 years later following a fire in 1613 and remained in use until1644 when it was demolished to make space for new houses. Shakespeare died in 1616, but the theatre continued to perform his work until the Puritans closed it in 1642. This meticulous reproduction of Shakespeare's original Globe Theatre - constructed using Elizabethan building techniques - offers authentic performances and guided tours. In 1986 permission was given to the American actor and director, Sam Wanamaker, to build an exact copy of Shakespeare’s Globe theatre on The late Sam Wanamaker did not live to see the fulfilment of his 40-year dream of re-creating the 'Wooden O-shaped' thatched theatre, where many of the greatest plays in the English language were first performed. However, shortly before the legendary American director died in 1993, he saw the shell of the new Globe erected. Standing a short distance from the site of the original, the new theatre specializes in plays by Shakespeare and his contemporaries. The enormous cost of the new Globe - £30m at the last count - was the result of painstaking efforts to re-create the original, right down to the lime and goats hair used for plaster. The story of the construction is told in a special exhibition. The design of the theatre, three sheltered tiers in a circle around the open-air stage, means no-one is more than half the length of a tennis court from the stage. Seats in the three galleries, which accommodate 1,000 people, cost £5-20. An extra 500 'groundlings' (who stand in the yard around the stage) pay a flat rate of £5. The picturesque riverside location is relatively quiet - only the occasional passing helicopter drowns out the actors' lines. The wooden benches can get uncomfortable during a three-hour Shakespeare play, but cushions are available. The first public performance at the new Globe in 1996 had to be halted after an actor, swinging down to the stage by a rope, broke his leg. Attached to the Globe theatre is a smaller, indoor theatre, built according to a design by Inigo Jones.
Ex.I. Answer the questions: 1. What does the reproduction of Shakespeare’s original Globe Theatre offer? 2. Where were many of the great plays first performed? 3. When was the original Globe built and then rebuilt? 4. What does the new theatre specialize in? 5. What was the cost of the New Globe? 6. What is told in a special exhibition? 7. What is the distance from the stage for the spectators? 8. How many seats do the three galleries accommodate? 9. What is the location like? 10. What are the seats made of? 11. What happened during the first public performance at the new Globe in 1996?
Ex. II. Complete the sentences: 1. The meticulous reproduction of Shakespeare’s original Globe Theatre offers… 2. Many of the greatest plays in the English language were first performed… 3. The original Globe was built in … 4. After Shakespeare’s death the theatre continued … 5. The result of the effort to recreate the original Globe theatre was … 6. The story of the construction is told … 7. The theatre accommodates … 8. The picturesque riverside location is … 9. The wooden benches can get … 10. The first public performance at the new Globe was in …
Ex. III. Speak on the following: 1. Describe the interior of the Globe. 2. Compare a modern theatre and the original Globe. 3. Compare the staff now and then.
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The Globe Theatre was an octagonal structure with an unroofed yard in the centre where the ‘groundlings’ stood.
