21 New Globe Walk, Bankside, SE1 9DT

Phone:

020-7902 1400

Website:

www.shakespearesglobe.com

Opening times:

Daily 10:00–18:00

How to get there:

Tube: Southwark/London Bridge/St Paul’s/Mansion House

Entry fee:

Admission charge

Additional information:

Shop

The museum and exhibition attached to the reconstructed Globe Theatre provide an informative introduction to the regular tours of the theatre and a space in which various themes related to the Elizabethan stage can be explored. From 1599–1613, when the Globe Theatre was destroyed in a fire started by a prop cannon during a performance of Henry VIII, it was one of the most popular in London. American actor, producer and director Sam Wanamaker first conceived the idea of recreating the theatre in 1949. In 1970 he founded the Shakespeare Globe Trust and, along with the architect Theo Crosby, drew up plans for the reconstruction, to be undertaken as close as possible to the site of the original building. The first part of the exhibition details the meticulous techniques—many authentic to the period—that were employed in the construction project, finally completed in 1997. ‘All the World’s a Stage’ illustrates life on Bankside in the early 17th century. A large model of a Frost Fair held on the Thames in 1621 (on loan from Museum of London) can be seen, along with contemporary bowling balls and hazelnut shells, a late 16th-century dagger, whistles, and spoons. Another model shows Middle Temple Hall, the venue for the first performance of Twelfth Night. Separate displays cover special effects in the Elizabethan theatre, and the question of Shakespeare’s identity (who wrote the plays?), examining the claims of Christopher Marlowe, Edward de Vere and Francis Bacon. Downstairs there is a temporary exhibition area and performance space, along with listening booths where early recordings of speeches from Shakespeare by famous actors can be heard, courtesy of the British Library’s National Sound Archive.