The Globe Theatre: Key Dates “1564: William Shakespeare born in Stratford-upon-Avon. 1576: The actor-manager James Burbage built the Theatre in Shoreditch, the first purpose-built playhouse in London. Shakespeare joined the resident troupe at the Theatre in the 1580s and the company (later known as the Chamberlain’s and then the King’s Men) flourished there for 20 years.

1598 – 1599: The first Globe Playhouse was built and opened. Shakespeare was one of four actors who bought a share in the Globe. By early 1599 the theatre was up and running and for 14 years it thrived, presenting many of Shakespeare’s greatest plays.

1613: During a performance of Henry VIII, a stage cannon ignited the thatched (plant material such as straw) roof and the theatre burned to the ground in less than two hours. The theatre

was quickly rebuilt, this time with a tiled roof. Shakespeare may have acted in the second Globe, but he probably never wrote for it. It remained the home for Shakespeare’s old company until the closure of all the theatres under England’s Puritan administration in 1642.

1642: The Globe was closed by the Puritans, as were all playhouses in London. (Puritans: a member of a group of Protestants that arose in the 16th century within the Church of England, demanding the simplification of doctrine and worship, and greater strictness in religious discipline).

1644: No longer of use, The Globe was demolished to make room for tenements (apartments).

1970-1993: In 1970 Sam Wanamaker, an American actor, founded what was to become the Shakespeare Globe Trust, and in 1987 building work began on site when the six-metre deep foundations were laid. In 1993, the construction of the Globe Theatre itself began. 1997: The plasterwork and thatching began the following year and were completed.”

Work Cited and other Sources:Cip ArtGoogle ImagesShakespeare’s Globe. [Online] Available: http://www.shakespeares-

globe.org/abouttheglobe/background/ Nov, 2009.