Shakespeare's Globe Theatre
British Museum Cabinet War Rooms Canary Wharf Chelsea Physic Garden Chinatown London Covent Garden Market Eltham Palace Gotheborg Ship Hampton Court Household Cavalry HMS Belfast Kensington Gardens Kensington Roof Gardens Kew Gardens London Aquarium London Zoo Maritime Greenwich Natural History Museum Palace Mews River Cruise St. James's Park St. Pancras Station Shakespeare's Globe Theatre Sherlock Hlomes Museum Somerset House Thames Barrier The London Eye Tower Bridge Experience Tower of London Transport Museum Windsor Castle	The thumbnails below are linked to larger pictures The present Globe Theatre, located on the south bank of the river Thames adjacent to the new Tate Modern Gallery, is a faithful reconstruction of the original open air playhouse designed in 1599. The materials used are as near identical to the original as possible, including the thousands of hand made wooden pegs used to hold the structure together. It was at this theatre that Shakespeare worked and for which he wrote many of his greatest plays. The original Globe, built by carpenter Peter Smith and his workers, was the most magnificent theatre that London had ever seen. This theatre could hold several thousand people. The Globe Theatre didn’t just show plays, it was also reputed to be a brothel and gambling house. Situated on the South bank of the river Thames in Southwark, the original theatre was destroyed by fire in 1613, when a cannon used for special effects set fire to the thatched roof. The reconstruction was the dream of the great American Actor Steve Wanamaker CBE, who sadly never lived to see his dream completed. The current theatre was formally opened in 1997, when over 200,000 people attended the four major productions during the first season. Todays audiences sit in the gallery or stand informally as "groundlings" in the yard as they would have done 400 years ago. Included in a tour of the Globe Theatre is the exhibition which provides an informed introduction to the theatre of Shakespear's time and the London in which he lived and worked. A tour guide will then conduct groups of visitors around both the exterior and interior of the theatre, providing information on the construction of the current building and descriptions of the original theatre of the 1600's. Bookings can be made to view a live performance, to celebrate this reconstruction of Shakespear's workplace. *Link to official site for viewing Visitor Information*