The History Of The Globe Theatre

“Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player, that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more; it is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.” – William Shakespeare

This is a must watch Broadway show that makes your fine, terrible, or even boring day, an absolute blast. The Play That Goes Wrong has finally made its way to America and right at the heart of New York City near Times Square at the Lyceum Theatre. Therefore, the experience is a win-win situation for the audience. The Lyceum Theatre’s architecture is astonishing as it is filled with ornaments, I also realized the letter ‘L’ around the theater, but the most interesting fact is that it is a landmark. It has a proscenium stage while the audience is in the orchestra, balcony, or the mezzanine seats, like where I sat, and there is barely any space if you are a tall person. My seat was near the far end of mezzanine, I couldn’t see a part of the left side of the stage, so I found myself bending sideways to see what was going on, but I saw nothing. I found the side stage lights and a side balcony blocking my view and yet I had a great time.

Back in Shakespeare's day theatre was different in many ways but also some parts were the same. How is it different? Well, obviously everything was cheap. Pennies for the pit seats, a few more for the galleries, and then the boxes were the most expensive which were probably not as expensive today. Another thing is, they had posters but they weren't really posters or like programs. They contained no lists of actors, and there were no programs, ushers, or tickets or any of the stuff we have today. The name was announced when you got to the actual play. Their playhouses were not sheltered. They were outside, unlike today how we have a building with a roof over our head for plays. They even had vendors walking around giving out food, like at a stadium!

Creativity of this production is the reason for the success. Their expertise in the field proves that they were qualified for this wonderful production. The theater environment of this play was thrust structure, which allows them to innovation stunning method to display all of scenes.

The technological advances of the 19th century played a big role in theatre. Since America was having an Industrial Revolution, many people from the country moved to the expanding cities in the east (“Nineteenth Century Theatre”). This migration made the growth of theatres possible. Theatre seats, balconies, and the basic structural support were made of wood (“Nineteenth Century Theatre”). During the 19th century, theatre lights were “upgraded” three times, the theatre went from candle lighting, to gas lighting,

To begin, The Globe Theater had a very unique building structure. In the article “The

From the Ancient Greeks, to the Romans, and all the way to present day New York City, theatre is a tradition that has been passed down for thousands of years. The art of expression through live performance is something that will never go out of style. The history of Broadway is a rollercoaster with flourishing highs and devastating lows, but they both have significantly contributed to shaping the industry into the prosperous business that it is today.

During this time period, there were not any televisions, cell phones, or computers. Because of this people relied on the theater to keep them entertained. Though officially approved playhouses and acting companies had only been around for about five years The Lord Chamberlain's Men was one of the two acting companies that were permitted to perform in London city limits. Lord Chamberlain's Men used the globe theater, while the other group used the Rose Playhouse which was owned by an impresario and his son-in-law who was a former actor. In 1576 the Blackfriars Theater was built, but Lord Chamberlain's Men could not use it to perform in. This is why the Globe Theater was built in 1598, though they could not finish the original construction because

Theatre today as in ancient Greek times is a popular form of entertainment. Today’s theatres share many similarities with the Greek predecessors however they are also very different. There are in fact many differences for example; layout, special effects, seating arrangement, the importance of drama and religion, setting, location and architectural features.

When Christopher Marlowe, the most famous playwright in his time (Lace, 79), died, William Shakespeare was his successor. Shakespeare decided drama was to be his career after seeing the Queen’s Players during a visit to his hometown of Stratford-on-Avon in 1587 (Lace, 79). By the time of Marlowe’s death, Shakespeare was already well known for his three part “Henry VI” in 1592 (Lace, 79). His plays “Love’s Labour’s Lost” and “Romeo and Juliet”, both in 1594, were performed and he became the most outstanding playwright of his time (Lace, 79). Before Elizabeth’s reign was over, “Richard II”, “Julius Caesar”, “Henry V”, and “Hamlet” had been performed (Lace, 79). James Burbage was the second most influential actor of the Elizabethan period, but not only for his acting talent. Burbage built the first ever public playhouse in England, opening in 1576 (Unknown, 218). Burbage financed the building of “The Theater” alone, a well off man but was still considered a rogue. Actors were not the only influence on theater. When Mary Tudor decided the throne was rightfully hers, the War of the Roses ensued (Lace, 73). Because of the War of the Roses, many nobles, that employed actors, were killed (Lace, 73). This forced actors to form their own troupes (Lace, 73). In 1572, parliament passed the Poor Laws, making it a criminal offense to be a vagabond (Lace, 75). This reduced the number of acting companies and required them to be

Although condemned by London authorities, along with cock-fighting, bear-baiting and the bawdy attractions of taverns, the Southwark theater district operated outside the legal reach of the City's officials. But while the Globe Theatre, and indeed, the entire Elizabethan theater scene opened its doors to the low life of the pits, it also accommodated an audience of higher-status, well-heeled, and better educated individuals. As Harry Levin notes in his general introduction to the Riverside Shakespeare (1974), the "Globe was truly a microcosm or little world of man". With its logo of Hercules holding up the earth (as a temporary replacement to Atlas), the Globe Theatre constituted a "little world" in which the social elite rubbed up against a cross-section of common vulgarians, drunken idlers, and other shady, street-wise sorts. Yet, at the same time, the Globe was grand even in the eyes of Elizabethan society's most powerful and prosperous leaders. As Levin also observes in his prefatory essay, recently discovered documents indicate that reconstructions of the Globe as "a quaint little Tudor cottage" have been errant, since Burbage's house "may have had arches, pilaster, and other details of Baroque architecture". Contemporaneous accounts suggests that the Globe was far more impressive than the thatched and half-timbered models of it can capture, having a more spectacular look to its structure than is commonly recognized, one

“In roughly built playhouses and cobblestone inn yards, an extraordinary development took place in England in the 1500s.” (Yancey, 8). At that time, an opportunity combined to produce literature achievement never before witnessed in the history of drama and theater. The renaissance, helped spark this movement by inspiring scientific and artistic creativity throughout the land. Models began writing dramas that portrayed life in both realistic and imaginative ways. This created work later captured the attention of the world that changed the English drama. The many aspects of Elizabethan theater helped to shape the acting and theater world forever.

The history of theatre in the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries is one of the increasing commercialization of the art, accompanied by technological innovations, the introduction of serious critical review, expansion of the subject matters portrayed to include ordinary people, and an emphasis on more natural forms of acting. Theatre, which had been dominated by the church for centuries, and then by the tastes of monarchs for more than 200 years, became accessible to merchants, industrialists, and the less privileged and then the masses.

In 1576, James Burbage, a theatrical entrepreneur, decided to build the first theater to be used for

Theatre is an art that transcends time and builds a new world for the audience atop the stage. A play is defined as “a dramatic composition” or “the stage representation of an action or story” (The Merriam-Webster Dictionary). This refers to drama being performed live by actors on a stage. Ancient Greece is accredited to inventing theatre and drama. In Greece during that time, at the height of popularity, were the stories of the well known flawed heroes and their journeys.