Funny enough, although I’ve visited London so many times (36 trips as a tourist since 2007!), I’ve never happened to go to a play at Shakespeare’s Globe.
They only perform during the summer, since everything is outdoors. Basically, you stand just like in Shakespeare’s time, inside the theatre, and those with deeper pockets – or back problems 🙂 – pay for tickets in the stands, which I’ve learned are called “galleries”.
SHAKESPEARE’S GLOBE
You can always see the theatre from the outside, during a walk along the Thames, as it’s right on the south bank, next to Tate Modern and the Millennium Bridge.
And you can visit it anytime, even when it’s not theatre season. Which is exactly what I did, in the spring of 2008.
It was actually my birthday, and I looked like I had stepped right out of Shakespeare’s time – part of the poor crowd, haha.
Together with my friends, we paid for a guided tour of about 50 minutes and went inside to see the place, the stage, the galleries, and to learn details about the history and architecture of the theatre, as well as bits from the artistic life of Shakespeare’s time.
The theatre is a faithful, authentic reconstruction of the original Globe, where William Shakespeare’s plays were first performed in the 17th century. It’s made of wood, with no roof over the central area, and it can hold around 1,500 spectators!
I read that the original theatre was built in 1599 by Shakespeare’s company of actors. Its fate wasn’t too happy, though – it burned down completely in 1613, during a performance of Henry VIII. How did the whole mess happen? A stage cannon set fire to the thatched roof, and the theatre’s gone up in smoke.
Even though it was rebuilt shortly after, it was demolished a few years later when theatres were banned by the Puritans. Back then, that entertainment – kind of like clubbing today 🙂 – was seen as a gateway to sin. Actors “lied” by pretending to be other people, women’s roles were played by men, there were scenes of violence and love, and many spectators ate, drank, and even argued during performances. Around the theatres, the area was full of taverns, thieves, and prostitutes.
In 1997, Shakespeare’s Globe came to life once again. The person who had the idea for its reconstruction and fought for over 20 years to make it happen was the American actor and director Sam Wanamaker.
Can you believe it? The man didn’t even live to see the rebuilt theatre – he died in 1993. In his honor, the indoor theatre within the complex, inaugurated in 2014 (which I’ve just now learned about!), bears his name: the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse – an Elizabethan-style indoor theatre used for winter performances.
THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR
In the summer of 2025, I sacrificed a musical 🙂 and bought a ticket here, at the theatre, for the comedy “The Merry Wives of Windsor” – one of the few plays by Mr. Will set in contemporary England, not in Italy or some imaginary world.
When I bought the ticket online, there were several options, but I went for a “fancy” one – first row of the gallery, almost in the center. I paid £80 (+£2.50 transaction fee). And there was the option to rent… a cushion. Nooo, not for sleeping, but for your bottom. Ahaaa, so it’s going to get painful!
“Well then, I’d better rent one”, I thought. After paying that much for the ticket, what’s another £3?…
I showed up at the entrance with my ticket and received my cushion.
If you haven’t booked one in advance, no worries, you can grab one right there. Before the play, during the play, or even during the intermission, depending on when your poor bottom cries for help.
They’ve got other stuff here too – some for rent, others for sale:
For sale:
- Rain poncho – £3
- Fan – £3.50
- Show program – £5
For rent:
- Seat cushion – £3
- Portable backrest! – £4
- Blanket – £5
The cushion was a real lifesaver, believe me. You’re basically sitting on a wooden plank in the stands. And at some point, oh boy, you feel your butt flattening out.
BUT… most people stand, “on the ground”, like at a concert.
This audience is called the “groundlings”. In Elizabethan theatres, the open courtyard was covered with straw or hard-packed earth. That’s where the name came from – “the man on the ground”, the spectator who stood on the ground rather than on the wooden benches in the galleries. The term has lasted to this day.
Hats off to all those groundlings! I find it incredibly hard to imagine standing that long through a whole play! I struggled even sitting down…
A ticket in the groundlings area costs up to £10.
I grab my cushion, enter the theatre, go up into the galleries, and find my seat. I have time for a quick stroll around the ground area, among the hardy folks (the ones without seats). I wander through every corner where access is allowed, and in doing so, I notice that one of the actors is “under the weather”:
The understudy – a young actress in training – is getting ready to step in.
We’re told that filming or taking photos during the performance is strictly forbidden, and then… it begins!
The place is packed.
I look down at the people below, some have found a spot leaning against the gallery railing, while others are right at the edge of the stage, resting their heads on their hands on the stage floor itself. It’s quite a cute sight.
I’m sitting just fine. I was super inspired to choose the seat I did, because the sun is shining on the opposite side of the audience. The people over there are struggling a bit to look toward the stage. I can see them wearing caps and sunglasses, some even using fans, because the sun is beating right down on their heads.
The actors come and go, one by one. I’m trying to understand as much as I can of what they’re saying – tough work, I tell you… (Good thing I reread the play beforehand!)
They perform without microphones and without stage lighting (though I think I spotted two small ones). The play is staged just like it was in Shakespeare’s time.
And that’s it.
The experience was really great!
I braced myself with patience from the start, because I asked right away how long the two acts were. The first – an hour and twenty minutes, oh man!!! And the second, about an hour and five minutes. Even with the cushion, I still ended up fidgeting in my seat.
During that time, I watched not only the play but also what was happening around me. I spotted audience members glued to their phones, others sneaking out for a bathroom break or some water, and even a lady who fainted! I saw how discreetly the intervention team stepped in, so as not to disturb either the actors or the rest of the audience.
The sun shifted slowly (well, actually, we did), so eventually no one had it in their eyes anymore. Toward the end, I even took off my hoodie because the temperature had dropped to 19°C (and this was in July)!
What I found really cool was that, after the performance, I actually felt like reading more of Shakespeare’s plays – ones I only vaguely remembered.
I did it, though don’t imagine my enthusiasm lasted very long 🙂 🙂
