You can always see the theatre from the outside, during a walk along the Thames, as it\u2019s right on the south bank, next to Tate Modern and the Millennium Bridge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And you can visit it anytime, even when it\u2019s not theatre season. Which is exactly what I did, in the spring of 2008.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was actually my birthday, and I looked like I had stepped right out of Shakespeare\u2019s time \u2013 part of the poor crowd, haha.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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\u2019s time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The theatre is a faithful, authentic reconstruction of the original Globe, where William Shakespeare\u2019s plays were first performed in the 17th century. It\u2019s made of wood, with no roof over the central area, and it can hold around 1,500 spectators!<\/p>\n\n\n\n I read that the original theatre was built in 1599 by Shakespeare\u2019s company of actors. Its fate wasn\u2019t too happy, though \u2013 it burned down completely in 1613, during a performance of Henry VIII<\/em>. How did the whole mess happen? A stage cannon set fire to the thatched roof, and the theatre\u2019s gone up in smoke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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 \u2013 kind of like clubbing today \ud83d\ude42 \u2013 was seen as a gateway to sin. Actors \u201clied\u201d by pretending to be other people, women\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 1997, Shakespeare\u2019s 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<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Can you believe it? The man didn\u2019t even live to see the rebuilt theatre \u2013 he died in 1993. In his honor, the indoor theatre within the complex, inaugurated in 2014 (which I\u2019ve just now learned about!), bears his name: the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse<\/strong> \u2013 an Elizabethan-style indoor theatre used for winter performances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the summer of 2025, I sacrificed a musical \ud83d\ude42 and bought a ticket here, at the theatre, for the comedy \u201cThe Merry Wives of Windsor\u201d<\/em> \u2013 one of the few plays by Mr. Will set in contemporary England, not in Italy or some imaginary world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When I bought the ticket online, there were several options, but I went for a \u201cfancy\u201d one \u2013 first row of the gallery, almost in the center. I paid \u00a380 (+\u00a32.50 transaction fee). And there was the option to rent\u2026 a cushion. Nooo, not for sleeping, but for your bottom. Ahaaa, so it\u2019s going to get painful!<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWell then, I\u2019d better rent one\u201d, I thought. After paying that much for the ticket, what\u2019s another \u00a33?…<\/p>\n\n\n\n I showed up at the entrance with my ticket and received my cushion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you haven\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They\u2019ve got other stuff here too \u2013 some for rent, others for sale:<\/p>\n\n\n\n For sale:<\/p>\n\n\n\n For rent:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The cushion was a real lifesaver, believe me. You\u2019re basically sitting on a wooden plank in the stands. And at some point, oh boy, you feel<\/em> your butt flattening out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n BUT\u2026 most people stand, \u201con the ground\u201d, like at a concert.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This audience is called the \u201cgroundlings\u201d<\/strong>. In Elizabethan theatres, the open courtyard was covered with straw or hard-packed earth. That\u2019s where the name came from \u2013 \u201cthe man on the ground\u201d, the spectator who stood on the ground rather than on the wooden benches in the galleries. The term has lasted to this day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hats off to all those groundlings<\/em>! I find it incredibly hard to imagine standing that long through a whole play! I struggled even sitting down\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n A ticket in the groundlings area costs up to \u00a310.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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 \u201cunder the weather\u201d:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The understudy \u2013 a young actress in training \u2013 is getting ready to step in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We\u2019re told that filming or taking photos during the performance is strictly forbidden, and then\u2026 it begins!<\/p>\n\n\n\n The place is packed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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\u2019s quite a cute sight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019m 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The actors come and go, one by one. I\u2019m trying to understand as much as I can of what they\u2019re saying \u2013 tough work, I tell you\u2026 (Good thing I reread the play beforehand!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.danamladin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/shakespeares-globe_dana-mladin-2008.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a>THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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