Built in 1599 by Shakespeare's playing company, The Lord Chamberlain's Men, the original globe burned down in 1613. During a performance of Henry VIII, one of the theatrical canons ignited a wooden beam and thatching. It was then rebuilt, but closed down in 30 years later by the Puritans and demolished a few years later. The current one that you see today is a reconstruction that opened in 1997. It is near the old location (not exact), but does show performances as they were in Shakespeare's day.
There are three levels to the Globe- the top and middle which are only seats, and the ground floor which are a mix of seats and standing. It is an open air theater, so although the stage and seats are covered, the standing tickets are exposed to the elements, but this also means that you can get really close to the actors on the stage. However, Aaron and I were very grateful to be sitting in seats for our performance, since in typical British weather, it rained for over half of the show.
They try to make the whole experience very authentic. The seats are benches so the bad part is that your back has no support. But you can pay one pound for a cushion (worth it!) and it adds to the atmosphere of it all. It is a small theater, so you are close to the action no matter where you see the show from.
This is one of the best things that we've done in London. First of all, As You Like It is such a good comedy. The actress that played Rosalind was phenomenal, but all of the actors and actresses were great. Secondly, although it is a reconstruction, I loved being in the Globe. The setting is what you actually pay for, but we really enjoyed the performance.
At the end of the night, it was still pouring rain as we made our way on a bridge across the Thames back to our District line tube stop. There are some things you just can't avoid when living in London no matter how much you pay. And rain, is one of them : )
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