Shakespeare's Globe: A Visitor Guide

Shakespeare's Globe on the South Bank is one of the most distinctive theatrical venues in London and one that provides an experience available nowhere else in the city. A reconstruction of the open-air playhouse in which many of Shakespeare's plays were first performed in the early seventeenth century, the Globe presents Shakespeare and other work in conditions that approximate the original performance context in ways a conventional theatre cannot replicate. This guide covers what the venue is, what to expect from a visit, the choice of seating, and how to plan your visit. The current Shakespeare's Globe opened in 1997 and is located on Bankside, near London Bridge, on the south bank of the Thames. The building is a close reconstruction of the 1599 Globe Theatre, which stood on approximately the same site until it burned down in 1613. The reconstruction was built using historically appropriate materials and techniques, with a thatched roof (the only thatched roof in central London) and an open yard at the centre. The theatre is operated by the Shakespeare's Globe Trust as an educational charity and producing theatre, with a programme running from spring through autumn that includes Shakespeare's plays alongside occasional work by other writers. The venue also includes exhibition spaces and a guided tour programme, making it a destination for visitors interested in the history of Elizabethan theatre as well as an active producing venue. The architectural relationship between the stage and the audience is the defining feature of the Globe. The stage thrusts into the open yard, surrounded on three sides by standing audience members. Three levels of covered galleries rise around the yard on the remaining sides. The theatre seats approximately 1,400 people in the galleries and accommodates around 700 standing in the yard, for a total capacity of roughly 2,100. The least expensive tickets at the Globe are yard tickets, which give standing access to the open area surrounding the stage. Standing audience members, traditionally called groundlings, stand throughout the performance in direct proximity to the performing space. There is no reserved position within the yard; arriving early and moving to the front gives the closest proximity to the stage, but the yard audience can move around and reposition throughout the performance. The yard experience is categorically different from any seated theatrical experience. The performers and the audience are in the same space and at the same level, with no physical or conventional barrier between them. Performers address the yard directly and the energy of the performance is shaped partly by the yard audience's responses. The practical trade-off is physical: yard tickets involve standing for the full performance, which is typically two to three hours. The open-air exposure to weather is also a factor; yard tickets are the position most directly affected by rain. Most experienced groundlings bring both waterproofs and comfortable footwear. Yard tickets represent among the most affordable theatrical experiences in London. The quality of the experience they provide is not commensurate with their low price; the proximity and energy of a performance at the Globe from the yard is often superior to a distant gallery seat. Gallery seats at the Globe are in the three levels of covered galleries surrounding the yard and stage. These seats provide shelter from the weather, a fixed position throughout the performance, and a view of the stage from an elevated angle. The best gallery positions are in the middle and lower galleries in the sections facing the stage directly. Seats at the sides of the galleries, particularly in the upper gallery, involve a sightline that is partly oblique to the stage, which reduces the effectiveness of staging that happens upstage. The proximity of the yard audience is visible from the gallery and contributes to the sense of the communal performance space. Gallery seats are priced at levels comparable to mid-range West End tickets and represent a genuine alternative for visitors who want the Globe experience without the physical demands of standing. Shakespeare's Globe presents a programme of Shakespeare's plays each season, typically six to eight productions running in repertoire from May to October. The selection varies each year, with a mix of the most frequently performed plays and less commonly staged work from the canon. Productions at the Globe do not use the elaborate lighting and sound design of a West End production. The performances take place in daylight, with no artificial illumination, which means the lighting conditions of a Globe performance are the same as those in which Elizabethan audiences originally watched the plays. The consequences of this are substantial: the audience is visible to the performers throughout; the conventional darkness of a modern theatre, which separates audience from performer and creates the fiction of the fourth wall, does not apply. The performance style that has developed at the Globe is responsive to these conditions. Performers engage directly with the audience, address the yard and galleries in asides and soliloquies, and work with the visible presence of the audience rather than against it. Productions at the Globe have an energy and directness that differs from the more controlled environment of a proscenium stage. Weather. The Globe's open yard and uncovered stage mean that weather matters more here than at any West End venue. The season runs through summer but English summers include significant rainfall. Performances continue in rain; waterproof layers are a practical necessity for yard tickets and sensible for gallery visitors as well. The covered galleries provide shelter from all but the heaviest rain. Timing. Performances at the Globe typically start at 14:00 or 19:30. The season runs from late spring to mid-autumn; outside this period, the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, an indoor candlelit theatre within the same building, offers year-round performances of Renaissance drama. The tour and exhibition. A guided tour of the building and a permanent exhibition about the history of Shakespeare's theatre are available year-round, making the Globe a destination for visitors who want to learn about the theatrical history of the period as well as a producing venue. Getting there. The Globe is on Bankside, SE1, accessible from London Bridge station (seven minutes on foot) or Blackfriars station (ten minutes on foot). Southwark station is also within walking distance. A visit to Shakespeare's Globe provides a theatrical experience that the enclosed venues of the West End cannot replicate. The productions at venues like the Old Vic Theatre or the larger houses of the West End use sophisticated technical resources, controlled acoustic and lighting environments, and staging conventions developed for the proscenium or thrust stage in a closed building. The Globe works with none of these resources and produces theatre of a different kind. For audiences whose primary theatrical experience is of large West End musicals such as Hamilton or Wicked, a Globe performance represents a significant departure from what those experiences have established as expectations. The scale, the spectacle and the technical resources are absent; what replaces them is proximity, directness and the particular energy of a performance in conditions close to those for which the plays were written. The two kinds of experience are complementary, and a single London theatre visit that includes both is a more complete picture of what live performance can be. For tickets to the full West End programme, tickadoo covers all productions with seat maps and availability. tickadoo also offers theatre gift vouchers. What is the difference between yard and gallery tickets at the Globe? Yard tickets give standing access to the open area around the stage; gallery tickets give seated access in the covered levels. Yard tickets are less expensive; gallery tickets offer shelter and a fixed position. Is Shakespeare's Globe suitable for first-time theatre visitors? Yes, but with the caveat that the experience is significantly different from a conventional theatre. Visitors who are new to Shakespeare's language may find the plays more accessible in an environment that encourages direct engagement, but the experience of a Globe performance requires some adjustment of expectations. When does Shakespeare's Globe operate? The outdoor season runs from late spring to mid-autumn. The Sam Wanamaker Playhouse operates year-round with indoor candlelit productions. Do I need to know Shakespeare to enjoy the Globe? Prior knowledge helps, particularly for the more complex plays, but not all productions require extensive prior familiarity. The directness of the performance style at the Globe makes the plays more immediately accessible than many audience members expect.