Shakespeare’s Globe

Theater London, United Kingdom

Opened in 1997, the new Globe was built entirely as it was in Shakespeare's day: oak pegs, Norfolk reeds, goat hair plaster, lime and sand. So wanted it Sam Wanamaker, American actor and director, who already in 1949 undertook a long campaign for the reconstruction of the Shakespearean theater.

Now as in the past, spectators can watch performances of Shakespeare's comedies or tragedies from the circular galleries or standing next to the stage. The open central arena, so that the light can illuminate the scene, makes an afternoon at the Globe a real blast from the past, especially if you are surprised by one of the frequent London downpours. Certainly the prices are very different from the past, when two pennies were enough to attend a show, but the attention to detail justifies the expense. Strictly in daylight, no amplification of sounds or live music, no scenography and obviously no female actresses. The ancient theatre, destroyed in the civil war of 1643, stood not far away. Today it is buried under a row of Georgian houses, declared to be of National Interest.