Question

What are the similarities and differences between Shakespeare's Globe Theatre and the original Globe built in 1599?

Answer 1

Shakespeare's Globe Theatre is a modern theatre which opened in 1996, It attempts to be a replica of the original Globe built almost 400 years before and looks a lot like it: both theatres were built with thatched roofs and daubed whitewashed walls, both are open to the sky with a ring of covered seats in two tiers surrounding a thrust stage covered with a massive roof supported by huge oaken pillars. Much of the workmanship in the new theatre used techniques identical to those used in the 16th century.The differences:Fire retardant thatch and a sprinkler system on the roof. The fire commissioners knew that the original theatre burned down and that thatched roofs were banned in London about 100 years later as a fire hazard. They wouldn't allow a thatched roof without a lot of modern fire protection.More exits. The fire commissioners didn't like that there was only one exit from the original Globe, despite the fact that the audience safely exited the original theatre when it caught fire.Bathrooms. There were no toilets in the original Globe.Shakespeare's Globe Theatre has outlasted the theatre it imitated. The first Globe was only 14 years old when it burned down. The second Globe (built in 1614) lasted longer.