What was the Globe Theatre?

The Globe Theatre was a theatre in London, England. The Globe was built in 1599 using timber from an earlier theatre. It was built by members of William Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men. The Globe Theatre had a total of about 3, 000 seats standing and sitting. It was a three - storey building, roughly circular with an open space approximately 100 feet (30m) in diameter in its centre. At the base of the stage, there was an area called the pit, where, for a penny, people would stand and watch the performance. Around the yard were three levels of stadium-style sets, which were more expensive than standing room. A rectangular stage platform was set in the middle of the open air yard, with one side attached to one of the sides of the theatre building. On this stage, there was a trap door used by performers to enter the area below the stage. The ceiling under this roof was called the "heavens," and was painted with clouds and the sky. People from the poor apprentices to the relatively well-to-do attended the theatre. The poorest people stood on the ground whereas the most wealthy or aristocratic could sit in the balcony or even on the stage. The first Globe Theatre was destroyed by fire on June 29, 1613. A second Globe Theatre was built on the same spot in 1614 which was torn down in 1644. A replica of the first Globe was built in 1997 near the place where the original stood.