Sam Wanamaker’s relentless, decades-long campaign to reconstruct Shakespeare’s Globe on London’s Bankside defied skepticism, bringing a vital piece of theatrical history back to life. Though he died in 1993, four years before its 1997 opening, his vision revolutionized our understanding of how Shakespeare’s plays truly resonated with Elizabethan audiences, emphasizing directness and communal experience.
The Unyielding Vision of Sam Wanamaker
When American actor Sam Wanamaker arrived in London in the late 1940s, fleeing the McCarthy-era Hollywood blacklist, he was a man deeply steeped in classical theatre. Yet, he was appalled to find little more than a plaque commemorating the original site of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre on Bankside. No grand monument, no reconstruction, just a historical footnote. This perceived oversight sparked an obsession that would consume the rest of his life: to rebuild the Globe, not as a museum piece, but as a working theatre, a living laboratory for performance.
Wanamaker was not merely a dreamer; he was a formidable, often irascible, force of nature. He founded the Shakespeare Globe Trust in 1970, embarking on what many considered an impossible task. The challenges were immense, spanning bureaucratic hurdles, academic skepticism, and a relentless need for funding. He faced resistance from various bodies, including the Greater London Council and Southwark Council, which initially viewed his plans as either impractical or anachronistic. Architectural historians and some theatre practitioners questioned the feasibility of an accurate reconstruction, suggesting it might be an expensive folly.
Fundraising became a global mission, a relentless pursuit of patrons and donations. Wanamaker travelled extensively, charming donors from individuals to major corporations. He initiated campaigns like “Buy a Brick,” allowing ordinary people to contribute to the dream. He navigated complex planning regulations, archaeological excavations on Bankside – particularly significant after the discovery of the Rose Theatre in 1989 – and the sheer logistical nightmare of building a large, timber-framed structure in central London. His tenacity often alienated those who couldn’t match his unwavering commitment, but his passion for Shakespeare’s original performance conditions was infectious to others. Wanamaker envisioned a theatre that would not only honour Shakespeare’s legacy but also serve as a place where scholars and actors could rediscover the original staging conditions, a bridge between the past and the present for understanding Elizabethan drama.
Recreating a Lost World – Authenticity and Compromise
Rebuilding the Globe was never a straightforward archaeological exercise. The original theatre, built in 1599 and rebuilt in 1614 after a devastating fire, left behind scant architectural plans. Scholars and architects had to meticulously piece together evidence from various sources, each offering partial insights:
Hollar’s Panorama (1647): Wenceslaus Hollar’s detailed etching of London provided a distant, bird’s-eye view, showing the general circular shape of the Globe and other Bankside theatres. While useful for overall form, it lacked interior detail.
De Witt’s Drawing of the Swan Theatre (c. 1596): This sketch by Johannes de Witt, copied by Arend van Buchell, remains the only contemporary drawing of the interior of an Elizabethan playhouse. It offered invaluable clues about stage layout, galleries, and the “Heavens” ceiling, though it represented the Swan, not the Globe itself.
The Fortune Theatre Contract (1600): A remarkably detailed builder’s contract for a rival theatre, commissioned by Philip Henslowe and Edward Alleyn. This document specified dimensions, materials, and features, providing a proxy blueprint for many aspects of the Globe’s construction, assuming similar designs across theatres.
Archaeological Finds: Excavations on Bankside proved crucial. The discovery of the Rose Theatre’s foundations in 1989, led by Julian Bowsher, offered concrete evidence of Elizabethan stage dimensions and theatre layouts. Later, partial excavations of the Globe itself yielded further physical evidence of its foundations and precise location.
These fragments of history sparked intense academic debates. How accurate could a “reconstruction” be when so much was conjecture? Leading scholars, like John Orrell, Andrew Gurr, and C. Walter Hodges, dedicated years to meticulous research, attempting to deduce the Globe’s exact dimensions and layout. The resulting building is, by necessity, a “best scholarly guess,” a blend of historical accuracy and pragmatic modern requirements. For instance, while the original Globe likely used thatch, modern fire regulations necessitated the use of fire-retardant Norfolk reeds for the roof, making it the only thatched roof allowed in London since the Great Fire of 1666. Modern safety standards also dictated wider stairwells, additional exits, and disabled access, features absent in the 17th century.
The commitment to using traditional building methods was paramount. The Globe was constructed using green oak, pegged together with wooden dowels rather than nails, mirroring Elizabethan carpentry techniques. Master carpenter Peter McCurdy oversaw this painstaking process, ensuring authenticity in craftsmanship. This dedication to authentic materials and traditional methods extended to the hand-painted ceiling over the stage, known as the “Heavens,” adorned with zodiac signs and celestial bodies, and the intricate carvings around the stage, which were created using tools and techniques common in Shakespeare’s era. This painstaking process ensured that the building itself became a physical embodiment of historical research, a tangible link to Shakespeare’s era.
The Groundling’s View – What the Globe Revealed
The true revelation of the reconstructed Globe lies in its performance space. Stepping into the “Wooden O,” as Shakespeare himself called it in Henry V, offers an immediate understanding of the Elizabethan theatrical experience. The open roof, allowing natural light to flood the yard and stage, means daytime performances are lit solely by the sun. This absence of artificial lighting fundamentally alters the dynamics of a play. Actors cannot hide in shadows; every gesture, every facial expression, is visible. It emphasizes the direct, unmediated connection between performer and audience.
The standing groundlings in the yard, packed tightly around the thrust stage, are perhaps the most defining feature. This proximity creates an intimate, communal atmosphere. Actors can speak directly to individuals in the crowd, making soliloquies feel less like internal monologues and more like direct addresses. For example, Hamlet’s famous “To be, or not to be” speech takes on a new immediacy when delivered directly to the faces in the yard. The audience is not a passive observer but an active participant, their reactions immediate and palpable. Laughter, gasps, and even heckling become part of the performance’s fabric, just as they would have been in Shakespeare’s time.
The Globe’s design revealed several key insights into Shakespearean performance:
Direct Address: The thrust stage and proximity of the audience naturally encourage actors to speak out to the crowd, breaking the “fourth wall” long before the concept existed. This makes Shakespeare’s rhetorical flourishes and asides incredibly potent, fostering a dynamic dialogue between actor and spectator.
Pacing and Flow: Without elaborate scenery changes, scenes flow seamlessly into one another. The stage’s multiple entrances and exits from the “tiring house” (backstage area) allow for rapid transitions, accelerating the pace of the plays and maintaining audience engagement.
Acoustics: The timber structure and circular design create surprisingly good acoustics. Actors learn to project without shouting, allowing the poetry of the language to resonate naturally across the space. The sound is contained and directed effectively.
Visual Spectacle: With minimal sets, costumes, props, and the actors’ physical presence become the primary visual elements. The “Heavens” ceiling, painted with zodiac signs and clouds, and the “discovery space” (inner below) at the back of the stage provide the necessary visual cues for location and mood, requiring the audience to engage their imagination.
Audience as Community: The mix of groundlings, seated gallery patrons, and even those in the “Lord’s Rooms” balcony creates a microcosm of Elizabethan society, all sharing the same theatrical event. This shared experience is paramount, fostering a collective energy that fuels the performance.
The reconstruction taught us that Shakespeare’s plays are not meant to be confined behind a proscenium arch, viewed in solemn silence. They are vibrant, noisy, communal events, designed to engage all senses and social strata. They thrive on direct interaction, natural light, and a shared, immediate experience.
A Legacy Completed
Tragically, Sam Wanamaker did not live to see his life’s work fully realized. He died of prostate cancer in December 1993, just four years before the Globe Theatre officially opened its doors in 1997. His ashes are buried on the Bankside site, a quiet reminder of the man whose unwavering dedication made the impossible possible.
His daughter, actress Zoë Wanamaker, continued to be a vocal supporter and patron, ensuring her father’s vision endured. Key figures like Mark Rylance, the Globe’s first artistic director, further shaped its artistic identity. The opening of the Globe was not just the culmination of a building project; it was the triumph of an idea, a powerful demonstration of one man’s belief in the enduring power of Shakespeare and the importance of historical authenticity in performance.
Today, Shakespeare’s Globe stands as a vibrant cultural institution, a beacon on Bankside, attracting millions of visitors and performers. It continues to educate, entertain, and challenge, constantly reaffirming Wanamaker’s conviction that understanding the past illuminates the present. His improbable campaign didn’t just rebuild a theatre; it rebuilt our understanding of Shakespeare, one groundling at a time. The Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, an indoor candlelit theatre, built adjacent to the Globe and opened in 2014, further extends his legacy, exploring the conditions of Jacobean indoor theatre. Both structures stand as enduring monuments to a man who refused to let history remain buried.
