What is the significance of Shakespeare's Globe Theater in Elizabethan times and now?

The Globe was significant in the past because it was part of the English Renaissance, a time when theater and the arts flourished. It was also the place where many of Shakespeare's plays saw their premieres. Shakespeare himself owned a share in the Globe Theatre.

While the Globe Theatre was not the first playhouse in London, it was one of the early theaters built there. Prior to the late sixteenth century, actors performed plays in inns, college halls, and private homes. In 1576, the Theatre was the first playhouse constructed in London built specifically for drama exhibition. The Globe was built later, up and running by 1599. It stayed in operation (though it had to be rebuilt in 1613 after a fire burned it down) until it was demolished in 1644 by the new Puritan administration, which ordered all theaters closed down.

In the present, the reconstructed Globe has even greater cultural significance. It is a symbol of England's artistic heritage, primarily Shakespeare's plays, which were often performed in the original Globe. Today, the Globe puts on not only Shakespeare's great works but also other dramatic works. It operates as a major tourist attraction, drawing theater lovers from all over the world.

While Elizabethan theatre was thriving before the Globe Theater was built, it was performed in courtyards and a few other multiple use sites in London, and under London rules.  Not the first structure in England to concentrate on theatre production, The Globe theatre was an early structure built solely for play production, and on the Left Bank of the Thames, technically out of London’s jurisdiction and therefore free of the censorship of London’s Mayor.  Also, the Left Bank was considered a less desirable neighborhood, which became more “trendy” and valuable as the theatre profession flourished there.  Today, the re-invention of the Globe Theatre, using the original design as reconceived by archeologists and theatre scholars, serves as one of the most popular tourists sites in London, and houses restaged versions of many Elizabethan plays.  The home of Shakespeare’s theatre company, the Queen’s Men (later the King’s Men), it gave stability and a ready outlet for Shakespeare’s work.

Why is Shakespeare's Globe Theatre important?

This question does not specify whether it is asking about Shakespeare's Globe, the modern reconstruction of the original Globe Theater in Southwark, London, or the original Globe itself; but both are, of course, very important to Shakespeare studies.

The modern theater is a reconstruction based on academic research, maps, and other resources. Its purpose is to enable a modern audience to experience Shakespeare's plays as the original audience might have. The theater is famous for its stage and galleries and for the fact that it sells very cheap tickets for audience members willing to stand in the "pit," as spectators originally would have done.

The Globe Theater was originally built in London in 1599 by the Lord Chamberlain's Men, the company of players to which Shakespeare belonged. Because it was built using mainly wood, it was destroyed by fire and had to be reconstructed, but it was a very important building for a number of reasons.

First, to modern scholars, it is important because it was the theater for which Shakespeare wrote some of his most famous plays and where these plays were first performed. In terms of theater more widely, however, it is important because it represents the beginning of a transition towards purpose-built theaters.

The theater itself was owned by actors who were also part-shareholders in Shakespeare's acting troop, so it represented a community endeavor. It also gave the actors a place to perform which was not, as previously, simply an erected outdoor stage or a pub or in court. Many modern theatrical traditions began at the Globe, where poor people were able to access theater cheaply if they were willing to stand in the pit below the stage. Many of Shakespeare's plays include comical scenes and other elements we can best understand when we think about how the plays would have been performed at the Globe: Shakespeare wrote his plays to be interactive, as only pantomimes usually are in modern theater.