Shakespeare’s Globe, A Site Of National Heritage Or A Laboratory?
Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre
Shakespeare’s ‘New Globe Theatre’ is an admired and captivating assemblage of architectural, theatrical and academic aspiration built on the bank of the River Thames, only a few hundred yards from the site of the original Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. Being the topic of many a scholarly debate it calls in to question issues such as authenticity, multiculturalism, theatrical experimentation and cultural dynamics. Described by Catherine Silverstone (2005, 31) as a ‘living’ theatre of emotional embodiment, the Globe seeks to educate and entertain. However, as well as dealing with Elizabethan and Jacobean theatre, original writings and international theatre companies come to the Globe to perform. Does this make the Globe simply another theatre, a laboratory for contemporary drama or is it an important part of our living history, a heritage site from which we can learn?
To start to address the question above we need to look critically at the authenticity of the Globe. W.B. Worthen explains that its creation “has been notable for the scrupulousness of its research into the location, size, and materials of the Globe.” (2002, 160) To a large extent, what was learned about the Globe was the result of well-read investigation of Tudor assembly traditions and how to formulate effective…
