The idea of rebuilding the Globe dates as far back as the 17th century. Figures such as Coleridge, Thackery, Nash and David Garrick all supported the notion, as did King Charles IV. However, it was not until 1790 that Edmond Malone put together the first substantial account of the original theatre, and another 40 years after that before any construction was attempted. In 1830, a German, Ludwig Tieck, made a proposal to build a reconstructed Globe in Dresden, based on documents describing the contract to build the Fortune, one of the Globe's rivals. However, lack of funding prevented this plan from ever making it past the drawing board. Still, the work of these two men opened the door for many others to follow. Today there are more than 20 replicas of the Globe and Fortune world wide including at least 5 in the U.S., 2 in Japan, 1 in Germany, and 1 in Australia. While none of these theatres are as close to the design of the original Globe as Sam Wanamaker's Globe, each one further affirms the universal desire to study Elizabethan Theatre, and more specifically Shakespearean Theatre, in the setting in which it was meant to be performed.
The first documented attempt to rebuild the Globe in the City of London was in the 1890's, by a man named William Poel. Poel held the view that the essential meaning of Shakespeare's plays lay in the way they had been performed, (and written to be performed) and, thus, the key to understanding them was to reconstruct the Globe. In 1900 he asked the City of London for a site. However, a number of complications arose. First of all, an ongoing debate raged about the creation of a National Theatre, first proposed in 1848 by Effingham Wilson. Surely if there were going to be a National Theatre, it would be appropriate to construct a Globe there. Secondly, there was the problem of determining the location, size, and shape of the original Globe. Without these not-so-minor details, how could one create an accurate reconstruction of the Globe? Finally, with the outbreak of the Boer War, the construction of any theatre became a trivial matter. The National Theatre would not be built for another 50 years, and then without a reconstruction of the Globe. Failing to secure permission to build a Globe, Poel turned to the study of pre-theatre performance. He would find that there was a lot to be learned from the freedom of space and intimacy with the audience which this type of acting provided, thus, proving his initial assertion that there was much to be learned from studying plays in the way they had been originally performed.
In 1912, architect Edward Lutgers built a half size replica of the Globe for the Shakespeare's England exhibition at Earl's Court. Much enthusiasm was displayed over this replica even though it was not big enough to support a regular performance. However, further progress was cut short by war once again. This time it was World War I.
The first significant contribution to the goal of reconstructing a Globe in the U.S. was supplied by John Cranford Adams at the 1933-34 World's Fair in Chicago. It was here that the U.S.'s first replica of the Globe was unveiled to the public (Figure 10). The theatre was based on the 1616 drawing of the Globe created by Claus Visscher (Figure 11). As pictured in this drawing, Adams' Globe was a hexagon. Following the fair, Adams released a book describing his work, and a scaled down model of the theatre, which is displayed in the Shakespeare Folger Library in Washington D.C (Figure 12). Complete sketches of the theatre were released in 1956 in a study by Irwin Smith (Figure 13), who had assisted Adams in the creation of the model. However, by this time, Adams' design had been generally discredited by fellow scholars. Still, in 1933, his Globe was enough to spur on interest in the Globe, and projects were soon initiated in San Diego, California, Odessa, Texas, Ashland, Oregon, Cleveland, Ohio, and Cedar City, Utah. Among those in attendance at the World's Fair was none other than a young Sam Wanamaker.
Figure 10: Picture of Adam's Globe, Chicago World's Fair, 1934 (Day, 25)
Figure 11: Claus Visscher's rendering of the Globe Theatre, 1616 (Smith, Plate 9)
Figure 12: Small Scale Model of John Cranford Adam's Globe (Smith, Plate 26)
Figure 13: Sketch of the design of the Adam's Globe (Smith, Appendix)
Following the World's Fair, another attempt at a Globe was instigated in London. The Globe-Mermaid Association of England and America was formed with the purpose of creating an entire Globe complex on Bankside. Besides a theatre, this construction would include a library and a pub. The project was well advanced when it was abruptly ended by the outbreak of World War II.
As part of a celebration of national survival after WWII, it was again proposed that a Globe be constructed for the Festival of Britain. However, lack of funding and, more significantly, lack of academic confidence in the size and shape of the original Globe, caused this proposal to be dropped before it ever had a chance to get going. While Adams' model had been discredited by this time, there was no consensus on what it should be replaced by.
While Sam Wanamaker was working on his plans for a new Globe, another group was contemplating the same. The St. George's Elizabethan Theatre Ltd. had been formed in 1967 with the intention of recreating an Elizabethan Theatre. When Wanamaker learned about the existence of this group, he contacted them in an attempt to join forces. After a brief meeting, Wanamaker wrote a letter calling the meeting satisfactory, and stating that he expected there to be future collaboration between his camp and theirs. St. George quickly responded that they did not see any advantage in collaboration. Wanamaker tried again with another letter, but was once again rejected. St. George went on to state that while they were working with a developer, they were not ready for public attention. Seeing that St. George's commitment to a new Globe theatre was only superficial, Wanamaker forced the issue by making their plans public. In December 1970, St. George's Elizabethan Theatre Ltd. did release plans for the development of Bankside to the public, but they did not have a strong commitment to the creation of a new Globe, and it was eventually taken out of their overall plan.
In 1971, at the First World Shakespeare Congress in Vancouver, a proposal to build a full-scale reconstruction of the Globe Theatre was proposed (by Sam Wanamaker), and endorsed. In 1979, a group of Shakespearean scholars including C. Walter Hodges, a keynote speaker at the congress, met at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan, "to explore possible ways of putting the proposal into practice." Although construction of a theatre never came to be, a book was published, containing articles written by many of the scholars present at this conference. The discussions at Wayne State University are currently being explored by a group of scholars in North Carolina.
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Lesson 3.2 |