In 1989, Sam Wanamaker was diagnosed with cancer. He did not make this knowledge public (he didn't even tell his family right away), but he did change his focus on the Globe. No longer did he have plenty of time; he needed to make things happen now. Rather than continuing efforts to raise the entire 24 million pounds needed for the entire Globe Centre, Wanamaker decided to try and put together the 8 million pounds needed to simply build the theatre itself. Once people saw the theatre, raising the rest wouldn't be a problem. In 1990, a great banner was unveiled at the site, a picture of William Shakespeare with the caption, "This grave shall have a living monument," a quotation from Hamlet (Figure 19). The banner was painted by a talented young artist named Gordon Schwontkowski, and was large enough to be clearly seen from the Thames. The banner served to give some reality to the project and increase public awareness even more.
Figure 19: Schwontkowski banner, 1993 (Mary Lou Kallman)
Even after the banner was unveiled, the Globe project was still struggling. In 1991, the ISGC was 2 million pounds in debt when architect Theo Crosby came up with a new suggestion. Most of the problems in trying to raise money dealt with the fact that nothing was actually being built. Even if money was raised, it was used to pay off debt, which was not much incentive for people to give money. However, if paying back debts could be put off, the Globe itself could be built for as little as 5 million pounds. In 1992, construction was started on the first two bays of the theatre. And then an amazing thing happened. People started to donate more money, allowing more of the Globe to be built. And the more the Globe was built, the more people donated money. Once started, the momentum was tremendous. By 1993, performances could be held in the shell of the theatre, and by 1996, the theatre was ready to officially open. Though the entire complex (the Globe Centre) will not be completed until the year 2000, Sam Wanamaker's dream had come true.
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| Lesson 4.5 |
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Lesson 4.7 |