Ben Johnson described the original Globe as being "Flank'd with a ditch, and forc'd out of a marsh." Indeed, all of the theatres of Southwark had to be concerned with the Thames tidal flooding of Bankside. This was no idle threat to the new Globe, which was constructed even closer to the river than the original had been. A diaphragm wall, 300 meters long, 20 meters high, and .6 meters thick, was sunk below ground level in order to protect the theatre during construction. The top of this wall was then turned into the concrete piazza on which the Globe now stands, slightly higher than the original.
The new Globe is the first building to be constructed in London with a thatched roof since the great fire of 1666. In order to gain permission to construct the Globe, a number of precautions had to be taken which were obviously not incorporated in the original Globe. The reeds that form the roof were treated with specially formulated chemicals that retard burning. In addition, fireboard was placed under the thatch. A modern sprinkler system was also incorporated into the thatch, which can be seen from the exterior of the theatre (Figure 26).
Figure 26: Sprinkler system of the new Globe, 1996 (Tiffany Foster)
Finally, special fire-proof sheets were placed between the coats of plaster in the walls of the theatre. These sheets have been tested to 1000 degrees Celsius for over 3 hrs.
The original Globe had many open windows in the galleries. These windows served to provide the audience with fresh air. However, during the first few performances at the new theatre, these windows also proved to serve another, less desirable function. They allowed all of the noises coming off of the Thames into the theatre. While this was probably not a big deal in the 1600's, it was major disturbance to the audience and performers of the new Globe, especially the sound of the tour guides that continuously passed by the theatre. The obvious solution was to glaze over the windows (Figure 27).
Figure 27: Exterior of the Globe, with Glazed Windows, 1997
The original Globe Theatre had no artificial lighting, whatsoever. Performances were held early enough in the day such that the entire play could be performed before dusk. The new theatre was designed to observe the same practices, and no lighting has been built into the stage. However, it is likely that performances at the new Globe will push past dusk, and lights have been built into the thatch roof in order to provide general illumination, if necessary (Figure 28). These lights are not theatrical lights, but simple floodlights. When turned off, the lights are barely noticeable, and are not much more noticeable when turned on, so as not to destroy the setting of the theatre. However, they do provide enough light to allow a performance to continue beyond dusk.
Figure 28: Roof lighting at the Globe, 1997
|
 |
|
| Lesson 5.4 |
|
Lesson 5.6 |