background information on William Shakespeare and the Globe theater

The Drama Behind Shakespeare (00:00 - 01:15)

• Introduction to William Shakespeare's reputation versus the dramatic reality of his life in Elizabethan London.
• The legal feud with landlord Giles Allen over the original theater lease.

The Heist of the Globe (01:15 - 02:30)

• How Shakespeare's acting company dismantled their original theater overnight and moved the timber across the River Thames.
• The construction and layout of the Globe Theatre in 1599.

Theater Culture and Disasters (02:30 - 04:00)

• The experience of the "groundlings" in the pit, including audience behavior and lack of sanitation.
• The 1613 fire caused by a cannon effect during a performance of Henry VIII that destroyed the original Globe.