Towards reconstructing the Shakespeare's first Globe Theatre: A virtual model for research and development

Abstract

Shakespeare's first Globe Theatre (early 17th century) is considered one of the most iconic theatres in English history, despite lasting less than twenty years and having little information directly attributable to its shape and size. This building, part of a wide variety of Elizabethan theatres found in London during a fertile period in the history of entertainment, has fascinated historians and scholars for years. Interest in Globe Theatre has led to several attempts at reconstruction around the world in recent decades, very few of which are historically reliable due to a lack of accurate sources and the need to adapt a historic building, burnt down in a fire in 1613, to modern safety standards. However, with the increasing evolution of modelling systems in a virtual environment, it is now possible to analyse the theatre in a spatially and historically more consistent way with surviving data. The aim of this paper is to provide a historically and constructively valid virtual model that can reopen the debate on the shapes and dimensions of Shakespeare's first Globe Theatre. The model has been created by collecting the main hypotheses proposed by scholars. These were used to create the basic scheme, the plans, and then the whole theatre. Finally, the model was made available to encourage its use in future research and development.

Keywords

• Globe Theatre
• Historical reconstruction
• Virtual model
• Outdoor playhouses
• Vernacular architecture
• Timber-framed