The Globe
The Globe was built in May, 1599 on the Southbank of the river Thames in Southwark, in London. In 1613, Shakespeare's Globe Theatre burned down during a performance of Shakespeare's Henry VIII. Sparks flew from a cannon used during the production ignited a thatched roof of the gallery, resulting in the fire. The theater was rebuilt and reopened a year later.
There is no major evidence on what shape the globe was however, it was a three story, octagonal shaped building with an open roof. The stage was located in the middle of the open aired yard and measured approximately 43 feet in width, 27 feet in depth and was raised about 5 feet off the ground. In the globe, there stood a trap door for use by performers to enter from the "cellarage" which was the area beneath the stage. The Globe also had a balcony which was used for the musicians and could also be used for scenes requiring an upper space
The base of the stage was known as the ‘pit’ and the groundlings (poor people) would pay one penny to watch the performance however it wasn’t undercover so when it rained, they would get all wet and muddy. The Galleries were the seats in each of the three levels and the galleries were covered, affording some shelter.
The performances took place during the day and since there were no lights around that time, they had an open roof so light could come in. Plays performed at the glove theatre were divided into three types: histories, comedies and tragedies.
In the plays, flags were put up to symbolise the day of the performance. There were three different types of flags. The white flag symbolised comedy, the black flag would symbolise tragedy and the red flags symbolised the history.
The new Globe Theatre was built from the brainchild of American actor and director Sam Wanamaker. The theatre was designed by architect Theo Crosby and then opened in 1997. It is located on Bankside, about 200 yards from the original site. Similar to the original stage, the new Globe Theatre extends into a large circular yard, which is surrounded by three rows of very steep seating. The most expensive seats are covered. All others are exposed, which is why plays are held here only during the summer months
Globe Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8GVuuIW6YE&feature=related
Globe Letter in Tudor Times