""The first public playhouses," notes the British Library, "were built in London in the late 1500s. Theatres were not permitted within the boundaries of the City itself" - the theater not being considered a respectable art - "but were tolerated in the outer districts of London, such as Southwark, where the Globe was located. Southwark was notorious for its noisy, chaotic entertainments and for its sleazy low-life: its theatres, brothels, bear baiting pits, pick-pockets and the like.""
""The Globe began its life in 1599, in a story that "might be worthy," writes the Shakespeare Resource Center, "of a Shakespearean play of its own." Built from the timbers of the city's first permanent theater, the Burbage, which opened in 1576, the Globe burned down in 1613 "when a cannon shot during a performance of Henry VIII ignited the thatched roof in the gallery." Within the year, it was rebuilt on the same foundations (with a tiled roof) and operated until the Puritans shut it down in 1642, demolishing the famed open-air theater two years later.""
The Globe Theatre opened in 1599 in Southwark and reflected the mingling of London's colorful street life, international cultures, and linguistic play. Early public playhouses in the late 1500s were built outside City boundaries because theater lacked respectability and was tolerated in outer districts like Southwark. Southwark hosted chaotic entertainments and low-life activities including theatres, brothels, bear-baiting pits, and pickpockets. The Globe was constructed from the timbers of the 1576 Burbage theatre, burned in 1613 when a cannon during a performance of Henry VIII ignited the thatched roof, and was rebuilt with a tiled roof. The Globe operated until Puritan authorities closed theaters in 1642 and demolished the open-air theatre in 1644.
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