Y8 Globe Theatre Trip

On Monday 9th September 2019, we did a tour of the reconstruction of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre followed by a drama workshop on Romeo and Juliet.

After lunch we walked through London searching for any remains of Tudor or Jacobean London.  Sadly, very little remains as the Great Fire of 1666 destroyed most of it.  

We found the foundations of one of the original playhouses: The Rose Theatre; we saw the site of the original Globe Theatre long buried under blocks of flats; The Anchor Inn is one of the oldest inn sites in London and it is very probable that Shakespeare drank here; William’s younger brother, Edmund, is buried in Southwark Cathedral.  The Clink Prison Museum is on the site of one of London’s most infamous prisons and Shakespeare would have been very aware of the many political prisoners imprisoned during the religious turmoil of the 16th century.

Although Shakespeare would not have crossed the current London Bridge, there has been a bridge on this site for centuries.  Glancing across the river, Shakespeare would have been familiar with The Tower of London and its extraordinary history.  Arriving in the City of London we walked past The Monument built after Shakespeare’s death to commemorate the Great Fire of London, and finally reached St Paul’s Cathedral.  Shakespeare would not have recognised this cathedral but there was an earlier cathedral here also called St Paul’s.