The Reconstructed Globe Theatre in London, 2004

At the instigation of Sam Wanamaker, a new Globe theatre was built according to an Elizabethan plan. It opened in 1997 under the name 'Shakespeare's Globe Theatre' and now stages plays every summer (May to October). Mark Rylance was appointed as the first artistic director of the modern Globe in 1995. After 10 years, Dominic Dromgoole took over in 2006.

The new theatre is 200 yards from the original site, and was the first thatched roof building permitted in London since the Great Fire of London of 1666.

As in the original, both the stage and the audience are outdoors. Plays are put on during the summer, and in the winter the theatre is used for educational purposes, and tours are available.

Although the reconstruction is carefully researched, the original plan was modified by the addition of sprinklers on the roof, to protect against fire, and the theatre is partly joined onto a modern lobby and visitors centre. In addition, only 1,500 people may be housed during a show, unlike the 3,000 of Shakespeare's time (Elizabethans were less concerned about their personal space than modern theatregoers).

Text from Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Globe_Theatre