SHAKESPEARE’S GLOBE THEATRE
Multiple Choice Gap Fill
Complete the following text by choosing the correct words from the four
possible alternatives
Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre has been recreated on the south (1)________ on the River
Thames in Southwark, London. The theatre is only a short distance from the site of the original
Globe Theatre built in 1599, where many of Shakespeare’s plays were first produced in the
(2)________ of Elizabeth I. The Globe was burnt down in 1613 during a performance of Henry
VIII, when a cannon being used as a (3)________ in the attic, fired an ember into the thatched
roof of the theatre. Then in 1614 the theatre was rebuilt.
The original Globe Theatre was closed in 1642, and nothing is known about what happened to it. When Sam Wanamaker, the young
American actor came to London in 1949, he set out to visit the site of Shakespeare’s Globe, and was amazed to find that the only
testimony to its existence was a blackened bronze (4)________ on the wall of a brewery. He conceived of a fitter (5)________ to the
great playwright, a replica of the Globe itself. His enthusiasm and energy inspired a world-wide effort to rebuild the Globe as faithfully
as scholarship and craftsmanship could achieve, only a few hundred yards from where the original stood.
How do we know what the first Globe looked like? Happily, a lot of (6)________ exists. Although much is circumstantial, there are
sufficient clues to be certain of many aspects of the Globe’s construction and appearance. The most tangible evidence is
archaeological, based on the uncovered remains of the Rose Theatre and the evaluation of a little part
of the Globe’s foundation. It helped scholars to predict the shape and dimensions of the Globe.
In the 1990s the same traditional techniques were (7)________ to build the New Globe as in
Shakespeare’s time. The overall shape of the theatre is like a large ‘O’, built in the round as it was the
first Globe. It is three storeys high with a wooden frame and plaster walls. A thatched roof covers the
galleries and the stage but leaves the central area or yard open. This is in fact the first thatched roof to
have been created in London since the Great Fire in 1666. Just like an Elizabethan playhouse, on the
outside it has plain, lime-washed walls, but inside the
stage is a blaze of colour. For the Elizabethans, the
theatre was the image of the universe. The stage was
the earthly region and beneath it lay Hell, out of which
devils and ghosts emerged. What astonishes many
modern visitors is the size of the great stage cover,
part of which is the decorated ceiling called the Heaven. (8)________ it is hard to
believe, all the stage is made of oak and it is painted to create the illusion of stone
and marble.
The New Globe opened in 1997. The theatre season (9)________ from May to
September with productions of the work of Shakespeare, his contemporaries and
modern authors. Each year the Globe Theatre Company rediscovers the dynamic
relationship between the audience and the actor in this (10)________ building. The
Globe also welcomes international theatre companies to share the impact Shakespeare’s plays have had worldwide. Today,
audiences of this ‘wooden O’ sit in a gallery or stand informally as groundlings in the yard, which leads to more actor – audience
interaction than most of us are used to, but performances are delightfully unpredictable just like in Shakespeare’s time.
1
A shore
B beach
C bank
D coast
2
A reign
B rule
C dynasty
D government
3
A scenery
B prop
C accessory
D set
4
A table
B plate
C plaque
D sign
5
A memory
B memento
C memorial
D remembrance
6
A facts
B evidence
C proof
D confirmation
7
A taken
B made
C accustomed
D used
8
A Although
B Despite
C Nevertheless
D However
9
A runs
B goes
C takes
D carries
10
A individual
B special
C solitary
D unique