london129 Modern replica of the open-air Globe Theater William Shakespeare and the Globe Nearby stood the original Globe Theater, first home to many of the celebrated plays of William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616). Built in 1599, the Globe soon became the most popular theater of its day and witnessed the first performances of some of the greatest works of English literature, including Hamlet, Othello, King Lear and Macbeth. Documentary evidence suggests that from 1599 William Shakespeare lived for a while in Southwark near the Globe Theater' possibly in the house which is know to have adjoined it. As a shareholder in a professional company, the 'Chamberlain's Men' (later the 'King's Men'), Shakespeare would have been closely involved in all aspects of the life of the theater and would probably have performed in many productions staged there. After Shakespeare's death, the Globe continued to be profitable to the company of players, but was finally demolished by order of Parliament under the Puritans, probably after 1644. The Globe Theater In the final years of Queen Elizabeth I's reigns, the Bankside area of Southwark was a vibrant place characterized by playhouses, bear-baiting arenas, alehouses and riverside stews or brothels. In 1599 Richard and Cuthbert Burbage with William Shakespeare and four other players leased two plots of land alongside Maiden Lane (now Park Street), on which, using the dismantled timbers of James Burbage's 'The Theater' in Shoreditch, they built the Globe playhouse. The Globe soon became even more successful than its nearby rival 'The Rose'. However, during a performance of _Henry VIII_ on 29th June 1613 a stray spark from a cannon, fired as part of the performance, fell onto the thatched roof; the theater was burnt to the ground. The Globe reopened in 1614, having been hurriedly rebuilt apparently on the same foundations, but with a tiled roof replacing the original thatch. The Globe flourished once again, until its demolition in 1644.