The theatre opened in 1997, and 2022 marks its 25th year as a performance venue. It was the passion project of actor and director Sam Wanamaker, who worked for 20 years, with the help of historical advisors and architects, to replicate the style and materials of Elizabethan playhouses.
The Globe is based on a much older theatre with the same name, which opened in 1599. The original was built by the Lord Chamberlain's Men, an acting company that Shakespeare had often performed with. The theatre became heavily associated with Shakespeare's work, and many of his best-known plays such as Hamlet and Othello were performed there during his lifetime.
In 1613, the theatre burned down when a theatrical cannon misfired during a performance of Henry VIII. It was rebuilt and reopened in 1614 on the same site. It was later closed by the Puritan government in 1642, and pulled down in 1644. The current site in modern-day Bankside is located around 750 feet - or one street - away from the site of the original theatre.