The new centre holds a 1632 second folio and recordings of every Globe production since the mid-1990s. Anyone can visit, but study sessions must be booked.
Shakespeare’s Globe has opened a Research and Collections Centre at its Bankside home, and entry is free. The theatre says no other dedicated Shakespeare library and archive in London is open to the public.
More than 6,000 books on Shakespeare and on early modern drama and literature are held there. The theatre’s records of its own past shows are kept in the same building. Almost 500 of the rare titles were printed in the 16th and 17th centuries, with drama and poetry among them. Pride of place goes to a second folio of Shakespeare’s complete works, printed in 1632.
The material is rare and fragile, so anyone who wants to study it must register first and book a time slot. Visitors who simply want a look around can walk into a foyer space, which shows free temporary exhibitions.
Researchers were let in on 22 September and the general public on the 24th. Items are requested in the Audre D. Carlin Reading Room, and the archive includes recordings of every Globe production since the mid-1990s. There is also a rare book room named after John Wolfson and a lecture theatre. Exhibitions go in the Weston Foyer, and the archive is kept in a climate-controlled store.
Books once owned by Sam Wanamaker, the American actor and director who founded the Globe, will go on display. A few carry notes in his own handwriting. Costumes from the theatre’s “original practices” productions are also in the archive. That approach sets out to stage the plays the way audiences would have seen them when they were first performed.
The theatre has had a library for years. According to Dr Will Tosh, the Globe’s head of higher education and research, it used to be housed in unsuitable rooms and was harder to get to. Now it sits at the centre of the building. “We want anyone with an interest to come and enjoy this space,” he said.
Dr Tosh spoke of a crisis in library provision and in reading. He said he was proud that the Globe was putting its name and energy behind books and libraries.
Displays in the Weston Foyer are linked to the theatre’s events programme, which currently includes a festival on Shakespeare and race.
Yes, entry is free. Anyone who wants to study the collections has to register and book a slot beforehand.
Researchers were let in from 22 September, and the general public from 24 September.
More than 6,000 books, almost 500 rare titles from the 16th and 17th centuries including a 1632 second folio, and recordings of every Globe production since the mid-1990s.
Yes. The foyer space shows free temporary exhibitions that anyone can visit.
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