Sam Wanamaker Playhouse
Sam Wanamaker Playhouse accessibility information
Access phone number: 020 7902 1409
Access email address: [email protected]
Accessible toilets situated: Piazza level, Lecture Theatre level
Number of Wheelchair spaces: 2
Sound amplification: Induction Loop
Access from street to foyer: Level access (foyer at street level)
Access from theatre foyer to seats (number = stairs): 0 to Stalls, 15 to Lower Circle, 35 to Upper Circle
Level access: To Stalls
Stair lift, lift or ramp available: Lift to all levels
The Sam Wanamaker Playhouse is owned or operated by The Shakespeare Globe Trust
What date did the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse open?
12th June 1997
Who designed the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse?
Jon Greenfield, in collaboration with Allies and Morrison
What was the first production at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse?
The Duchess of Malfi
Other Sam Wanamaker Playhouse facts
The Sam Wanamaker Playhouse is an indoor theatre forming part of Shakespeare's Globe, along with the Globe Theatre on Bankside, London. A reconstruction of an indoor Jacobean playhouse, it opened on 15 January 2014 with a production of The Duchess of Malfi. Designed by Jon Greenfield, in collaboration with Allies and Morrison, it is an oak structure built inside the building's brick shell. Shakespeare's Globe is a reconstruction of the original Globe Theatre. It was founded by American actor and director Sam Wanamaker and is built about 230 metres from the site of the original theatre. The original Elizabethan Theatre called the Globe was built in 1599 by the playing company the Lord Chamberlain's Men, to which Shakespeare belonged. It was destroyed by fire on 29 June 1613 and rebuilt by June 1614. It was closed in 1642 and demolished in 1644.Â
The Sam Wanamaker Playhouse is the indoor venue of Shakespeare’s Globe.
Named in honour of the founder of Shakespeare’s Globe, actor Sam Wanamaker, the Playhouse is based on indoor candlelit theatres known to Shakespeare and his contemporaries. It’s not a reconstruction of a specific venue, but it echoes the Blackfriars Playhouse, used by Shakespeare’s theatre company from 1609.
Lit by over one hundred beeswax candles, the intimate Sam Wanamaker Playhouse hosts plays, concerts, education workshops and events throughout the year.
Past shows that have played at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse include:
A World Elsewhere
Lyceum Theatre
Gielgud Theatre
The Tom Stoppard Theatre (formerly the Duke of York's Theatre)
Playhouse Theatre (Kit Kat Club)
Empress Museum
Prince Edward Theatre
