The smaller unfinished building was used as a space for education workshops and rehearsals until enough money was raised to complete its true-to-the-period interior.

It opened for public performances in January 2014, named after actor Sam Wanamaker, the leading figure in the Globe's reconstruction.

The shell was intended to house a simulacrum of the sixteenth-century Blackfriars Theatre from the opposite side of the Thames,[1] adapted as a playhouse in 1596 during Elizabeth's reign.

[6] Designed by Jon Greenfield, in collaboration with Allies and Morrison, it is an oak structure built inside the building's brick shell.

When the shutters are closed, lighting is provided by beeswax candles mounted in sconces, as well as on six height-adjustable chandeliers and even held by the actors.