Part of the Globe's complex also hosts the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse for smaller, indoor productions, in a setting which also recalls the period.

[1][2] The modern Shakespeare's Globe was founded by the actor and director Sam Wanamaker, and built about 230 metres (750 ft) from the site of the original theatre in the historic open-air style.

This is a smaller, candle-lit space based on historic plans for an indoor playhouse of Jacobean era London (possibly Blackfriars Theatre).

Many people maintained that a faithful Globe reconstruction was impossible to achieve due to the complications in the 16th-century design and modern fire safety requirements; however, Wanamaker and his associate Diana Devlin persevered in their vision for over 20 years to create the theatre.

[7] The design team consisted of architect Theo Crosby of Pentagram, structural and services engineer Buro Happold, and quantity surveyors from Boyden & Co.

[11] In January 2016, Emma Rice began her term as the Globe's third artistic director,[12] but in October 2016 announced her decision to resign from the position.

Like the original Globe, the modern theatre has a thrust stage that projects into a large circular yard surrounded by three tiers of raked seating.

This was aided by the discovery of the remains of the original Rose Theatre, a nearby neighbour to the Globe, as final plans were being made for the site and structure.

The theatre has extensive backstage support areas for actors and musicians, and is attached to a modern lobby, restaurant, gift shop and visitor centre.

For its first 18 seasons, performances were engineered to duplicate the original environment of Shakespeare's Globe; there were no spotlights, and plays were staged during daylight hours and in the evenings (with the help of interior floodlights), there were no microphones, speakers or amplification.

All music was performed live, most often on period instruments; and the actors and the audience could see and interact easily with each other, adding to the feeling of a shared experience and of a community event.

Beginning in the 2016 season, the new artistic director, Emma Rice, began experimenting with the theatre space by installing a temporary lighting and sound rig.