Shakespeare's Globe: theatre architecture and the performance of authenticity

As a cultural institution, Shakespeare's Globe is dedicated to the research and performance of Shakespeare's plays, with particular attention to the public playhouse in which Shakespeare was a shareholder: the 1599 Globe Theatre. With a replica of that playhouse and an exhibition and education centre known throughout the world, the Shakespeare's Globe complex introduces to the visitor dialogical narratives that are charged with meaning. This article investigates the ways in which Shakespeare's Globe "performs" its own notion of "authenticity" that is distinct from the artistic choices of the performances presented therein. Through a close examination of both the architecture and signs and symbols positioned throughout the site, this article locates the performance of authenticity within the realm of existing touristic theories, and presents an understanding of how the concept of performing "authentic" Shakespeare extends beyond both the page and the stage.