Globe Theatre Reconstruction
American actor/director Sam Wanamaker started the campaign to build a Globe Theatre reconstruction in the late 1960’s and was joined by architect and Pentagram partner Theo Crosby in the mid 1970’s, as well as by leading Shakespeare scholars Professor John Orrell and Professor Andrew Gurr.
By the time Greenfield joined the project team in 1986 a Central London site had been secured, funds were flowing and plans to create an international Shakespeare centre were well advanced. Sadly, Wanamaker died in 1993 and Crosby in 1994. Also in the late 1980s funds dried up, but this had the unexpected advantage of giving more time for research into original construction techniques used for the first Globe in 1600 and more time to overcome the challenges presented by the Building Regulations. Greenfield was able to gain approval for an oak frame structure, a thatched roof and lime plaster infill panels following a programme of fire tests – a large improvement on the pre-cast concrete frame and concrete roof tiles that had initially been suggested by the District Surveyor.
Historic timber frame specialist Peter McCurdy joined the team in the early 1990s, the start of a long collaboration with Greenfield on this and a number of subsequent projects. A triumph of craftsmanship of many kinds, the Globe Theatre was opened by the Queen in June 1997.
