Shakespeare's Globe has received £1.5M from an anonymous private donor towards a matched-giving scheme to raise funds for the new indoor theatre.
The scheme will match every pound raised by the Globe from the pool of £1.5M, making a total of £4.5M towards its target of £7M for the indoor Jacobean theatre, which it claims is the most complete recreation of an English renaissance indoor theatre to be built with a scheduled opening in November 2013.
The 320-seat theatre will have two seated galleries and authentic Jacobean seating in the pit, giving a very different experience from the larger outdoor theatres. The design is based on plans thought orginally to be drawn by architect Inigo Jones but now accredited to his protégé John Webb that were found in Worcester College Library in Oxford in the 1960s.
Actor Zoe Wanamaker, daughter of the Globe's founder Sam Wanamaker, said, "The indoor Jacobean theatre is another step towards realizing what was in Sam’s head. It is a wonderful thing in this day and age to build a new theatre, a continuum in our culture, which perpetuates literature and art and performance, and encourages an exploration into the unfolding of British drama."
Shakespeare's Globe chief executive Neil Constable said, "Our wonderfully generous anonymous donor has given this money to enable us to complete the indoor theatre, but also by doubling donations we receive, we hope that this will encourage others to support this important project. Building starts in October at the end of the Globe’s summer season, so we'd really like to rally the support of our audiences and supporters and ask everyone to get involved at whatever level to ensure works start on time."
For information on making donations, see shakespearesglobe.com/support-us.
Images: Model box interior created by Jonathan Fensom, photographer Fiona Moorhead; plans for an indoor Jacobean theatre courtesy of the Provost and Fellows of Worcester College Oxford.