About

The Friends of Shakespeare’s Globe are at the heart of the Globe today. Originally founded to support Sam Wanamaker’s dream of rebuilding Shakespeare’s Globe on Bankside, the Friends are now part of The Shakespeare Globe Trust and fund a range of Globe Theatre and Globe Education projects.

Our Archive of Donations shows the range of Globe projects that have been supported by the Friends, totalling over half a million pounds.

How Friends were Made

The Friends organisation was germinated on 16 March 1985 at a meeting of concerned members of the public. Southwark Council were not looking kindly on Sam Wanamaker’s dream of building a new Globe – they wanted the prime site for housing. The band of happy few 24 pioneers included Allan and Pat Sensicle, Siri Fisher-Hansen, Alan and Linda Butland, Georgina Infield, Mary Pinder, Cynthia Reed, Tom Stephens, Diana Devlin, Nicholas Reed, Eric Mathieson and the redoubtable Ann Ward. The actual launch was on 1st June and the organisation was then called the Friends of the Southwark Globe. Regular meetings, a newsletter and ‘activities to support the project’ were planned; subscriptions were to be £6 per annum.

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