This summer on Bankside, we promise to celebrate all that unites us: laughter, tears, story, nature, and of course, theatre.

A year since we closed our doors on 18 March 2020, we’re preparing to reopen our theatres for our Summer 2021 season on 19 May 2021, provided the conditions are met for Step 3 of the UK Government’s roadmap for cultural reopening.

“To even be announcing a season means that we are inching ever closer to getting back to doing the thing that we love, the thing that the Globe was built for, and the thing that so many of us, artists and audience alike, have lost during this time: sharing time, space and story with as many people as is safe. This is a historic moment, and not to be underestimated; we have a long way to go as we emerge and heal from this, but theatre can help us get there: that’s what it’s for. To express the often inexpressible, bear the often unbearable, laugh, cry, be – safely – together. The readiness is all and Shakespeare’s Globe is ready”

— Michelle Terry, Artistic Director

Opening the season on 19 May, our Associate Artist Director Sean Holmes gets the fiesta started with the return of his raucous 2019 production of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. This joyful explosion is packed full of piñatas, streamers, glitter and a cacophony of brass, and is the perfect comedy to bring some magic to your summer.

The same company of players, including our very own Michelle Terry as Viola, bring fresh life to Shakespeare’s comedy of mistaken identity, Twelfth Night. Wild, surprising, fierce and funny, this fiery new production is infused with the mesmeric nostalgia and soulful music of the world of Americana, and is a true celebration of the complete madness of love.

At long last, after starting rehearsals before lockdown last year, our star-crossed lovers Alfred Enoch and Rebekah Murrell take to the stage in Shakespeare’s timeless tragedy, Romeo & Juliet. Director Ola Ince and many of the original company return to this universal tale of chance, destiny and fortune, to find new significance for 2021.

For the night owls, our Midnight Matinées return this summer. Performances start at 11.59pm, so as the city settles down and fades away to sleep, prepare to be transported into worlds of disguises, forests, shipwrecks and fairies. Revel in the enchanting atmosphere of the Globe under the stars and experience Shakespeare’s plays in a truly unique and magical way.

Our Touring Ensemble, led by Associate Artist Brendan O’Hea, also return with their usual trio of plays, this time taking on the challenge of As You Like It, The Tempest and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Our company of only eight actors will also revive the Shakespearean tradition of allowing audiences to vote for the play they would most like to see in Audience Choice – so be sure to give them a great big cheer when you see them at the Globe or on the road (we’ll be doing things a little differently this year and staying local in our first ever neighbourhood tour, further details to be announced soon!).

Stepping into the candlelight of our Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, we finally get the chance to see Metamorphoses, a brand new play by our Scriptorium writers-in-residence Sami Ibrahim, Laura Lomas and Sabrina Mahfouz. Inspired by Ovid’s powerful collection of myths, this new play is an epic adventure of infinite possibilities, and is co-directed by Sean Holmes and Holly Race Roughan.

Our Scriptorium is the first time in over 400 years the Globe Theatre has had a writer-in-residence since Shakespeare. What’s more, as part of our continued commitment to new writing, we’re launching a week-long residency for a select group of invited writers to explore writing for our wooden ‘O’.

And one to mark in your diaries for next year – award-winning actor Kathryn Hunter will reprise a performance that made history 24 years ago. A new production of King Lear, directed by Helena Kaut-Howson, will grace the Globe Theatre stage in 2022, with Hunter in the title role and our Artistic Director Michelle Terry in the double role of Cordelia and the Fool.

Thanks to the generous support of the Garfield Weston Foundation, we’re absolutely delighted everyone around the world will be able to experience Shakespeare at the Globe this summer.

Throughout our Summer 2021 season, we’ll be live streaming our performances straight to you at home, to ensure that while travel restrictions continue, we’re still able to bring our work to national and international audiences.

You’ll be able to catch live broadcasts of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Twelfth Night, Romeo & Juliet and Metamorphoses from as little as £5 and in the comfort of your pyjamas – bliss!

Running alongside the plays in our Summer 2021 season will be a variety of digital activities for every age and stage and context, to delve deeper into the world of Shakespeare’s plays.

In Anti-Racist Shakespeare: Perspectives on the Plays, actors and scholars of colour join together for an online webinar series exploring the relationship between race, social justice, and Shakespeare.

A series of mini-documentaries Behind Closed Doors will take you into the heart of a play’s journey from page to stage, offering a sneak-peak into the rehearsal room and beyond.

Discover more about Shakespeare’s work and their history, context, politics and power in our in-depth sessions In Conversation, led by a member of our world-class Research team.

This summer also sees the return of our ever-popular family storytelling festival, Telling Tales, with sessions available online for families of all ages to enjoy wherever they are in the world.

As previously announced, you’ll be able to step through the wooden doors of our Globe Theatre this Easter and throughout summer with the return of our Guided Tours. Our tours offer visitors the opportunity to discover Shakespeare at the playhouse for which he wrote, learn more about the history of Shakespeare’s London, and the story of the Globe Theatre itself. For those with little ones, our family-friendly tours are the perfect introduction for younger visitors!

This year marks the 15th anniversary of our annual Playing Shakespeare with Deutsche Bank project. Our adaptations of Shakespeare’s plays, created especially for students and young people, normally take place in the Spring term of each school year, but with the current lockdown restrictions, we’ve been unable to welcome schools into the Globe Theatre this March.

Instead, thanks to the continued support of Deutsche Bank and their Born to Be project, Playing Shakespeare will return this Autumn with Sean Holmes’ glittering production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. We’re so grateful to Deutsche Bank’s generous support in enabling us to once more share over 20,000 free tickets to school children from London and Birmingham, as well as welcoming families to the Globe for their first experience of Shakespeare.

So, when can you get your hands on tickets to our Summer 2021 season?

Advanced Priority Booking for Patrons opens this Thursday 25 March at 10.00am. Priority Booking for Friends opens next Tuesday 30 March at 10.00am. Sign up as a Member today to access Priority Booking for our summer season, as well as special discounts, invites to exclusive events, and a dose of insightful articles with our Globe Magazine.

Public Booking opens on Thursday 8 April at 10.00am.

Once again tickets will be available from as little as £5, and if you book tickets for three or more shows, you’ll get 20% off!*

We’re ensuring our spaces are as safe as possible for your return in line with the See It Safely campaign from UK Theatre and SOLT. We’ll be introducing protocols for our live theatre shows, including social-distancing, staggered arrival times, allocated entrances, pre-ordered drinks, no intervals, and for the first time ever, there will be seating in the Yard for the initial period of our opening – you’ll be a Groundling in comfort and style!

We’ll be continually checking our guidance in line with the UK Government’s recommendations, with updates available on our dedicated Covid-19 safety measures pages.

We want you to feel confident and comfortable when visiting us, but if there is anything you’d like to discuss ahead of your visit please contact us or get in touch on social media and our team will be happy to help.

We hope you can join us in our amazing wooden ‘O’ this summer for a season of love, life and catharsis, as we rediscover the joys and wonder of live theatre.

We cannot wait to open our great oak doors once more and welcome you – our audiences – safely back into these incredible spaces, the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, and of course, the ‘great Globe’ herself. Because without you, there simply is no theatre.

#ThisWoodenO