Thank you. I am not of many words, but I thank you.

It has been a long 18 months here at Shakespeare’s Globe. For many months our two iconic playhouses sat in the dark, collecting dust as we all retreated to our homes – an image that still breaks out hearts, even now. The Globe is known for its jubilant celebration of our communities and our art – and we were stripped of these for a tumultuous period of uncertainty.

Giving Tuesday is an international day of giving, in which people are invited to recognise the work of their favourite charities. In light of this, we want to take this opportunity to say thank you to you, and to celebrate where your support has taken us over this unprecedented time. It is because of you, our dedicated and loyal supporters, that we reopened our grand oak doors in 2021, letting in light and joy to our spaces once again. The love, generosity and support that we have received from our Globe family has been incredible.

Here is where your support has taken us this year!

We put on 291 performances and events this summer

After a year of darkness, we reopened in May for performances for the first time in 15 months, subsequently welcoming over 200,000 audience members to the Globe Theatre and Sam Wanamaker Playhouse. This time last year, reopening seemed at times unimaginable, if not impossible: our summer of laughter, chaos, and magic would not have happened without your generosity.

We provided free tickets to over 13,500 students from state schools

After halting its run in March 2020 due to the pandemic, we were thrilled our flagship education project, Playing Shakespeare with Deutsche Bank, was able to return for its 15th year this September with A Midsummer Night’s Dream, providing free tickets to over 13,500 students from state schools in London and Birmingham. Since the inception of the project, over 230,000 students have now seen a Shakespeare play as part of it. Your support has enabled us to continue our mission of making Shakespeare accessible to all.

We took Shakespeare to 69 countries

Recognising that not all our audiences could travel to us this year, we did everything we could to travel (either virtually or in-person) to them. We live-streamed four productions directly into the living rooms of over 6,000 households in 69 countries, and visited eight London Boroughs on our community tour, reaching new audiences on our doorstep. With the introduction of our Anti-Racist Shakespeare webinar series and our In Conversation talks, we’ve also shared vital conversations with over 1,400 people online.

Thanks to the generosity of our supporters, we reopened the Globe

As we generate 95% of our income from theatre tickets and other on-site activities, the lockdowns had an enormous impact, one that we were almost unable to recover from. Thousands of our ticket bookers allowed us to retain their bookings as donations, or convert them into Gift Vouchers, and we welcomed many wonderful new Members to our Globe family.

Continue your support

Any amount, large or small, will be hugely appreciated. If you donate and are an eligible UK taxpayer, we will be able to increase your donation by 25% due to Gift Aid at no extra cost to you.

From behind-the-scenes tours to invitations to our special Season Insights, becoming a Member is the best way to take a step closer to the action, while supporting the Globe’s mission as a charity.

Alternatively, you may wish to consider leaving Shakespeare’s Globe a legacy gift in your will. Leaving a gift to the Globe is a vital way of helping to ensure that our theatres, productions and outreach work can continue to be enjoyed by generations to come, and thousands of people each year.

If you’d like to learn more about Membership, legacy gifts or supporting the Globe on Giving Tuesday, please do get in touch or call us on 020 7902 5970 to find out more.

Thank you once again to everyone who has supported us through this incredibly challenging period. We would not have been able to achieve any of this without you, and we do hope you’ll continue to support us as we make our way into the New Year!