Model drawing of the Globe by William Poel

Theatre Collection

Poel drawing

William Poel made his acting debut in Bristol in 1876. His original surname Pole was misspelled in the programme, and he adopted the spelling of Poel permanently. A great enthusiast of Shakespeare, he was instructor of the Shakespeare Reading Society for over a decade. Poel had strong convictions of how Shakespeare’s works should be performed, including the staging. He planned to build a replica of the Globe Theatre as a memorial to Shakespeare. This drawing by Poel is for a preliminary model of the theatre. It was finally utilised sixty years after Poel’s death during the 1990s reconstruction of the Globe.

  • Item reference: TCP/M/000032
  • Copyright: University of Bristol
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