A performance of Henry VIII caused the original Globe Theatre to burn down in 1613.
The fire occurred on 29 June 1613 during a performance at Shakespeare’s Globe in Southwark, London. A theatrical cannon was fired as part of the production, probably to signal a royal entrance or other ceremonial moment. The cannon reportedly misfired, igniting the theatre’s wooden beams and thatched roof.
The Globe was built in 1599 by Shakespeare’s company, the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, later known as the King’s Men. Despite the destruction, contemporary accounts indicate that the audience escaped safely. One frequently repeated detail says that a man’s burning breeches were extinguished with a bottle of ale.
The theatre was rebuilt on the same site by 1614, this time with a tiled roof rather than thatch. It remained open until London theatres were closed by Parliament in 1642. The modern Shakespeare’s Globe, opened in 1997, stands roughly 230 metres from the original location. The dates 1599 and 1614 refer to the Globe’s construction and rebuilding, not the fire.