Was the globe theater the first theater in England?

Answer 1

No, not at all. Plays had been performed formerly at rich people's houses, town halls, innyards and the like, but the first structure in England built for the purpose of putting on plays was called The Red Lion, which was put up on a farm near Whitechapel in 1567, 32 years before the Globe was built. The location was not well-chosen and the theatre was not a success, and appears to have closed after a year. The proprietor, however, thought it was still a good idea and 9 years later brought his brother-in-law James Burbage in to construct a new theatre in Shoreditch in 1576. This time The Theatre (that is what it was called) was a success. Burbage followed up with The Curtain nearby the next year. The Rose playhouse was built by impresario Philip Henslowe in 1587 in Southwark as was the theatre at Newington Butts in St. George's Fields, Surrey around 1580. A second Southwark theatre, the Swan, was built in 1595. For legal reasons the Theatre was closed in the mid-1590s, and James Burbage's sons Richard and Cuthbert decided to demolish it and re-use to the timbers for a new theatre to be built in 1599, which was the Globe, the seventh theatre in England.

Documentary evidence shows that Shakespeare performed in the Theatre, Curtain, and Newington Butts during the 10-ish years of his career before the Globe was built. His plays were performed in these three theatres as well. Some people speculate that the Rose and Swan also saw Shakespeare act and his plays performed, but there is no documentation for it.