The cast of 'Emilia' gather on stage with their arms in the air, the yard audience also have their arms in the air

RESEARCH & COLLECTIONS.

We are committed to making our scholarship and unique resources public

Shakespeare’s Globe’s unique resources and thriving community of scholars combine to create a dedicated repository specialising in Shakespeare in performance. Use the page below to access the Globe’s collection of rare books, archive material and special collections, and find out more about our key areas of research and academic courses.

ACCESS OUR COLLECTIONS

MEET THE RESEARCH TEAM

RESEARCH AT THE GLOBE

Shakespeare Centre London

Formalising 20 years of collaboration between two world-renowned institutions, The Globe and King’s College London have established a new research centre with a focus on critical knowledge, creative practice and social justice.

The Shakespeare Centre London will bring together academics from the Globe and King’s, with the aim of being a beacon for the inclusive study of Shakespeare, text, performance, and premodern critical race studies. With its focus on critical knowledge, creative practice and social justice, the Centre will strive to be an inclusive space for the study and dissemination of new research.

The research centre will build on and formalise two decades of successful collaborations between two renowned institutions. Previous collaborations between King’s and Shakespeare’s Globe have included the joint MA in Shakespeare Studies and the co-sponsorship of biennial postgraduate conferences, and most recently the Early Modern Scholars of Colour network.

Doctoral Projects

Current Doctoral Projects include:

‘Kinship and Race in Early Modern Drama’ by Lydia Valentine (2020-2024).
This project examines early modern beliefs about the relationship between kinship and race and considers how early modern dramatists responded to this relationship. In the period’s literature, kin are encouraged to recognise each other through ideas of racial, social and bodily proximity, but dramatists also acknowledged that kinship could both expand beyond and challenge racial boundaries. Therefore, this project explores how the period’s dramatists tested the limits of a racialised discourse of kinship.

‘Racial Slavery in the Mediterranean on the Early Modern English Stage (1560-1640)’ by Hassana Moosa.
This project analyses dramatic texts which portray systems of enslavement, the language of slavery, and enslaved subjects in Mediterranean settings, to argue that early modern English writers and dramatists racialised enslavement in their literary representations of Mediterranean slave-trade. The project reveals that English understandings of, and responses to, slavery and racial difference in the Mediterranean Basin shaped the structures of race and enslavement which become pivotal to England’s subsequent colonial projects – above all, the transatlantic slave trade.

Formal Doctoral Projects include:

Repertory and the Production of Theatre Space at the Globe and the Blackfriars, 1599-1613 by Dr Sarah Dustagheer, Globe Audiences: Spectatorship and Reconstruction at Shakespeare’s Globe by Dr Penelope Woods, Recreating Light in the Early Modern Theatre by Neil Vallelly, and ‘Foule habits of reproach’: Performing Bodily Rebukes and Retributions on the Renaissance Stage, Page and Street by Miranda Fay Thomas.

SHAKESPEARE'S GLOBE BOOK AWARD

COURSES

SHAKESPEARE AND RACE

If you are researching Shakespeare and Race, the Library & Archive has a wealth of resources which you may find of interest. Our Performance Archive contains many productions with a diversity of performers, such as Richard II in 2018, which had a cast comprising only women of colour. In addition, we have global productions, such as the 1996 Umabatha, The Zulu Macbeth, and the 2012 Indian Tempest, part of the Globe-to-Globe Festival which also included Q Brothers’ Hip Hop Othello. We also have recordings of Globe Education’s 2018 Shakespeare and Race Festival, including panel discussions, Q & As and workshops. Finally, we have a selection of books in the Library which focus on premodern critical race studies.  

The Archive materials mentioned above are just a sample of our Collection. Our Archive Catalogue can be searched here: If you would like help to find what you want, please email library@shakespearesglobe.com and we will do our best to assist you.  

LIBRARY & ARCHIVE

The Library & Archive is open on Wednesdays and Thursdays and we will respond to emails on those days. We especially welcome scholars of colour. Please see our commitment to anti-racism and dismantling oppressive practices in our Collections. Appointments and enquiries can be made by emailing.

You can discover what’s in our collections by searching our online catalogues for the Archive and Library. Unfortunately we cannot take bookings or enquiries over the phone.

In order to help us prepare for your visit, please contact us by e-mail at least a week in advance of any planned visit. Please provide the following information:

  • The date and time of your proposed visit
  • Your general area of research
  • Details of the material you would like to consult, please refer to our Library and Archive catalogues
  • Any access requirements – although the Reading Room is accessible via a lift, please be aware that there is currently no step-free access and a small step must be navigated in order to reach us

On your first visit you will be required to:

  • Complete an application form
  •  Provide proof of identification with two forms of ID (a driving licence, student card, passport, bank card are all acceptable). If you are a student please bring your student card with you
  • Fill out a Data Protection Agreement form if you are accessing Archives
  • Have a short induction

Please note that all readers will be expected to abide by our rules and regulations. You are welcome to bring laptops/tablets with you; there are power sockets and wi-fi is available.

Our collections are still in the process of being catalogued. As we progress, the range and number of records described in our online catalogue will grow. Archives relating to the current seasons are typically available within a few months of the end of the season. If you can’t find what you are looking for or would like further information about our collections please contact us.

Donations
We actively collect material related to the history of Shakespeare’s Globe and its productions. Please contact the Library & Archive Manager to discuss any donations.

The Library & Archive is open on Wednesdays and Thursdays and we will respond to emails on those days. If you have an urgent enquiry please contact Pete Le May.

Contact Us

General Enquiries & appointments

Library & Archive Co-ordinator
Mel Chetwood

Archivist (Digital)
Philip Milnes-Smith

Collections and Content Curator
Pete Le May

Library and Archive Manager
Jane Fowler