Shakespeare's Globe Centre (USA) Centre for Globe Research

Rebuilding Shakespeare's Globe

Theo Crosby

In 1969, Theo Crosby attended one of Sam Wanamaker's early Globe project presentations. He realized that architectural help was urgently needed and soon became deeply involved. As he said: 'I started by putting a toe in the water and the next thing I knew I was swimming.' He shared Wanamaker's view of a new Globe relating to the Southwark community, drawing visitors to it and presenting great educational opportunities. But it took another 17 years of research and sorting out problems of funding and the politics surrounding the site before, in 1986, he started the serious design work.

Theo had joined the archetypal design firm Crosby/Fletcher/Forbes/Gill in 1964. In 1971, Theo Crosby and Sam Wanamaker (far right) revealed their plans to the leader of Southwark Council, John O'Grady (left), Sir Philip Dawson (center), and engineer Sir Ove Arup. In 1972 Crosby became one of the founding partners of Pentagram with Colin Forbes, Alan Fletcher, Kenneth Grange and Mervyn Kurlansky.

He was born in South Africa, fought in the second world war in Italy, and came to England after graduating in architecture at the University of Witswatersrand. He worked first with Maxwell Fry & Jane Drew and then with Denys Lasdun before combining freelance practice with journalism as technical editor of Architectural Design. In 1956 he played an important part in the seminal exhibition This is Tomorrow at the Whitechapel Gallery.

He was a member of the Royal Institute of British Architects and of the Berlin Academy, a Fellow of the Chartered Society of Designers and a Royal Academician. Between 1990 and 1993 he was Professor of Architecture and Interior design at the Royal College of Art. His published works include Architecture - City Sense, How to Play the Environment Game, The Necessary Monument and Stonehenge Tomorrow.

He was a loyal patron and friend to many artists and craftspeople whose work he admired, and he played a leading role in the Art & Architecture group which works for more beautiful and humane towns and cities. His own sculpture includes the drinking fountain in Hyde Park which was installed 1981. He was developing plans for an opera house in Spitalfields near where he lived in London when he died on Monday, September 12th 1994.

His work on the Globe has been continued at Pentagram by Jon Greenfield, who joined Theo on the project in 1987.

Questions? Email the Research Archive(globe@deans.umd.edu)
Updated on: 1 March 2002