The Globe theatre was built in Elizabethan London circa 1599. It was one of the most famous playhouses of William Shakespeare's time, where many of his plays were first performed. Shakespeare was an Elizabethan playwright, writing during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I from 1564 to 1616. The first theaters of the Elizabethan era were improvised inn-yard theaters and halls, but civic authorities disapproved of plays being performed in city streets, leading to theaters being constructed just outside London.