Oh, it’s even better than that.
What happened was the lease to The Theatre (actual name) was coming to an end, and the asshole landlord Giles Allen refused to extend it. He even tried to argue that since he owned the land, he also owned The Theatre itself (see: asshole).
So the Burbages and/or Shakespeare came up with a very clever solution: While they did not own the land The Theatre was on, they did in fact own The Theatre itself. So they hired people to dismantle The Theatre in Shoreditch on the sly and take the pieces to set up a new one in Southwark.
Across the Thames River.
In the winter when the Thames was frozen solid.
During Christmas.
The plan was successful, and they reconstructed their new playhouse by the summer of 1599: The Globe, now famous for being the home of Shakespeare’s later plays, from Henry V or Julius Caesar on.
Definitely one of the most badass moments in Shakespeare’s actual life.
