The new Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, an indoor Jacobean counterpart to Shakespeare's Globe, will open to the public on January 9, 2014 with a season of plays, opera and one-off concerts. The opening of the visually stunning venue completes the vision of actor, producer and director Sam Wanamaker  first conceived for the Shakespeare's Globe complex in 1949.

According to The Guardian, the small 340-capacity theatre will host the company's winter plays as well as other events throughout the year. It will be lit almost entirely by candles. The grisly tragedy The Duchess of Malfi will open the season on January 9, directed by the Globe's artistic director Dominic Dromgoole, followed by Francis Beamont's satire The Knight of The Burning Pestle, which opens on February 20, 2012.

As well as plays, the season will include evenings of music curated by conductor Trevor Pinnock, Grammy Award winning guitarist John Williams and vocal ensemble I Fagiolini. YouTube comedy sensation Rubberbandits will also perform, as will actress Eileen Atkins. Public bookings for the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse opens on May 14, 2013, with priority bookings given to Friends & Patrons of Shakespeare's Globe.