Stephen Fry and Mark Rylance help guide Globe theatre to record profits

The sell-out West End transfers of plays starring Mark Rylance and Stephen Fry helped the Globe theatre to record figures, according to its annual report.

The venue, which is not publicly funded, made a profit of more than £3.6 million on a turnover of £21 million as 600,000 people saw Globe productions — including the acclaimed Twelfth Night with Rylance and Fry — either at its Bankside home, on tour or in the West End.

Shakespeare productions had 96 per cent audiences while new plays achieved 71 per cent. Nearly three-quarters of the Globe’s income is from ticket sales and admission charges, although 42 per cent of tickets cost just £5 for standing. Other venues, which are subsidised, increasingly have to rely on sponsorship and donors.