TOKYO Shakespearean players will no longer be able to strut and fret their hour upon the stage at the Tokyo Globe Theater, a replica of the original at which the bard's plays were first staged.

For in July the theater, which has been a bright spot on the Tokyo drama scene with its dedication to the plays of William Shakespeare, is set to dim its lights, perhaps forever.

"Given the economic climate these days, it's hard to turn a profit at any theatre," Globe manager Mikihiro Yamada told Reuters.

A pet project of U.S. filmmaker Sam Wanamaker that was designed by noted architect Arata Isozaki, the round globe building has been a quirky presence in an otherwise drab residential area not far from shinjuku, one of tokyo's busiest districts, since opening in 1988.

while touring performances by top troupes such as london-based shakespeare's globe company and the royal shakespeare company, based in the bard's hometown of stratford-upon-avon, regularly sold out, others fared less well.

the costs of inviting major groups such as the royal shakespeare company are steep, and a gradual drop in the number of other troupes wanting to rent the theatre for their own performances made the burden particularly heavy.

yamada said debts accumulated by the theatre's managing company during japan's economic boom years in the late 1980s also played a role in the theatre's demise.

"there were just too many debts," yamada said. "so the judgment of our managing company was that it would be better to let the place go."

the farewell run is a royal shakespeare company production of "the merchant of venice," in which a vengeful creditor tries to exact a pound of flesh from a hapless borrower.

but all is not yet lost for japanese shakespeare aficionados.

the tokyo metropolitan government has said the building will continue to operate as a theatre, and several candidates are in the running to buy it.

"whether shakespeare remains a primary focus depends on the new owner," yamada said. "but one of our conditions for the sale is that shakespeare will still be performed. "after all, this isn't just any theatre -- it's a replica of the globe."