ROSE-A-THON 2026
About
SATURDAY, 19 SEPTEMBER 2026
12 noon to 8.30 pm
Join us on site at The Rose Playhouse this Autumn as our hugely popular annual play reading fundraiser returns!
Whether you want to get up on your feet and participate or you prefer to sit back and watch from the audience, this is a chance to enjoy the genius of William Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe and Ben Jonson — all of whom wrote plays that were originally performed here at The Rose during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.
You can choose to join us for just one play or as many as you like, as we gallop through six plays in one day.
Whether you want to get up on your feet and participate or you prefer to sit back and watch from the audience, this is a chance to enjoy the genius of William Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe and Ben Jonson — all of whom wrote plays that were originally performed here at The Rose during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.
You can choose to join us for just one play or as many as you like, as we gallop through six plays in one day.
- 12 noon Twelfth Night
- 1.30 pm Doctor Faustus
- 3.00 pm A Midsummer Night’s Dream
- 4.30 pm Titus Andronicus
- 6.00 pm The Alchemist
- 7.30 pm Hamlet
Each play has been cut to last just one hour.
Roles will be drawn from a hat 20 minutes before the start of each play, and scripts will be provided.
(Please note that we may be joined by one or two celebrities or professional actors for each play, volunteering to donate their time to us, in which case they may be allocated a particular part in advance — we hope you’ll enjoy the chance to read alongside them!)
No prior acting experience is necessary, but — if you can — we do ask you to stand when it’s your turn to speak.
There is no entry to the building during the plays, but the site will be open half an hour before each play for drinks, snacks, and learning about The Rose.
Roles will be drawn from a hat 20 minutes before the start of each play, and scripts will be provided.
(Please note that we may be joined by one or two celebrities or professional actors for each play, volunteering to donate their time to us, in which case they may be allocated a particular part in advance — we hope you’ll enjoy the chance to read alongside them!)
No prior acting experience is necessary, but — if you can — we do ask you to stand when it’s your turn to speak.
There is no entry to the building during the plays, but the site will be open half an hour before each play for drinks, snacks, and learning about The Rose.
Organised by The Friends of The Rose
LOCATION
56 Park Street, Bankside, London SE1 9AR
CONTACT
box-office@roseplayhouse.org.uk