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When people talk about William Shakespeare, it’s normally the Globe Theatre that gets all the glory. It was the playhouse built by his theatre company and where his most famous plays were staged. But there was another theatre just down the river that nurtured a young Shakespeare well before that. And next month, there’ll be a rare opportunity to see its remains for yourself.
The Rose Playhouse was originally built in 1587 and was somewhere Shakespeare regularly worked and acted. It was the very first purpose-built playhouse on Bankside, erected more than a decade before the Globe came along. The playwright’s first tragedy Titus Andronicus was staged there, as were Christopher Marlowe’s landmark works Doctor Faustus and Tamburlaine the Great.
But the Rose had a very short life compared to other London theatres – it closed in 1603, less than 20 years after opening. For centuries, its remains were thought to be lost but they were rediscovered by accident in 1989 during the construction of an office block near the site.
A campaign that involved the likes of Judi Dench, Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart and Laurence Olivier was launched to save the remains from the construction work. Now, the site is officially protected under the Scheduled Monument law.
The ruins that were uncovered (one-third are still yet to be excavated) are preserved underwater and highlighted with rope lights. In September and October, the public will be able to see the archaeological remains of the Rose Playhouse for the first time in six years. It will be open for guided tours every Thursday from September 17 to October 29.
The tours will run from 10am until 3pm and last around 45 minutes. You’ll learn how and why the Rose was originally constructed, about the people who worked and performed there and the story of its rediscovery. Southwark residents can visit for free. For everyone else, tickets are £12 (concessions £8). Book here.
Eventually, the Rose Theatre Trust hopes to raise enough money to complete the archeological dig, then turn the site into an exhibition, learning centre and performance space called The Rose Revealed.
The Rose Playhouse, 56 Park Street, Bankside, SE1 9AR.
Did you see that the Natural History Museum is opening a room that has been closed to the public since World War II?
Plus: London’s historic Cinema Museum has launched a campaign to secure its future.
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