The Rose Playhouse will reopen to visitors in September and October.
The Bankside theatre was built in 1587 and hosted works by Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe.
The Rose Theatre Trust hopes to create a permanent exhibition, learning centre and performance space.
The archaeological remains of one of London’s most important Elizabethan theatres will welcome visitors for the first time in six years.
Long before Shakespeare’s Globe became one of the capital’s most recognisable cultural landmarks, another theatre was drawing crowds to Bankside. Now, visitors will once again be able to explore the remains of the Rose Playhouse in London, one of the most significant surviving sites connected to William Shakespeare and Elizabethan theatre.
Originally built in 1587, the Rose was the first purpose-built playhouse on London’s Bankside, opening more than a decade before the Globe Theatre. Shakespeare is believed to have worked and performed at the venue, while some of the most important plays of the period were staged there.
Among them was Shakespeare’s early tragedy Titus Andronicus, while audiences could also watch works by Christopher Marlowe, including Doctor Faustus and Tamburlaine the Great.
The Rose Playhouse closed in 1603, less than two decades after it first opened, and its exact location was eventually forgotten. That changed dramatically in 1989 when archaeological remains were discovered during construction work on an office development near the site.
The discovery sparked a major campaign to protect the historic theatre, attracting support from some of Britain’s most celebrated actors, including Judi Dench, Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart and Laurence Olivier. The Rose is now protected as a Scheduled Monument, safeguarding the archaeological remains from future development.
Around two-thirds of the site has been uncovered, while approximately one-third remains unexcavated. The surviving foundations are preserved beneath water, with lighting used to reveal the outline of the historic playhouse.
This September and October, visitors will be able to see the archaeological remains of Shakespeare’s Rose Playhouse for the first time in six years.
Tours will run between 10am and 3pm and last approximately 45 minutes. Along the way, guides will explore how the theatre was constructed, the actors and playwrights connected to the Rose and the remarkable story behind its rediscovery more than three centuries after it closed.
Tickets to visit the Rose Playhouse in London are priced at £12 for adults and £8 for concessions, while Southwark residents can visit free of charge.
Where: The Rose Playhouse, 56 Park Street, Bankside, SE1 9AR.
When: Every Thursday from 17 September to 29 October 2026
Contact: www.roseplayhouse.org.uk