Discover your inner actor! After a brief introduction, you'll be randomly assigned roles to read and guided through a reading and discussion of a play written by one of Shakespeare's contemporaries.

Presented in collaboration with Shakespeare BASH'd.

'Tis Pity She’s a Whore by John Ford - Wednesday, July 17
A rapturous love affair that threatens the quiet religious certainty of a community. This play bubbles with desire and passion just like Romeo and Juliet, only these two lovers are siblings…

Endymion, the Man in the Moon by John Lyly - Wednesday, July 31
A mythic, prosaic comedy about madness and yearning. A deeply enjoyable story of unrequited love between a goddess and a man. Endymion, the Man in the Moon, works as a companion to Twelfth Night.

Philaster, or Love Lies a-Bleeding by Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher - Wednesday, August 14
A raucous tragicomedy with knights in love, maidens in disguise and ridiculous encounters and adventures. It was an enormous success for the playwriting duo; it was either an influence on or inspired by Shakespeare’s Cymbeline.

The Convent of Pleasure by Margaret Cavendish - Wednesday, August 28
A rare classic that is humorous, musical and ahead of its time, notably written and published by a woman. This work of utopian fiction tells the story of Lady Happy who rejects social norms to create a “convent” for free women.