London SE1 > News & Features > January 2001
Rose Theatre to be rebuilt in USA
The Rose Theatre is to be rebuilt in America. Jon Greenfield, architect of the Globe reconstruction, has been asked to recreate the smaller Rose Theatre which stood in Park Street during Shakespeare's lifetime.
The �8m project is being commissioned by a theatre group called Shakespeare & Co founded by UK-born actor and director Tina Packer. It is hoped that British craftsmen will be employed either in the British Isles or on site, 80 miles from Boston. One possibility being explored is building the replica in the UK and shipping the sections to the USA.
The original Rose Theatre was built in 1587 and saw the world premiere of Shakespeare's Henry VI and the performance of three plays by Christopher Marlowe. After the Globe opened almost opposite in 1599 audiences at the Rose declined, leading to closure in 1606. Its remains were discovered in 1989 by Museum of London archaeologists. The Rose Theatre Exhibition opened on the site a decade later in 1999.
Next month Shakespeare's Globe will announce its 2001 season which is expected to include the Comedy of Errors in Japanese. Other highlights include Julian Glover playing King Lear. Mark Rylance will appear in Cymbeline.