The Rose was a project supported by Peter Hall and broadcaster David Jacobs CBE, who served as chairman of the Kingston Theatre Trust.
The construction was undertaken with £5m (of the £11m construction cost) support from the local council, involvement from Kingston University, Peter Hall, and the Friends of Kingston Theatre. The shell of the building was provided to the Trust for free by St George plc as one of the concessions for the construction of Charter Quay, a development on the bank of the Thames.
In January 2008, a week after the theatre opened, Hall resigned and it was announced that from April 2008, Stephen Unwin, departing director of English Touring Theatrewould take over the role of 'Artistic Director', while Hall would remain as 'Director Emeritus'.
On 25 November 2010 the Rose won an award for 'Commitment to the Community' at the Kingston Business Awards. The same week, Sir Peter Hall won the Moscow Arts Theatre 'Golden Seagull' award for his contribution to World Theatre at the Evening Standard Awards.
I Don’t Care
A story told in different directions, I Don't Care explores the power of those words. When you mean them, and when you don't.
Drama
Tullia Summer Gibbins
Ruth Alessia Perugi
Maya Amelie Tu
Karen Ella Johnson
Crew Perry Wade
Liam Butler
Milo Newson
Cormac Evans
Amelie Abbott
Isla Griffiths
Tait Walsingham
Tom Hardman
Production Assistant Charli Weston
Production co-ordinator Viviana Rocha
Sound Recording Billy Brooks
Music by Steven Coltart
Director of Photography Owen Whitehead
Produced by Lucy Morrell
Written and Directed by Andrew Davidson
Content warning: Language, bullying, harassment, teen sexuality, teen drinking
This film was created as part of the summer term screen course with the Rose Young Company.
Students aged 15 + worked with professional directors and crew to create 4 short films.
Scary Stories (To Make Your Friends Say "Oooh, That's Scary")
Four friends sit around a campfire and try to tell the scariest story. Will they succeed in finally scaring one another?
Comedy
Rocket Liam Butler
Captain Cormac Evans
Jitter Perry Wade
Fresh Milo Newson
Crew
Alessia Perugi
Summer Gibbins
Isla Griffiths
Amelia Abbott
Tom Hardman
Production Assistant Charli Weston
Production co-ordinator Viviana Rocha
Sound Recording Billy Brooks
Music by Viviana Rocha
Director of Photography Owen Whitehead
Produced by Lucy Morrell
Written and Directed by Andrew Davidson
This film was created as part of the summer term screen course with the Rose Young Company.
Students aged 15 + worked with professional directors and crew to create 4 short films.
DIVORCED ★ BEHEADED ★ LIVE!
17 May 2022 - 29 May 2022
The international smash hit musical SIX makes its royal return to Kingston!
Book your tickets now at https://rosetheatre.org/whats-on/six
Multi award-winning, with a spectacularly successful sound-track storming charts across the globe, this sell-out Tudor take-off has ‘an incredibly strong and powerful message. Boundary-pushing, genre-redefining’ (The Australian) and is ‘pure entertainment’ (The New York Times).
From Tudor Queens to Pop Princesses, the six wives of Henry VIII take to the mic to tell their tales, remixing five hundred years of historical heartbreak into an 80-minute celebration of 21st century girl power. These Queens may have green sleeves but their lipstick is rebellious red.
Think you know the rhyme, think again...
Divorced. Beheaded. LIVE!
https://rosetheatre.org/whats-on/fantastically-great-women-who-changed-the-world
12 April 2022 - 16 April 2022
CAN I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE?!!
The world premiere of a brand new kick-asspirational pop musical bursts to life as the Fantastically Great Women take to the stage to tell their stories.
Join our inquisitive heroine Jade as she breaks away from her class to take a peek behind the scenes at the not yet open Gallery of Greatness in the local museum. Along her journey she is surprised to meet the original and incredible wonder women: Frida Kahlo, Rosa Parks, Amelia Earhart, Marie Curie, Emmeline Pankhurst to name just a few. From explorers to artists, scientists to secret agents, hear the stories of some of history’s strongest mothers, sisters and daughters; all independent icons who really did change the world.
Celebrated dramatist Chris Bush (Nine Lessons and Carols, Almeida Theatre) and No. 1 hit songwriter Miranda Cooper (Girls Aloud, Kylie Minogue) adapt suffragette descendent Kate Pankhurst’s bestselling picture book with music by Miranda Cooper and Jennifer Decilveo (Miley Cyrus, Beth Ditto) and direction by Amy Hodge (Mr Gum and the Dancing Bear, National Theatre).
Fantastically Great Women Who Changed the World is an empowering new stage show which will be celebrated by anyone who is prepared to move and be moved, with characters and songs that pack a popstar punch!
https://rosetheatre.org/whats-on/fantastically-great-women-who-changed-the-world
12 - 16 April
CAN I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE?!!
The world premiere of a brand new kick-asspirational pop musical bursts to life as the Fantastically Great Women take to the stage to tell their stories.
Join our inquisitive heroine Jade as she breaks away from her class to take a peek behind the scenes at the not yet open Gallery of Greatness in the local museum. Along her journey she is surprised to meet the original and incredible wonder women: Frida Kahlo, Rosa Parks, Amelia Earhart, Marie Curie, Emmeline Pankhurst to name just a few. From explorers to artists, scientists to secret agents, hear the stories of some of history’s strongest mothers, sisters and daughters; all independent icons who really did change the world.
https://rosetheatre.org/whats-on/fantastically-great-women-who-changed-the-world
CAN I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE?!!
The world premiere of a brand new kick-asspirational pop musical bursts to life as the Fantastically Great Women take to the stage to tell their stories.
Join our inquisitive heroine Jade as she breaks away from her class to take a peek behind the scenes at the not yet open Gallery of Greatness in the local museum. Along her journey she is surprised to meet the original and incredible wonder women: Frida Kahlo, Rosa Parks, Amelia Earhart, Marie Curie, Emmeline Pankhurst to name just a few. From explorers to artists, scientists to secret agents, hear the stories of some of history’s strongest mothers, sisters and daughters; all independent icons who really did change the world.
https://rosetheatre.org/whats-on/a-monster-calls
24 March - 9 April
'Stories are wild creatures', the monster said. 'When you let them loose, who knows what havoc they might wreak?'
Patrick Ness' piercing novel is brought vividly to life in this Olivier Award-winning production by visionary director Sally Cookson.
Thirteen-year-old Conor and his mum have managed just fine since his dad moved. But now his mum is sick and not getting any better. His grandmother won’t stop interfering and the kids at school won’t look him in the eye.
Then, one night, Conor is woken by something at his window. A monster has come walking. It’s come to tell Conor tales from when it walked before. And when it’s finished, Conor must tell his own story and face his deepest fears.
From the critically acclaimed bestseller, A Monster Calls offers a dazzling insight into love, life and healing.
https://rosetheatre.org/whats-on/persuasion
A Rose Original Production, Alexandra Palace, in association with Oxford Playhouse
Featuring a soundtrack of Frank Ocean, Dua Lipa and Cardi B, Jane Austen’s classic romantic comedy is riotously reimagined for the twenty-first century.
Jeff James and James Yeatman's captivating adaptation, first seen at the Royal Exchange Theatre, retains the quick wit and scandal of Austen’s novel but switches Regency ballrooms for neon lights to present this 19th-century romance as you’ve never seen it before.
https://rosetheatre.org/whats-on/persuasion
A Rose Original Production, Alexandra Palace, in association with Oxford Playhouse
Featuring a soundtrack of Frank Ocean, Dua Lipa and Cardi B, Jane Austen’s classic romantic comedy is riotously reimagined for the twenty-first century.
Jeff James and James Yeatman's captivating adaptation, first seen at the Royal Exchange Theatre, retains the quick wit and scandal of Austen’s novel but switches Regency ballrooms for neon lights to present this 19th-century romance as you’ve never seen it before.
https://www.rosetheatre.org/whats-on/persuasion
A Rose Original Production, Alexandra Palace, in association with Oxford Playhouse
Featuring a soundtrack of Frank Ocean, Dua Lipa and Cardi B, Jane Austen’s classic romantic comedy is riotously reimagined for the twenty-first century.
Jeff James and James Yeatman's captivating adaptation, first seen at the Royal Exchange Theatre, retains the quick wit and scandal of Austen’s novel but switches Regency ballrooms for neon lights to present this 19th-century romance as you’ve never seen it before.
https://www.rosetheatre.org/whats-on/zog-and-the-flying-doctors
Zog, super keen student turned air-ambulance, still lands with a crash-bang-thump. Together with his Flying Doctor crew, Princess Pearl and Sir Gadabout, they tend to a sunburnt mermaid, a unicorn with one too many horns and a lion with the flu. However, Pearl’s uncle, the King, has other ideas about whether princesses should be doctors, and she’s soon locked up in the castle back in a crown and a silly frilly dress!
With a bit of help from some friends and half a pound of cheese, can Pearl make her uncle better and prove princesses can be doctors too?
Based on Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler’s bestselling sequel, Freckle Productions (Zog, Stick Man, Tiddler & Other Terrific Tales, Tabby McTat) bring the creative team behind Zog, Emma Kilbey and Joe Stilgoe, back together for this truly modern take on the classic fairy tale.
https://rosetheatre.org/whats-on/zog-and-the-flying-doctors
World Premiere
A Rose Original Production | Freckle Productions
Based on the book by Julia Donaldson & Axel Scheffler
Zog, super keen student turned air-ambulance, still lands with a crash-bang-thump. Together with his Flying Doctor crew, Princess Pearl and Sir Gadabout, they tend to a sunburnt mermaid, a unicorn with one too many horns and a lion with the flu. However, Pearl’s uncle, the King, has other ideas about whether princesses should be doctors, and she’s soon locked up in the castle back in a crown and a silly frilly dress!
With a bit of help from some friends and half a pound of cheese, can Pearl make her uncle better and prove princesses can be doctors too?
Based on Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler’s bestselling sequel, Freckle Productions (Zog, Stick Man, Tiddler & Other Terrific Tales, Tabby McTat) bring the creative team behind Zog, Emma Kilbey and Joe Stilgoe, back together for this truly modern take on the classic fairy tale.
3 December 2021 - 3 January 2022
Written by Ciaran McConville
Music and Lyrics by Eamonn O’Dwyer
Directed by Lucy Morrell
Tucked away in their attic on a cold Christmas night, three siblings bring the story of Bella, and her adventures in Villeneuve, to life. On her eighteenth birthday, Bella learns that her father is the victim of a terrible curse. Determined to face the Beast who condemned her father, she sets out on a journey across the mountains in a race to learn the truth.
In this stirring new musical version by Ciaran McConville (The Snow Queen), with music and lyrics by Eamonn O’Dwyer (Hansel and Gretel) and directed by Lucy Morrell (Treasure Island), this beloved fairy tale is brought to the stage with toe-tapping songs, heart-warming characters and of course, a touch of festive magic!
A Rose Original Production, this new adaptation features a wealth of local talent from the Rose Youth Theatre who will perform alongside an established professional cast.
https://rosetheatre.org/whats-on/beauty-and-the-beast
https://rosetheatre.org/whats-on/beauty-and-the-beast
New Version - A Rose Original Production
Written by Ciaran McConville
Music and Lyrics by Eamonn O’Dwyer
Directed by Lucy Morrell
Tucked away in their attic on a cold Christmas night, three siblings bring the story of Bella, and her adventures in Villeneuve, to life. On her eighteenth birthday, Bella learns that her father is the victim of a terrible curse. Determined to face the Beast who condemned her father, she sets out on a journey across the mountains in a race to learn the truth.
In this stirring new musical version by Ciaran McConville (The Snow Queen), with music and lyrics by Eamonn O’Dwyer (Hansel and Gretel) and directed by Lucy Morrell (Treasure Island), this beloved fairy tale is brought to the stage with toe-tapping songs, heart-warming characters and of course, a touch of festive magic!
A Rose Original Production, this new adaptation features a wealth of local talent from the Rose Youth Theatre who will perform alongside an established professional cast.
https://www.rosetheatre.org/whats-on/the-seven-pomegranate-seeds
World Premiere - A Rose Original Production
Written by Colin Teevan
Directed by Melly Still
From the director of My Brilliant Friend (National Theatre transfer, 2019) and Captain Corelli’s Mandolin (West End transfer, 2019) comes the world premiere of Colin Teevan’s The Seven Pomegranate Seeds.
Seven contemporary stories grounded in prominent, mythical origins.
Persephone, Hypsipyle, Medea, Alcestis, Phaedra, Creusa and Demeter: the women of Euripides' plays are reimagined as people of today in an unexpected fusion of celebrity, inappropriate desires, historical police investigations and missing children.
A severed maternal bond threads each story together, charting a journey through rage and redemption, towards a compelling conclusion.
Rose Associate Artist, Melly Still, returns to the Rose to direct and design Colin Teevan’s haunting monologue cycle in this unflinching, witty production. Starring Rose Associate Artist Niamh Cusack (My Brilliant Friend) and Shannon Hayes (Ted Lasso Series 1 & 2, Apple TV).
27 October 2021 - 31 October 2021
World Premiere - A Tall Stories Production
A stellar new show based on the book by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler
On a far-off planet, Smeds and Smoos can’t be friends. So when a young Smed and Smoo fall in love and zoom off into space together, how will their families get them back?
Music, laughs and interplanetary adventures for everyone aged 3 and up, from Tall Stories – the company that brought you The Gruffalo and Room on the Broom live on stage.
https://bit.ly/3pxzpfh
World Premiere - A Tall Stories Production
27 - 31 October 2021
A stellar new show based on the book by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler
On a far-off planet, Smeds and Smoos can’t be friends. So when a young Smed and Smoo fall in love and zoom off into space together, how will their families get them back?
Music, laughs and interplanetary adventures for everyone aged 3 and up, from Tall Stories – the company that brought you The Gruffalo and Room on the Broom live on stage.
https://rosetheatre.org/whats-on/the-smeds-and-the-smoos
World Premiere - A Tall Stories Production
27 - 31 October 2021
A stellar new show based on the book by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler
On a far-off planet, Smeds and Smoos can’t be friends. So when a young Smed and Smoo fall in love and zoom off into space together, how will their families get them back?
Music, laughs and interplanetary adventures for everyone aged 3 and up, from Tall Stories – the company that brought you The Gruffalo and Room on the Broom live on stage.
https://rosetheatre.org/whats-on/the-smeds-and-the-smoos
Announcing the first Kingston International Film Festival, Rose Theatre in association with Blue Elephant Films presents an evening of award-winning short films followed by a Q&A with the filmmakers and the festival organisers.
https://rosetheatre.org/whats-on/an-evening-of-shorts
2 September 2021 - 25 September 2021
World Premiere – A Rose Original Production
Written by Alys Metcalf
Directed by Christopher Haydon
'Think of it like carbon offsetting, except for morals.'
An unmissable new thriller from the Olivier Award-winning producer of Fleabag and Baby Reindeer to open the Rose’s 2021/22 season. Written by fast rising talent Alys Metcalf and directed by Christopher Haydon. Cast includes Saffron Coomber (Emilia, Small Axe: Lover's Rock) and Martin Marquez (Hotel Babylon, Les Misérables).
Sex, power and consent – can we ever atone for the sins of our past? When Niala arranges to meet celebrated charity leader Ben in the bar of a London hotel for career advice, their evening unfolds into something far less professional. As the weather closes in and secrets start to surface, the consequences of their choices leave them nowhere to hide.
A gripping encounter that takes place over the course of one stormy night, Leopards is a new play about the image we construct of ourselves and what it truly means to be good.
https://bit.ly/3ipqDOJ
A Rose Original Production, Alexandra Palace, in association with Oxford Playhouse
26 February 2022 - 19 March 2022
By Jane Austen
Adapted by Jeff James, with James Yeatman
Directed by Jeff James
Jane Austen's romantic comedy is riotously reinvented for the twenty-first century with an explosive foam party and a soundtrack of Frank Ocean, Dua Lipa and Cardi B.
When Captain Wentworth proposed to Anne Elliot eight years ago, he was penniless and had only love and ambition to offer. Persuaded out of accepting his proposal by her family, Anne’s never quite got over her first love.
But now Wentworth is back. Rich, successful and single, the handsome Captain has been transformed into a serious catch. When circumstances bring the two face to face again, Anne's forced to confront the past. As old wounds reopen, will Wentworth forgive Anne for rejecting him, and will Anne finally learn to trust her desires?
Jeff James (La Musica at Young Vic) and James Yeatman's bold and brilliant adaptation, first seen at the Royal Exchange Theatre, brings all the sharp observation and quick wit of Austen’s novel to the stage, without a bonnet in sight.
https://rosetheatre.org/whats-on/persuasion
World Premiere at Rose Theatre
2 September 2021 - 25 September 2021
"Think of it like carbon offsetting, except for morals."
An unmissable new thriller from the Olivier Award-winning producer of Fleabag. Sex, power and consent – can we ever atone for the sins of our past? When Niala arranges to meet celebrated charity leader Ben in the bar of a London hotel for career advice, their evening unfolds into something far less professional. As the weather closes in and secrets start to surface, the consequences of their choices leave them nowhere to hide.
A gripping encounter that takes place over the course of one stormy night, Leopards is a new play by Alys Metcalf about the image we construct of ourselves and what it truly means to be good. Directed by Christopher Haydon and starring Saffron Coomber (Emilia) and Martin Marquez (Hotel Babylon).
Trailer by The Other Richard
https://rosetheatre.org/whats-on/leopards
rosetheatre.org/whats-on/zog
Written by Julia Donaldson & Axel Scheffler
Large in size and keen in nature, Zog is eager to win a golden star at Madam Dragon’s school, where dragons learn all the things that dragons need to know. Zog tries so very hard, perhaps too hard, and he bumps, burns and roars his way through years one, two and three. Luckily, the plucky Princess Pearl patches him up ready to face his biggest challenge yet…a duel with knight, Sir Gadabout the Great!
The smash-hit stage adaptation from Freckle Productions (the team behind Stick Man, Tiddler and Other Terrific Tales and Tabby McTat) is back and promises to be bigger, brighter and more roar-some than ever before! With lively songs from Joe Stilgoe (The Jungle Book, The Midnight Gang) and directed by Emma Kilbey, Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler’s much-loved Zog is a magical production for all ages.
rosetheatre.org/whats-on/the-war-of-the-worlds
Presented by Rhum & Clay Theatre Company, written with Isley Lynn
Inspired by H.G. Wells’ sci-fi novel and Orson Welles’ classic radio play, this legendary science fiction thriller is playfully reimagined for our era of "Fake News" and "alternative facts".
rosetheatre.org/whats-on/the-three-musketeers-a-comedy-adventure
16 - 17 July 2021
Le Navet Bete and Exeter Northcott Theatre presents
From the award-winning Le Navet Bete, creators of the smash-hit show Dracula: The Bloody Truth, comes a comedy adventure that will have you rolling with laughter from here to the French countryside!
Introducing our brand new season featuring 5 Rose Original Productions, 4 extraordinary dramas and 3 world premieres.
Be a part of our momentous 21/22 season. Return to the Rose this autumn for Christopher Haydon's debut season as Artistic Director.
Priority booking from 9 June
General onsale from 18 June
Discover more at rosetheatre.org
To celebrate International Women's Day this year, some of our very own wonder women at the Rose have shared what their roles involve, their career journeys so far and advice they have for anyone hoping to enter the creative industry.
As this year's theme is 'Choose To Challenge', they also pledged what they will choose to challenge moving forward to promote an equal and positive environment for everyone.
To celebrate International Women's Day this year, some of our very own wonder women at the Rose have shared what their roles involve, their career journeys so far and advice they have for anyone hoping to enter the creative industry.
As this year's theme is 'Choose To Challenge', they also pledged what they will choose to challenge moving forward to promote an equal and positive environment for everyone.
To celebrate International Women's Day this year, some of our very own wonder women at the Rose have shared what their roles involve, their career journeys so far and advice they have for anyone hoping to enter the creative industry.
As this year's theme is 'Choose To Challenge', they also pledged what they will choose to challenge moving forward to promote an equal and positive environment for everyone.
To celebrate International Women's Day this year, some of our very own wonder women at the Rose have shared what their roles involve, their career journeys so far and advice they have for anyone hoping to enter the creative industry.
As this year's theme is 'Choose To Challenge', they also pledged what they will choose to challenge moving forward to promote an equal and positive environment for everyone.
To celebrate International Women's Day this year, some of our very own wonder women at the Rose have shared what their roles involve, their career journeys so far and advice they have for anyone hoping to enter the creative industry.
As this year's theme is 'Choose To Challenge', they also pledged what they will choose to challenge moving forward to promote an equal and positive environment for everyone.
To celebrate International Women's Day this year, some of our very own wonder women at the Rose have shared what their roles involve, their career journeys so far and advice they have for anyone hoping to enter the creative industry.
As this year's theme is 'Choose To Challenge', they also pledged what they will choose to challenge moving forward to promote an equal and positive environment for everyone.
To celebrate International Women's Day this year, some of our very own wonder women at the Rose have shared what their roles involve, their career journeys so far and advice they have for anyone hoping to enter the creative industry.
As this year's theme is 'Choose To Challenge', they also pledged what they will choose to challenge moving forward to promote an equal and positive environment for everyone.
Welcome back to the Rose!
We’re excited to be opening our doors again and stage some outstanding, world-class theatre here in Kingston.
We want to show you some of the new measures that we’ve put in place to make your visit as safe and as enjoyable as possible.
For more information, visit our website below or give us a call
020 8174 0090 | https://www.rosetheatre.org/your-visit/covid-19
#ReturnToTheRose
RETURN TO THE ROSE THIS CHRISTMAS WITH SH!T ACTUALLY
A two-woman 100% faithful, word-by-word* remake of the Christmas film we all hate to love: ‘Love Actually’.
‘Love Actually’ is Sh!t Actually.
*just kidding
Sh!t Actually plays from 3 - 5 December. Book tickets at https://www.rosetheatre.org/whats-on/sht-actually.
Sh!t Theatre go on the Love Actually bus tour in London to prepare for their 100% faithful, word-by-word* remake on stage.
*just kidding
Return to the Rose this Christmas with Sh!t Actually, playing 3 - 5 December. Book tickets at https://www.rosetheatre.org/whats-on/sht-actually.
*This was filmed prior to the COVID-19 pandemic*
RETURN TO THE ROSE THIS OCTOBER
When married hairdresser Rita enrols on a university course to expand her horizons, little does she realise where the journey will take her.
Her tutor Frank is a frustrated poet, brilliant academic and dedicated drunk who’s less than enthusiastic about taking Rita on but when these two people come together they soon realise how much they have to teach each other.
This hilarious and heart-warming comedy won the Olivier Award when it was produced in London’s West End by the RSC and was adapted into the multi award-winning film which starred Julie Walters and Michael Caine.
Written by one of our greatest ever playwrights Willy Russell and starring one of our best loved actors Stephen Tompkinson as Frank and introducing Jessica Johnson as Rita. This production directed by Max Roberts of Live Theatre has garnered rave reviews.
The Rose is a COVID-19 secure venue and we have been 'See It Safely' approved. For more information and to book your tickets, visit the website!
https://www.rosetheatre.org/whats-on/educating-rita
Thursday 10 December 2020 - Sunday 3 January 2021
Buy your tickets now: https://www.rosetheatre.org/whats-on/stick-man
Freckle Productions Presents
Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler’s much-loved Stick Man is back on stage in Kingston this Christmas!
What starts off as a morning jog becomes quite the misadventure for Stick Man: a dog wants to play fetch with him, a swan builds a nest with him, and he even ends up on a fire! How will Stick Man ever get back to the family tree in time for Christmas?
This delightful adaptation from Freckle Productions, the team behind Zog, Tiddler and other Terrific Tales, and Tabby McTat features a trio of top actors and is packed full of puppetry, songs, live music and funky moves.
Find out more about Readings from the Rose at bit.ly/RoseReadings.
It Was March 2020, read by members of Rose Participate.
It was March 2020. The streets were empty, the shops closed, people couldn't get out.
But spring did not know, and the flowers began to bloom, the sun shone, the birds sang, the swallows would soon arrive, the sky was blue, the morning arrived early.
It was March 2020. Young people had to study online, and find occupations at home, people could no longer go shopping, or go to the hairdresser. Soon there would be no more room in hospitals, and people continued to get sick.
But spring did not know, the time to go to the garden arrived, the grass greened.
It was March 2020. People have been put in lockdown. to protect grandparents, families and children.
No more meetings or meals, family celebrations.
The fear became real and the days were therefore similar.
But spring did not know, apples, cherry trees and others bloomed, the leaves grew.
People started reading, playing with their families, learning a language, singing on the balcony inviting neighbours to do the same, being supportive and focusing on other values.
People realised the importance of health, of suffering, of this world that had stopped, of the economy that has plummeted.
But spring didn't know. the flowers gave way to the fruit, the birds made their nest, the swallows had arrived.
Then the day of liberation came, people found out on TV, the virus had lost, people took to the streets, sang, cried, kissed their neighbours, without masks or gloves.
And that's when summer came, because spring didn't know. He continued to be there despite everything, despite the virus, fear and death.
Because spring didn't know, he taught people the power of life.
In these unprecedented times, the Rose is relying on donations more than ever. If you would like to donate, you can do so at bit.ly/Rose-Donate.
Find out more about Readings from the Rose at bit.ly/RoseReadings.
The Mosquito, by D. H. Lawrence
Read by Arthur Darvill
When did you start your tricks
Monsieur?
What do you stand on such high legs for?
Why this length of shredded shank
You exaltation?
Is it so that you shall lift your centre of gravity upwards
And weigh no more than air as you alight upon me,
Stand upon me weightless, you phantom?
I heard a woman call you the Winged Victory
In sluggish Venice.
You turn your head towards your tail, and smile.
How can you put so much devilry
Into that translucent phantom shred
Of a frail corpus?
Queer, with your thin wings and your streaming legs
How you sail like a heron, or a dull clot of air,
A nothingness.
Yet what an aura surrounds you;
Your evil little aura, prowling, and casting a numbness on my mind.
That is your trick, your bit of filthy magic:
Invisibility, and the anæsthetic power
To deaden my attention in your direction.
But I know your game now, streaky sorcerer.
Queer, how you stalk and prowl the air
In circles and evasions, enveloping me,
Ghoul on wings
Winged Victory.
Settle, and stand on long thin shanks
Eyeing me sideways, and cunningly conscious that I am aware,
You speck.
I hate the way you lurch off sideways into air
Having read my thoughts against you.
Come then, let us play at unawares,
And see who wins in this sly game of bluff.
Man or mosquito.
You don't know that I exist, and I don't know that you exist.
Now then!
It is your trump
It is your hateful little trump
You pointed fiend,
Which shakes my sudden blood to hatred of you:
It is your small, high, hateful bugle in my ear.
Why do you do it?
Surely it is bad policy.
They say you can't help it.
If that is so, then I believe a little in Providence protecting the innocent.
But it sounds so amazingly like a slogan
A yell of triumph as you snatch my scalp.
Blood, red blood
Super-magical
Forbidden liquor.
I behold you stand
For a second enspasmed in oblivion,
Obscenely ecstasied
Sucking live blood
My blood.
Such silence, such suspended transport,
Such gorging,
Such obscenity of trespass.
You stagger
As well as you may.
Only your accursed hairy frailty
Your own imponderable weightlessness
Saves you, wafts you away on the very draught my anger makes in its snatching.
Away with a pæan of derision
You winged blood-drop.
Can I not overtake you?
Are you one too many for me
Winged Victory?
Am I not mosquito enough to out-mosquito you?
Queer, what a big stain my sucked blood makes
Beside the infinitesimal faint smear of you!
Queer, what a dim dark smudge you have disappeared into!
In these unprecedented times, the Rose is relying on donations more than ever. If you would like to donate, you can do so at bit.ly/Rose-Donate.
Find out more about Readings from the Rose at bit.ly/RoseReadings.
The Cat and The Moon, by W. B. Yeats
Read by Anjana Vasan
Featuring Pirate and Marley
The cat went here and there
And the moon spun round like a top,
And the nearest kin of the moon,
The creeping cat, looked up.
Black Minnaloushe stared at the moon,
For, wander and wail as he would,
The pure cold light in the sky
Troubled his animal blood.
Minnaloushe runs in the grass
Lifting his delicate feet.
Do you dance, Minnaloushe, do you dance?
When two close kindred meet,
What better than call a dance?
Maybe the moon may learn,
Tired of that courtly fashion,
A new dance turn.
Minnaloushe creeps through the grass
From moonlit place to place,
The sacred moon overhead
Has taken a new phase.
Does Minnaloushe know that his pupils
Will pass from change to change,
And that from round to crescent,
From crescent to round they range?
Minnaloushe creeps through the grass
Alone, important and wise,
And lifts to the changing moon
His changing eyes.
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Matilda, by Hilaire Belloc
Read by Pippa Bennett-Warner
Matilda told such Dreadful Lies,
It made one Gasp and Stretch one’s Eyes;
Her Aunt, who, from her Earliest Youth,
Had kept a Strict Regard for Truth,
Attempted to believe Matilda:
The effort very nearly killed her,
And would have done so, had not she
Discovered this Infirmity.
For once, towards the Close of Day,
Matilda, growing tired of play,
And finding she was left to alone,
Went tiptoe to the telephone
And summoned the Immediate Aid
Of London’s Nobel Fire-Brigade.
Within an hour the Gallant Band
Were pouring in on every hand,
From Putney, Hackney Downs and Bow,
With Courage high and Hearts a-glow
They galloped, roaring though the Town,
"Matilda’s House is Burning Down"
Inspired by British Cheers and Loud
Proceeding from the Frenzied Crowd,
They ran their ladders through a score
Of windows on the Ball Room Floor;
And took Peculiar Pains to Souse
The Pictures up and down the House,
Until Matilda’s Aunt succeeded
In showing them they were not needed
And even then she had to pay
To get the Men to go away! . . . . .
It happened that a few Weeks later
Here aunt was off to the Theatre
To see that Interesting Play
The Second Mrs. Tanqueray.
She had refused to take her Niece
To hear this Entertaining Piece:
A Deprivation Just and Wise
To Punish her for Telling Lies.
That Night a Fire did break out-
You should have heard Matilda Shout!
You should have heard her Scream and Bawl,
And throw the window up and call
To People passing in the Street-
(The rapidly increasing Heat
Encouraging her to obtain
Their confidence)-but it was all in vain!
For every time She shouted "Fire!"
They only answered "Little Liar!"
And therefore when her Aunt returned,
Matilda, and the House, were burned.
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Sonnet 29, by William Shakespeare
Read by Paul Higgins
When, in disgrace with fortune and men’s eyes,
I all alone beweep my outcast state,
And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries,
And look upon myself and curse my fate,
Wishing me like to one more rich in hope,
Featured like him, like him with friends possessed,
Desiring this man’s art and that man’s scope,
With what I most enjoy contented least;
Yet in these thoughts myself almost despising,
Haply I think on thee, and then my state,
(Like to the lark at break of day arising
From sullen earth) sings hymns at heaven’s gate;
For thy sweet love remembered such wealth brings
That then I scorn to change my state with kings.
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Ode to a Nightingale, by John Keats
Read by Jane Asher
My heart aches, and a drowsy numbness pains
My sense, as though of hemlock I had drunk,
Or emptied some dull opiate to the drains
One minute past, and Lethe-wards had sunk:
'Tis not through envy of thy happy lot,
But being too happy in thine happiness,—
That thou, light-winged Dryad of the trees
In some melodious plot
Of beechen green, and shadows numberless,
Singest of summer in full-throated ease.
O, for a draught of vintage! that hath been
Cool'd a long age in the deep-delved earth,
Tasting of Flora and the country green,
Dance, and Provençal song, and sunburnt mirth!
O for a beaker full of the warm South,
Full of the true, the blushful Hippocrene,
With beaded bubbles winking at the brim,
And purple-stained mouth;
That I might drink, and leave the world unseen,
And with thee fade away into the forest dim:
Fade far away, dissolve, and quite forget
What thou among the leaves hast never known,
The weariness, the fever, and the fret
Here, where men sit and hear each other groan;
Where palsy shakes a few, sad, last gray hairs,
Where youth grows pale, and spectre-thin, and dies;
Where but to think is to be full of sorrow
And leaden-eyed despairs,
Where Beauty cannot keep her lustrous eyes,
Or new Love pine at them beyond to-morrow.
Away! away! for I will fly to thee,
Not charioted by Bacchus and his pards,
But on the viewless wings of Poesy,
Though the dull brain perplexes and retards:
Already with thee! tender is the night,
And haply the Queen-Moon is on her throne,
Cluster'd around by all her starry Fays;
But here there is no light,
Save what from heaven is with the breezes blown
Through verdurous glooms and winding mossy ways.
I cannot see what flowers are at my feet,
Nor what soft incense hangs upon the boughs,
But, in embalmed darkness, guess each sweet
Wherewith the seasonable month endows
The grass, the thicket, and the fruit-tree wild;
White hawthorn, and the pastoral eglantine;
Fast fading violets cover'd up in leaves;
And mid-May's eldest child,
The coming musk-rose, full of dewy wine,
The murmurous haunt of flies on summer eves.
Darkling I listen; and, for many a time
I have been half in love with easeful Death,
Call'd him soft names in many a mused rhyme,
To take into the air my quiet breath;
Now more than ever seems it rich to die,
To cease upon the midnight with no pain,
While thou art pouring forth thy soul abroad
In such an ecstasy!
Still wouldst thou sing, and I have ears in vain—
To thy high requiem become a sod.
Thou wast not born for death, immortal Bird!
No hungry generations tread thee down;
The voice I hear this passing night was heard
In ancient days by emperor and clown:
Perhaps the self-same song that found a path
Through the sad heart of Ruth, when, sick for home,
She stood in tears amid the alien corn;
The same that oft-times hath
Charm'd magic casements, opening on the foam
Of perilous seas, in faery lands forlorn.
Forlorn! the very word is like a bell
To toll me back from thee to my sole self!
Adieu! the fancy cannot cheat so well
As she is fam'd to do, deceiving elf.
Adieu! adieu! thy plaintive anthem fades
Past the near meadows, over the still stream,
Up the hill-side; and now 'tis buried deep
In the next valley-glades:
Was it a vision, or a waking dream?
Fled is that music:—Do I wake or sleep?
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I Wanna Be Yours by John Cooper Clarke
Read by Christopher Eccleston
Let me be your vacuum cleaner
Hoovering up your dust
Let me be your Ford Cortina
I will never rust
If you like your coffee hot
Let me be your coffee pot
You call the shots
I wanna be yours
Let me be your raincoat
For those frequent rainy days
Let me be your dreamboat
When you want to sail away
Let me be your teddy bear
You can take me anywhere
I don’t care
I wanna be yours
Let me be your electric meter
I will never run out
Let me be the electric heater
You get cold without
Let me be your setting lotion
Hold your hair with deep devotion
Deep as the deep Atlantic ocean
That’s how deep is my emotion
Deep deep deep deep de deep deep
I don't wanna be hers
I wanna be yours
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Junkyard
It's 1979, rubbish is on the streets, and it’s tricky being Fiz. She's 13, she's got no money, her sister's pregnant and her mum thinks she’s a waste of space...
Rick remembers what it’s like to be a teenager. So when he decides to build a junk playground in Bristol, he's pretty sure he has the charisma to get a bunch of reluctant kids i...
The Battle of Boat is a courageous tale of a group of children trying to find their place in a world at war in 1916. Frustrated by their inability to join the soldiers in battle, the children decide to do whatever it takes to help in the war effort. However, they soon have to tackle their own conflict in the form of a local gang of bullies who will...
Headlong's premiere production of new British musical JUNKYARD arrives at Rose Theatre Kingston next week. Musical Theatre Review’s Aura Simon caught up with its composer Stephen Warbeck to contemplate a varied and award-filled career...
It’s Part Two of our countdown of great new musicals coming to London in 2017! Spring is approaching, the days are getting longer, holidays and chocolate are on the horizon and there’s even more to add to your #YearofTheatre. Here are some #StageFaves shows we’re looking forward to seeing this March and April…
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