A life’s work, a 400-year legacy, all in 25 hours …. AND … featuring YOU!

Join Red Rose Chain on stage this June and take part in an extraordinary explosive 25 hour sponsored Shakespeare Marathon to mark the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death and to celebrate 25 years of Red Rose Chain.

Did you know that 25 years ago Red Rose Chain’s first official event was a 24 hour Shakespeareathon at the Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich? Neil Morrissey (Men Behaving Badly) featured as well as other professional actors, students and enthusiasts who kept the action going throughout the night. Who knows who might appear this time!

25 years later Red Rose Chain has gone on to become an award-winning theatre company with an established reputation for delivering work for the whole community as well as the popular Theatre in the Forest. It seems only right to re-create the event 25 years later and that’s where you come in.

Getting Involved

Decide on a piece or extract you want to perform inspired by or from any of the 37 plays and 154 sonnets by the brilliant bard. This can be anything from 1 minute to 30 minutes. You can perform this on your own, with your friends, your group, your colleagues or maybe even your dog. No animals were harmed in the making of this sentence….

All you have to do is ask people to sponsor you for this big feat of a Shakespeare feast. The minimum donation amount to take part is only £10. Or 10 sovereigns if that’s the way you roll.

Don’t worry, you don’t have to take part in the entire 25 hours, unless you want to. You will be given a choice of time and allocated a slot. So if you’ve ever fancied playing 6th Citizen in Coriolanus at eight o’clock in the evening (“He has done nobly, and cannot go without any honest man’s voice.”) or 2nd Pirate in Pericles at half past one in the morning (“A prize! A prize!”) – now is your chance.

Think swaggering sketches, silly songs, daft dance routines and extracts from all the famous and some less well-known plays. Cue cross-dressing, mistaken identities, sword play, theatrical ghosts, kings, queens, rude mechanicals and exits pursued by a bear.

FURTHER INFO

When is it?
June 4^th and 5^th

What time?
7.30pm (Saturday) – 8.30pm (Sunday)

Where?
At The Avenue Theatre, Gippeswyk Avenue, Ipswich, IP2 9AF

Deadline to apply to take part?
May 6^th 2016

What are Red Rose Chain fundraising for? How can you help?

As well as providing a unique opportunity for participants, Red Rose Chain will be fundraising to create a brand new creative story telling project for under 5’s and their families in Chantry and surrounding areas. Through sponsorship you can make a really big difference to local lives in your local community.

The project is specifically designed to give parents the tools and encouragement to read to their children and have the confidence to bring stories alive in a safe and nurturing environment. This important time together promotes bonding and helps to build relationships, laying the groundwork for a child’s later social, communication and interpersonal skills. We recognise that story telling not only enriches lives by instilling virtues, enhancing verbal proficiency, creativity and imagination but can be used as a gentle, effective tool in preparing children for school and for learning.
If you want to throw your hat into the ring, email [email protected] or visit www.redrosechain.com/shakespeareathon