Former Shakespeare's Globe MA students plan readathon to raise funds and awareness for closed venue

Former students on Shakespeare's Globe's MA course alongside King's College have announced plans to hold a readathon to help raise funds and awareness for the venue.

Entitled "Read for the Globe", the scheme is inviting individuals to come and celebrate Shakespeare's works and help promote the space, which warned earlier this week that it may be forced to close.

More information is available here.

The event is also looking for readers, so if you know anyone who could take part – the readathon is encouraging people to reach out.

Shows being read across the weekend will include Cymbeline, Richard II, As You Like It, Macbeth, A Midsummer Night's Dream.

One of the organisers, Catriona Bolt, said: "We're a group of friends who met on the Globe's MA course, Shakespeare Studies – we love the theatre, it's such an important space for artists and scholars to experiment with new ideas about theatre in Shakespeare's time and how it connects to theatre now. The Globe, as an unsubsidised space that relies mostly on audiences for its income, is in dire straits due to the financial pressures of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We want to raise awareness of that, and hopefully some cash, by reading a selection of our favourite Shakespeare plays over the coming bank holiday weekend, 24 to 25 May 2020. We invite you to join us to listen, donate, or read.

"Visit our Twitter @GlobeRead for details of how to join in, and DM us or email us at readfortheglobe@gmail.com if you're interested in reading with us."