The Rose Playhouse is holding its fifth Readathon - six plays read in almost as many hours.
Participants pay £6 per play to 'perform': roles are drawn out of a hat and the texts - cut down to an hour each - are read at sight.
Audiences can pay £4 per play to watch the fun. All this alongside the ruins of the first Tudor theatre on Bankside.
Plays this year are: A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Jew of Malta, Twelfth Night, As You Like It, Dr Faustus and Hamlet. These were written by two playwrights who were at the Rose in the 16th century: Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare.
Proceeds to the Rose Revealed Project.
For the latest local news and events direct to your inbox every Monday, you need our weekly email newsletter SE1 Direct.