Formed in 2003, The Rococo Players originally performed outdoor productions of Shakespeare’s plays each summer at the Rococo Gardens in Painswick from where the society gets its name.

In 2007 an invitation was received to perform Marlowe’s Edward II at Berkeley Castle, an event which was to dramatically change the future direction of the Players. Performing such a play in the magnificent setting of Berkeley Castle, where some of the events of the play took place, was a remarkable and deeply rewarding experience. The Players went on to perform Edward II at Warwick Castle, Gloucester Cathedral and Oriel College Oxford. A significant donation from ticket receipts went to the fund for the restoration of Edward’s magnificent tomb in the Cathedral.

The Players’ interest in historical plays has not diminished. Since 2010 the repertoire has included Schiller’s extraordinary play Mary Stuart at Blackfriars Priory, a tour of Howard Brenton’s gripping and tragic Anne Boleyn, James Goldman’s The Lion in Winter and The Crucible by Arthur Miller.

Recent productions have included a return to Shakespeare with a production of Twelfth Night in 2021, Neil Bartlett’s adaptation of the classic Dickens novel Great Expectations in 2023 and most recently The Book of Will, a moving and entertaining new play by Lauren Gunderson about how Shakespeare’s First Folio was created.