The Marriage Game & The Volcano

The Marriage Game – Tuesday, December 1, 2026 Peter Rose and Ellie Nielsen present three short plays drawn from The Ones , Rose’s celebrated series of satires about publishing and married life. We follow our two publishers over the course of twenty years: from the start of their relationship to the brittle present, when Robert seeks to revisit the ‘pact of infertility’. The program will run for ninety minutes, including one interval.   The Volcano – Wednesday, December 2, 2026 Rose’s new play (2026) presents four characters not encountered in previous works, but they have deep social connections with those featured in The Ones and other plays. In the first act we meet Dallas and Edward, tourists in Sicily who contemplate a momentous visit to a volcano. In Act 2, five years later, their twin children (Timmy and Melody) recall the events of that day and reminisce about a lost sibling, Teddy. In the final act, Timmy – trying to make sense of why he has been disinherited – is enlightened by an unexpected guest. The Volcano (performed by Georgina Banks, Ellie Nielsen and Peter Rose) will run for ninety minutes, including one interval. The Highly Strung Players Over the past decade the Highly Strung Players have been entertaining audiences with performances of Peter Rose’s short plays. This absurdist troupe, which began appearing at fortyfivedownstairs in 2017, presents rehearsed readings with a changing ensemble. Now the Highly Strung Players return to fortyfivedownstairs with its most ambitious program yet: a two-night season of four inter-related plays, with Rose’s trademark ironies and satire. Along the way we meet or learn about many of his eccentric characters, including the enigmatic and much-maligned Vanessa. The season culminates with Rose’s latest play, The Volcano . Audiences can expect two nights of sophisticated humour and absurdist leaps. “The Highly Strung Players’ original absurdist works are playful, witty and multi-layered. Renowned wordsmith Peter Rose has a fine sense of what lies beneath the surface of relationships and social interaction. His clever duologues highlight our foibles and delusions with sensitivity and humour.”   Helen Morse “The more you see The Highly Strung Players perform, the more you learn. The company’s repertoire comprises not separate plays but is part of an ever-expanding continuum. Peter Rose’s words are naturally poetic, proving the power of poetry in motion and emotion. As with fine chamber music, Peter’s words are designed to make you listen, to pay attention, to focus – to narrow down on all the quirks and frailties and intensities of the human condition. These are true conversation pieces. At first, the exchanges may seem like small talk – superficial, brittle, even bitchy – but they coalesce gradually, inexorably, to reveal a world of past experiences and associations that have occurred somewhere offstage, remaining unforgotten and often unforgiven. There are epiphanies, too, an ominous undercurrent that is indicative of profound, life-changing force. Surprises, even shocks, can erupt swiftly.” Michael Shmith