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Read Not Dead was launched in 1995 and brings actors, audiences and scholars together to explore and celebrate the plays performed in London and on its stages before 1642. The ground-rules are simple. Actors are given a script on a Sunday morning and work with a director to get the play up on its feet - with entrances and exits, token costume and music if needed. They present it, script in hand, to an audience at 16:00. These are not intended to be polished productions. However, there is a shared spirit of adventure and excitement for actors and audiences who sense that they might be uncovering a hidden gem. This autumn the Globe Education Season Shakespeare, Gresham and the City explores Elizabethan London's rise to the commercial capital of Europe. With the decline of Antwerp the rapid growth of London is reflected by the period's playwrights who present a complex yet celebratory view of the City. This season is dominated by the tales of the two famous Tudor Thomases - both members of the Mercers' company: Sir Thomas More and Sir Thomas Gresham. The first was a humanist philosopher, statesman and martyr; the second, one of the richest men of his day: a merchant prince, banker, and financial agent for Elizabeth I.