Outdoor performances from Shakespeare to a new retelling of Robin Hood
The popular Open-Air Theatre Season returns to Wollaton Hall & Deer Park and Newstead Abbey & Gardens this summer with a full programme of new and traditional performances.
Audiences are invited to pack their picnics, camping chairs and blankets to enjoy theatre in the great outdoors from June to September. This year, the stages will be located in the Formal Gardens at Wollaton Park and on Byron’s Lawn at Newstead Abbey.
First up is David Walliams’ Bad Dad, where Frank’s father Gilbert has become a get-away driver for the local baddies. Can they navigate their way through car chases and convicts in the struggle to escape the clutches of the local crime lord?
Younger audiences will also enjoy The Secret Garden, the much-loved tale of secrecy and curiosity following Mary Lennox and her new life at Misselthwaite Manor. A new production of Nottingham’s own Robin Hood promises a fun-packed family show, complete with an archery competition involving the entire audience.
The classic stories of Sense & Sensibility and The Importance of Being Earnest are performed by Chapterhouse Theatre Company in full period costume. Fans of traditional Shakespeare are invited to join The Lord Chamberlain’s Men for the timeless and classic love story Romeo & Juliet. With a history stretching back to William Shakespeare himself they present this great play as he first saw it, in the open air, with an all-male cast and Elizabethan costumes, music and dance.
Shakespeare lovers can also take part in a unique experiment that will answer the question keeping literary scholars up at night… which play is the best the Bard has to offer? MacHamLear is a farcical piece of new writing from award-winning playwright Michael Davies that pits Macbeth, Hamlet and King Lear against each other.
Cllr Pavlos Kotsonis, Portfolio Holder for Leisure, Culture and Planning at Nottingham City Council, said: “I’m delighted to see a brilliant new programme of Open-Air Theatre at Wollaton and Newstead this summer. There is something for everyone, with performances ranging from Frances Hodgson Burnett to Jane Austen, and from Shakespeare to Oscar Wilde. I am looking forward to long summer evenings and the return of outdoor theatre against the backdrop of our stunning heritage venues.”
To discover more and book tickets, go to: www.wollatonhall.org.uk/open-air-theatre and www.newsteadabbey.org.uk/open-air-theatre
Tickets
Adults: £18
Children (5-16)/NUS students: £11
Family (2 adults, 2 children): £50
Gates will open one hour before each performance. The shows will go ahead in all but the worst weather. Stages will be located in the Formal Gardens at Wollaton Park and on Byron’s Lawn at Newstead Abbey.
Performances
Thursday 15 June | Gates 6pm, show 7pm | Wollaton Park
The Lord Chamberlain’s Men: Romeo & Juliet
Sunday 18 June | Gates 5pm, show 6pm | Newstead Abbey
Heartbreak Productions: David Walliams’ Bad Dad
Friday 23 June | Gates 6pm, show 7pm | Wollaton Park
Heartbreak Productions: MacHamLear
Wednesday 12 July | Gates 5pm, show 6pm | Newstead Abbey
Chapterhouse Theatre Company: The Secret Garden
Thursday 13 July | Gates 6pm, show 7pm | Wollaton Park
Chapterhouse Theatre Company: The Importance of Being Earnest
Sunday 16 July | Gates 6pm, show 7pm | Newstead Abbey
Chapterhouse Theatre Company: Sense & Sensibility
Friday 4 August | Gates 5pm, show 6pm | Wollaton Park
Chapterhouse Theatre Company: The Secret Garden
Sunday 6 August | Gates 5pm, show 6pm | Wollaton Park
Heartbreak Productions: David Walliams’ Bad Dad
Thursday 17 August | Gates 5pm, show 6pm | Wollaton Park
Illyria: Robin Hood
Thursday 31 August | Gates 6pm, show 7pm | Newstead Abbey
Chapterhouse Theatre Company: The Importance of Being Earnest
Sunday 3 September | Gates 5pm, show 6pm | Newstead Abbey
Illyria: Robin Hood