…. stow the chairs – and it’s off to the show
THOSE glorious few days of warm sun before Easter were the perfect precursor to the open air theatre season, which will this year get under way in May and bring comedies, tragedies, classics and new stories to audiences across the country until mid-September.
While the stage press is full of stories of diminishing audiences and decreasing numbers of new productions, the old faithful touring companies are joined every year by new troupes of professional actors ready to perform, whatever the weather, in the grounds of stately homes, in parks and anywhere with a natural amphitheatre, bringing inventive, colourful and energetic versions of a huge variety of plays to eager audiences.
This year there’s an emphasis on Jane Austen, the 250th anniversary of whose birth is being celebrated all around the world. Shakespearean productions are as popular as ever, and there is a lot more “music-theatre” than in the past, with multi-talented performers singing, playing divers instruments and clowning their way through classic stories, as audiences vie for a front row seat where they can surround themselves with food and drink for a night out with friends and families.
As at 17th April, there are 17 companies touring a total of 33 productions.
William Shakespeare is again the most popular choice for the touring companies. A Midsummer Night’s Dream has three tours, by Quantum, Three Inch Fools and Troubadour Stageworks. Twelfth Night also has three outings, from the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, Folksy and Miracle. There are two productions of Romeo and Juliet, from Chapterhouse and 440 Theatre. And if you want to brush up even more of your Shakespeare, the Pantaloons will tour Hamlet, Dukes Theatre tours Macbeth, Illyria tours The Merry Wives of Windsor and Immersion Theatre tours The Tempest. Much Ado About Nothing also has a tour on its own from the cycling Handlebards, and tours in a double bill with Macbeth, devised by the 440 Theatre company.
Pride and Prejudice will be toured by Chapterhouse and Illyria, and The Wind in the Willows has tours from Illyria and Immersion Theatre. Alice has both her stories on the road this year, with Adventures in Wonderland from Chapterhouse and Through the Looking Glass from Quantum.
As well as these shows, Folksy is performing Twelfth Night and Robin Hood, Festival players are touring As You Like It, Plandits are taking The Big Bad Wolf on the rounds, the Rude Mechanicals have a new show, Gentle Harry’s Farm, Illyria revives Gilbert and Sullivan’s HMS Pinafore, Chapterhouse tours Jane Eyre, Quantum tells The Tale of Jemima Puddleduck, and Three Inch Fools perform The Most Perilous Comedie of Elizabeth I. Rain or Shine, that company that cocks a snook at the weather gods, revives The Rivals, and the Pantalolons tour Robin Hood and Sense and Sensibility, and Plandits will be opening the gate to The Secret Garden.
For full details, visit the companies’ websites, and consult the FTR Arts Diary. Early booking is advised. See below for who is doing what, where and when in the south and west region of the UK.
Who’s doing what, where and when
Chapterhouse – www.chapterhouse.org
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
Dunster Castle (14 June), Pencarrow House (30 July) Bowood House (8 August), Stourhead (9 August).
Pride and Prejudice
Winchester (23 July), Dunster Castle (31 July), Laycock (1 August), Lydiard Park Swindon (15 Aug), Beaulieu Motor Museum (21 Aug) Stourhead, (30 Aug)
Romeo and Juliet
Trelissick (30 July), Holme for Gardens Wareham (2 August), Beaulieu Motor Museum (20 Aug), Stourhead ( 29 Aug), Exmouth Pavilion (2 September).
Jane Eyre
Athelhampton (2 August), Exbury Gardens (27 Aug.)
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The Dukes Theatre Company – www.thedukestheatrecompany.co.uk
Macbeth
Coronation Park Helston (11 June), Castle Lawns Bude (12 June), Torre Abbey (13 & 14] June), Kingston Lacy Wimborne (25 June), Highcliffe Castle (26 June), Bowood House Calne (15 August), Bucklers Hard (17 Aug), Trelissick Garden (3 September), Scorrier House Redruth (4 Sept), Trebah Garden (5 & 6 Sept), The Minack Theatre Porthcurno (8 to 11 Sept).
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The Festival Players – www.thefestivalplayers.co.uk
As You Like It |
Lamyatt Village Hall field (14 June), York Gardens, Bristol (19 June), Shaftesbury Abbey Garden (21 June),Woodchester Mansion Nympsfield (26 June), Manor Barn, Wootton Rivers (27 June), Tiverton High (29 June), Baggy Point Croyde (30 June), Wheal Martyn China Clay Works (1 July), Horsfall House Minchinhampton (10 July), Priory Gardens Chipping Norton (12 July), Museum in the Park Stroud (1 August), Powderham Castle Exeter (5 Aug), Filleigh Castle Hill (6 Aug), Penlee Open Air Theatre (7 Aug), Court Farm Barn Winterbourne (14 Aug), The Manor Frampton on Severn (15 Aug), Goods Shed Arts Centre Tetbury (16 Aug), Meerhay Manor Beaminster (17 Aug), Cornwallis Crescent Clifton (20 Aug), Lessex House Field Tewkesbury (24 Aug).
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Folksy Theatre – www.folksytheatre.co.uk
Angela Sprocket’s Pockets
Millennium Green Bridport (18 May), Chard School (1st June).
Twelfth Night
Marine Theatre, Lyme Regis (27 July), Forde Abbey Chard (29 July), Marwood Hill Gardens Barnstaple (30 July), Burrow Farm Gardens Axminster (31 July & 1 August), Boiling Wells Amphitheatre Bristol (2 Aug), Hestercombe Gardens (3 Augt), Watermouth Harbour Ilfracombe (5 Aug), Cannington Walled Garden (6 Aug), ECOS Amphitheatre Frome (9 Aug), Holme for Gardens Wareham (10 Aug).
Robin Hood
Hestercombe Gardens Taunton (31 July), Marine Theatre Lyme Regis (1 August), Marwood Hill Gardens Barnstaple (2 Aug), Forde Abbey Chard (3 Aug), Burrow Farm Gardens Dalwood (6 Aug), Walled Gardens Cannington (7 Aug), Holme for Gardens Wareham (10 Aug).
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The HandleBards – handlebards.com
Much Ado About Nothing
Chawton House Alton (31 May), Sustainability Centre East Meon (1 June), Furzey Gardens Minstead (5 to 7 June), Larmer Tree Tollard Royal (8 June), Castle Court School Corfe Mullen(11 June), Brownsea Island Poole Harbour (12 & 13 June), Maumbury Rings Dorchester (15 June), Marine Theatre Lyme Regis (17 June), Robert Glanville Playing Fields Wells (19 June), Yeo Valley Organic Garden (20 June), Pound Arts Corsham (24 June), Organic Farm Shop at Abbey Home Farm Cirencester (25 June), Rococco Garden Painswick (26 to 28 June), The Manor Notgrove Cheltenham ( 29 June).
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Illyria Theatre Co – www.illyria.co.uk
The Wind in the Willows
Helston Coronation Park (24 May), Penlee Park Theatre Penzance (26 May), Pentillie Castle Saltash (27 May), Ebbingford Manor Bude (28 May), Cockington Court Torquay (29 May), Laycock Abbey (30 May), Castle Drogo (20 June), Minack Theatre Porthcurno (24 -27 June), Steeple Langford Cricket Ground (29 June), Exbury Gardens (6 Aug), Kingston Lacy Wimborne (7 Aug), Sherborne House Garden (8 Aug), Glastonbury Abbey (13 Aug), Arlington Court Barnstaple (24 Aug).
Pride and Prejudice
Helston Coronation Park(14 June), Penlee Park Penzance (15 June), Hartland Abbey (17 June), Glastonbury Abbey (21 June), Cockington Court Torquay (15 July), Killerton House (16 July), Sherborne House Garden (17 July), Arundells Salisbury (25 July), Garden House Yelverton (26 July), Ebbingford Manor Bude (27 July), Baggy Point Croyde (28 July),
Sterts Theatre Liskeard (29 July), ECOS Frome (5 Aug), Corfe Castle (7 Aug).
The Merry Wives of Windsor
Helston Coronation Park (5 July), Penlee Park Penzance (7 July), Castle Hill Estate Filleigh (8 July), Garden House Yelverton (18 July), Wheal Martyn Clayworks St Austell (2 Aug), The Elizabethan Evening at Manor Farm Corsley (3 Aug), Cockington Court Torquay (5 Aug), Ebbingford Manor Bude (6 Aug), Yeo Valley Organic Garden Chew Valley (19 Aug), Castle Gardens Sherborne (20 Aug), Corfe Castle (21 Aug).
HMS Pinafore
Penlee Park Penzance (19 July), Hearn Field Combeinteignhead (20 July), Hartland Abbey (22 July), Castle Drogo (23 July), Sherborne House Garden (29 July), Killerton House Exeter (31 July), Maumbury Rings Dorchester (1 Aug), Bishop’s Palace Gardens Wells (2 Aug), Tapeley Park Bideford (26 Aug), Ebbingford Manor Bude (27 Aug), Sterts Theatre Liskeard (28 Aug),
ECOS Frome (29 Aug), Heywood House Trowbridge (6 Sept), Wheal Martyn Clayworks St Austell (13 Sept), Helston Coronation Park (14 Sept).
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Immersion Theatre – www.immersiontheatre.co.uk
The Tempest
ECOS Frome (6 Aug).
The Wind in the Willows
Athelhampton House Puddletown (21 June), Torre Abbey Torquay(22 June), American Museum Bath (2 Aug), Lydiard Park Swindon (3 Aug).
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The Lord Chamberlain’s Men – www.tlcm.co.uk
Twelfth Night
Glastonbury Abbey (4 June), Athelhampton House Puddletown (5 June), Rack Close, Salisbury Cathedral (6-7 June), American Museum Bath (12 June), Kingston Lacy Wimborne (17-18 July), Tyntesfield Wraxall (19 July), Bishop’s Palace Wells (20 July), Killerton House Exeter (22 July), Dartington Hall Totnes (23 July), Dyrham Park (25-26 July), Breamore House (9 Aug).
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Miracle Theatre – miracletheatre.co.uk
Twelfth Night
Hearn Field Combinteignhead (27 June), Poltimore House (17 July), Ibberton Village Hall (31 July), Kimmeridge Bay (1 Aug), Sandford Orcas (2 Aug).
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The Pantaloons – thepantaloons.co.uk
Sense and Sensibility
The Vyne Basingstoke (28 June), Bishops Palace Wells (2 July), Winterbourne Medieval Barn nr Bristol (24 July), American Museum Bath (25 July).
Robin Hood
Highcliffe Castle (3 July), Beckington Memorial Hall, (4 July), Barrington Court
(5 July), Maumbury Rings Dorchester (6 July), Hookshouse Pottery 
Gardens Tetbury (19 July), Avington Quarry Winchester (10 Aug), Ebbingford Manor Bude (13 Aug), Scarr Bandstand Coleford (17 Aug).
Hamlet
Dean Garden Room Parkend (24 July), Montacute House (25 July), The Lodge Eggesford (27 Aug), Castle Hill Filleigh (28 Aug), Midelney Manor Langport (29 Aug), Churchinford Cricket Ground (31 Aug), Bishops Palace Wells (3 Sept).
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Plandits Theatre – www.theplandits.co.uk
The Secret Garden
Bishops Waltham Festival (29 June), Garden Theatre Festival Bath (13 July), Tuckwell Amphitheatre Cheltenham (13 Aug), Badock Gardens, Devon (19 Aug), RHS Garden Rosemoor (21 Aug), Penlee Park Open Air Theatre (24 Aug), Arundells Salisbury (27 Aug).
The Big Bad Wolf
Windmill Hill Farm Bristol (12 July), Tuckwell Amphitheatre Cheltenham (13 Aug), Itchen Valley Country Park (15 Aug), Athelhampton House Puddletown (16 Aug), Castle Hill Filleigh (20 Aug), Falcon Hotel Bude (22 Aug), Trebah Garden (23 Aug), Penlee Park Open Air Theatre (24 Aug).
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Quantum Theatre – www.quantumtheatre.co.uk
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Fri 20 June, Hinton Ampner Winchester 20th and 27th June
The Tale of Jemima Puddleduck
Cannington Walled Garden (13 July), Tresanton Hotel St Mawes (6 Aug), Trebah Gardens Falmouth (7 Aug), Lapford Mill Crediton (9 Aug), Fyne Court Bridgwater (10 Aug).
Alice Through the Looking Glass.
Yeo Valley Organic Gardens (23 July), Highcliffe Castle (24 July), Hinton Ampner
(8th and 15th Aug), Trelissick Garden (20 Aug), Penlee Park Penzance (21 Aug),
Cannington Walled Garden (22 Aug).
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Rain or Shine – www.rainorshine.co.uk
The Rivals
Museum in the Park Stroud (7 June), Manor House, Amberley, Rodborough Common (15 June),
Roman Villa Rockbourne (22 June), School Room Garden Badgworth (26 June), Bishop’s Waltham Palace (29 June), Ogbourne Maizey (3 July), Bishop Wordsworth’s School Salisbury (4 July), Upper Leigh Farm East Knoyle (25 July), Holme for Gardens Wareham (26 July), Prince Albert Gardens Swanage (11 Aug), Corn Barn Cullompton (20 Aug), Knackershole Garden Theatre Dulverton (22 Aug), Maumbury Rings Dorchester (28 Aug).
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The Rude Mechanicals – www.therudes.co.uk
Gentle Harry’s Farm
Square and Compass Worth Matravers (13 June), Abbey House Abbotsbury (14 June), Mill Farm Bradford Abbas(3 July), Village Hall Field Stourpaine (4 July), Fairfield House Stogursey (24 July), Child Okeford Playing Field (25 July), Baltonsborough Village Hall Field (26 July).
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Three Inch Fools – www.threeinchfools.com
The Most Perilous Comedie of Elizabeth I
Beaminster Manor (3 June), Wells Bishops Palace (13 Aug), Hearn Farm Combeinteignhead
(15 Aug), Ebbingford Manor Bude (16 Aug), Pentillie Castle (20 Aug), Highcliffe Castle (21 Aug), Berkeley Castle (31st August and 1st September), Museum of Somerset Taunton (3 Sept), Marine Theatre Lyme Regis (4 Sept).
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Highcliffe Castle (14 Aug), Dunster Castle (16 Aug), Ebbingford Manor Bude (17 Aug), Stone Lane Gardens Chagford (20 Aug), Brownsea Island Poole Harbour (21st and 22nd August).
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Troubadour Stageworks – www.troubadourstageworks.com
A Midsummer Nights Dream
Kingsettle Stud Hampshire (29 June), Hatch House Wiltshire (20 July), Penlee Park Theatre, Penzance (21 July), Sterts Theatre Liskeard (22 July), Trebah Garden Falmouth (23 July).
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440 Theatre – www.440theatre.co.uk
Romeo and Juliet
Coronation Park Helston (23 June), Penlee Park Theatre Penzance (24 June), Trebah Garden Falmouth (25 June), Bude Castle (26 June), Badock Gardens Holsworthy (27 June), Torre Abbey Torquay (28 June).
Much Ado About Nothing & Macbeth (double bill)
Tapeley Park Bideford (12 Aug), Taunton Brewhouse (13th and 14th August), Torre Abbey Torquay (15th and 16th August), Lapford Mill Crediton (19 August), Bude Castle (21 Aug), Penlee Park Theatre Penzance (22 Aug), Falmouth Poly (23 Aug).