Daylight saving time only means one thing: no rain, although that has happened enough in 2024, but open-air theater.
Over the next two months, performances will take place in parks, gardens and other outdoor spaces to stimulate the interest of theatre-goers.
So grab a chair or a picnic blanket, fill a bag or basket, put on the sunscreen (but maybe pack a mac too) and enjoy some live entertainment in the fresh air.
This summer, Liverpool and the wider city region will welcome a host of popular returning theater groups, including The Lord Chamberlain’s Men, Illyria, The Handlebards and Folksy Theatre.
In addition, Wirral’s Off the Ground theater is touring to multiple locations – including St Luke’s Bombed Out Church – with a new production of Much Ado About Nothing,
And there’s a busy programme planned in the Sir Ken Dodd Performance Garden at Shakespeare North Playhouse in Prescot.
Here’s a look at what to see where in Liverpool, Knowsley, Sefton, Wirral and beyond.
Speke Hall
Two shows will take place on the North Lawn at Speke Hall this summer.
On Wednesday 24 July there will be the return of the popular Pantaloons in Speke, after the fast-paced story of Jane Austen’s Emma last year.
This time they will present Oscar Wilde’s ‘a trivial comedy for serious people’ The Importance of Being Earnest in what is billed as an ‘energetic and musical production’.
Missing one performance of Pantaloons can be considered an accident. Missing two performances seems like carelessness.
Luckily, there is a chance to see two productions in one summer, with the Pantaloons returning on Saturday 3 August with their wacky version of Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor.
Full details and booking HERE
Garden Theatre in Calderstones
The Garden Theater at Calderstones Mansion comes alive this summer with music, magic and lovers in love.
The public is invited to bring a chair, while food – including freshly made pizzas – and drinks will be available on site.
The season kicks off on July 18 when award-winning open-air theatre company Illyria arrives with its production of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. The show was a Critics’ Choice at the Edinburgh Fringe and received five-star reviews in Canada.
On August 4, cycling theater company The Handlebards will paddle into the park to present The Comedy of Errors.
The summer season continues on August 13 with a new production of Hamlet by The Lord Chamberlain’s Men, featuring an all-male cast, Elizabethan costumes, music and dancing.
And Illyria makes a second visit to Calderstones on August 22 with a cheeky adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle’s classic The Hound of the Baskervilles, with an evening of mystery and intrigue.
Full details and booking HERE
Church bombed
Off The Ground Theater is taking Shakespeare’s sharp comedy Much Ado About Nothing on an outdoor tour this summer, including a performance at St Luke’s on August 1.
The Wirral-based theatre company, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, is taking the production – directed by Ben Newman – across the North West and to Ireland, with the Bombed Out Church as the only performance in Liverpool.
Full details and booking HERE
Sir Ken Dodd Performance Garden, Shakespeare North Playhouse in Prescot
A full schedule of performances is planned for the Ken Dodd Performance Garden between now and September.
Cream-Faced Loons Theater Company, known as The Loons, arrives at Shakespeare North on July 27 to present Shakespeare – But Just the Deaths!
And Jennifer Reid, a performer of 19th century Lancashire dialect and Victorian ballads, returns on August 1 to present One Night in Prescot.
The season continues on August 2 with The Pantaloons bringing irresistible slapstick silliness to Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor, while The HandleBards head to Prospero Place on August 6 and 7 with The Comedy of Errors, and Shake-Scene Shakespeare makes its Prescot debut from August 15 to 17 with a double bill of As You Like It and Antony and Cleopatra.
Folksy Theatre brings Angela Sprockets Pockets to the venue on 20 and 21 August, and Alas! Poor Yorick (22-24 August) is an entertaining excavation of work and political systems through the eyes of the gravediggers in Shakespeare’s Hamlet.
Four Forty Theatre is back with a British Summertime Shakespeare! Performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream on 27th and 28th August, with the Bard’s beloved comedy performed by four actors in 40 minutes. Or maybe an hour….
And finally, People Zoo Productions looks at possibly Shakespeare’s most delightful romantic comedy from a different perspective in Much Adogberry About Nothing, showing in the performance garden from August 29 to 31.
Full details and booking HERE
Knowsley Hall
The Lord Chamberlain’s Men celebrate their 20th anniversary in 2024 and make their annual visit to Knowsley Hall this month – this time with Shakespeare’s great tragedy Hamlet.
The all-male touring group’s performance, dressed in traditional Elizabethan costumes, will take place in the beautiful gardens of Knowsley on Wednesday, July 10.
To go or not to go? That is the question. Of course, the answer should be: go!
Full details and booking HERE
Coronation Park Crosby/Crosby Hall
Award-winning open-air theatre company Illyria comes to Crosby this month with a pair of shows on consecutive days.
See Shakespeare’s heartbroken tale, Romeo and Juliet, in a passionate, poetic and moving production at Coronation Park on Saturday 13 July.
And on Sunday 14 July, Crosby Hall is the place for young and old to discover Hugh Lofting’s timeless classic The Adventures of Doctor Doolittle, in a stage adaptation by Oliver Gray.
Full details and booking HERE
Claremont Farm, Bebington
The busy people of Illyria arrive at Claremont Farm on July 25 with their touring production of The Adventures of Doctor Doolittle.
One day, Doctor Doolittle, with the help of his wise old parrot Polynesia, makes an extraordinary discovery: he can talk to animals!
As news of his unique talent spreads, animals from all over the world send messages asking for his help. So he buys a leaky old boat and embarks on an exciting quest.
Illyria also returns to Claremont Farm on August 29 with Romeo and Juliet.
Meanwhile, Beatrice and Benedick are bringing their bickering to Claremont Farm on July 28, presented by theater company Off the Ground.
Off the Ground’s summer tour also includes Queen’s Park in Meols on July 24, Birkenhead Priory on July 25, Future Yard in Birkenhead on July 30, Burton Manor on July 31, Royden Park on August 2 and 3 and Gordale Garden Center in South Wirral on August 4.
Full details and booking HERE
The Dell at Port Sunlight
Folksy Theatre, which specialises in touring rural areas in the UK, visits Port Sunlight every August.
Shakespeare’s pastoral comedy As You Like It will be performed at The Dell in the village on August 14.
Full details and booking HERE
Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre, Chester
A new stage adaptation by Kieran Lynn of Herbert Asbury’s The Gangs of New York runs July 19-August 31
And the GPOAT company will also perform Oscar Wilde’s comedy of manners The Importance of Being Earnest from August 9 to September 1
Full details and booking HERE
