Outdoor Entertainment this Summer

Outdoor Entertainment in Mid Devon, Summer 2023

Mid Devon is buzzing with fun-filled events and entertainment.  Now the days extend long into the evening, it’s time to enjoy some outdoor garden entertainment.  With a range of plays and shows on offer, here’s where you can indulge in some cultural leisure time this summer:

Image courtesy of Sun & Moon Theatre 

Romeo and Juliet, performed by the Sun & Moon Theatre: Thursday 22 June – Saturday 5 August

Thursday 22 June, 7pm  – The Walronds, Cullompton

Friday 21 July, 7pm – Lapford Mill, Crediton

Saturday 5 August, 7pm– Knackershole Theatre, Dulverton

Sun & Moon Theatre are delighted to be returning to venues across Mid Devon after their successful ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ with a vibrant, emotional, and bold open-air production of Shakespeare’s most popular drama of star-crossed lovers and warring families. The feud between the Montagues and Capulets has been reimagined as a rivalry between two family-run movie studios in the 1930s.

Touted as the studio’s latest ‘Golden Couple’, Juliet, the current ‘Girl Next Door’ has been matched up with matinee idol, Paris. Former child star, Romeo, is initially besotted by studio ‘It Girl’ Rosaline, until he falls for Juliet at the Capulets’ premiere after-party. Their lives controlled by this turbulent industry and period, Juliet and Romeo find joy, solace and excitement in their hasty romance, a desire for something true in an artificial world, and most of all, a hope for a better future. But comedy meets tragedy as fate has other ideas for them; behind the glitz and glamour of the film industry lies dark secrets and insecurities, and when their defiant union faces great opposition, it leads to violence, chaos, and despair.

Suitable for all ages, join us on a summer’s night for the world’s most famous love story, featuring live music, fights, humour, and tears, as we explore the love and conflict between friends, families, and couples, that still rings true today.

For more information, visit: Sun & Moon Theatre

Image courtesy of Tiverton Community Arts Theatre 

Twelfth Night Outdoor Show: Sunday 25 June, from 7pm

Tiverton Community Arts Theatre (TCAT) is delighted to welcome back Festival Players International, a professional theatre company delivering the best in open-air Shakespeare, and committed to presenting the very best in touring theatre. The company continues to grow in reputation internationally. This year, Festival Players International brings you Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night.

This great romantic comedy has all the ingredients for another engaging Shakespeare performance. In a colourful, costumed staging, brought to you with the Players’ customary energy, clarity and professionalism, this tale of the pursuit of love hampered by disguise, mistaken identity, and a great deal of boisterous and hilarious trickery, is assured to entertain.

A summer treat for the whole family. Licensed bar available – bring your own picnic and chairs / blankets.

For more information, visit: Twelfth Night – Tiverton Community Arts Theatre (tivertontheatre.com)

Image courtesy of Lapford Mill 

The Wind in the Willows at Lapford Mill: Friday 30 Jun, 5:30 – 7:00pm

Boating with Ratty, a feast with Badger and high jinx on the open road with that reckless ruffian, Mr Toad… Join Mole, Ratty and Badger on their mad-cap adventures in Quantum Theatre’s new adaptation of the Kenneth Grahame classic – a treat for all the family at Lapford Mill!

This is an outdoor production, so please bring foldaway chairs, blankets and a picnic and come dressed for the weather! Free parking.

For more information, visit: Lapford Mill | Quantum Theatre

Much Ado About Nothing: Saturday 18 June – Sunday 9 July

Crediton Arts Centre are touring their new outdoor production of Shakespeare’s ‘Much Ado About Nothing’, a witty tale of romance, deception, betrayal and redemption. Get your tickets for what promises to be a series of wonderful outdoor experiences at venues across Mid Devon.

Sun 18 June Lapford Victory Hall, 2:30pm 

Fri 23 June The Sentry, Moretonhampstead, 7pm 

Sat 24 June Holy Cross Church Car Park, Crediton, 4:30pm

Sun 25 June Jack’s Acre, Cheriton Fitzpaine, 2:30pm

Sat 1 July Newton St Cyres Arboretum, 3:00pm

Sun 2 July Newton St Cyres Arboretum, 3:00pm

Fri 7 July Sandford Millennium Green, 7pm

Sat 8 July St Andrew’s Church, Colebrooke, 2:30pm

Sun 9 July Lower Woodbeare, Kennerleigh, 2:30pm 

For more information, visit: Crediton Arts Centre event tickets from TicketSource.

Sense and Sensibility: Thursday 20 July, 7pm

The social season is upon us! Heartbreak productions cordially invites you to this year’s ‘Sense and Sensbility’ Matchmaker’s Ball. Ladies Elinor and Marianne Dashwood each seek to meet an honourable man of good fortune (and handsome countenance if possible) by whatever means necessary. As you mingle amongst the beau monde, revelry and romance will ensue and we shall witness these two sisters’ sense and sensibility. Rumours abound that royalty may even be amongst our number…

If you’re eager to partake in the ups and downs of Regency romance, don your finery and join Heartbreak productions for their open-air adaptation of Sense and Sensibility. Jane Austen’s biting social satire about sisters in straitened circumstances is sure to satiate your summer romance requirement. Pack a picnic, grab your chaise lounge (or blanket), and settle in for this literary classic with a Heartbreak twist at Killerton Garden Theatre.

Running time 2 hours and 15 minutes (with a short interval)

For more information, visit: Garden Theatre – Sense and Sensibility | National Trust

Romeo and Juliet, performed by The Lord Chamberland’s Men: Tuesday 25 July, 7pm – 9:30pm

Killerton Garden Theatre are pleased to host the Lord Chamberland’s Men as they invite you to join them this summer for the timeless and classic love story, Romeo and 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.

Packed with memorable poetry, devastating twists and turns, and burning passion this is without a doubt the greatest love story ever told. A play about the power of true love, the extraordinary sacrifices we make for it and the futility and devastating consequences of entrenched conflict.

Bring a low back chair and a picnic and prepare to be entertained and transported. Book early to avoid missing out!

For more information, visit: Garden Theatre- Romeo and Juliet – The Lord Chamberlain’s Men | National Trust

Image courtesy of Last Baguette Theatre Company 

Pandora’s Box, Crediton Town Square: Sunday 30 July, 5pm – 6:30pm

Written by Sunday Times award-winning playwright Tiff Woodsmith

Ever wondered what’s in the jar? The one on the top shelf? Why is it there? Why were you told not to look it in? Could it really be so bad? With a plethora of costume changes, a pantheon of Gods and a prohibited peek into a pithos, The Last Baguette retell the preposterous and problematic story of Pandora. A gallop through Greek mythology featuring goofy gods, hilarious heroines & daft deities. Join the Baguettes as they lift the lid on this classic myth with physical comedy, visual storytelling, live music, un-Apollo-getically bad puns and lo-fi special effects.

A show for anyone aged 6 to 126 who’s ever asked why. The Last Baguette theatre company makes entertaining, accessible and eccentric work for family audiences, and is resident company at Pound Arts, Corsham. The company was formed from a shared love of theatre, bakery and humour in Paris by graduates of the Philippe Gaulier and Jacques Lecoq schools.

For more information, visit: The Last Baguette present PANDORA’S BOX | crediton-arts (creditonartscentre.org)

Bad Dad: Saturday 5 August, 6pm – 8:30pm

Join Heartbreak Productions for this warm-hearted tale that follows the highs and lows of a father-son relationship. An open-air adaptation of David Walliams Bad Dad is the perfect summer family entertainment.

Gather round and give three cheers for Reverend Judith. She is receiving the Citizen of the Year Award for her amazing work with the food bank. Come congratulate her and hear how it all started with Frank and his dad, Gilbert. Gilbert is a bit of a local celebrity. He was no other than the legendary ‘king of the track’, Gilbert the Great. That was until a tragic accident put a stop to his track-racing days. Driven to desperate measures in order to provide for his son, he agrees to become a get-away driver for the local baddies.

Pack your picnics, grab your wet weather gear or sun-cream (or both), something to sit on, and join Frank and Gilbert as they navigate their way through car chases and convicts in the struggle to escape the clutches of the local crime lord and clear Gilbert’s name.

For more information, visit: Garden Theatre – Bad Dad | National Trust

Outdoor Cinema: Friday 1 to Sunday 3 September, 8:30pm

Adventure Cinema are bringing their outdoor cinema experience to Knightshayes for three nights in September:

Friday 1 September: Elvis (12)

Saturday 2 September: Grease (PG)

Sunday 3 September: Top Gun: Maverick (12)

Gates open at 7:00pm and the film starts when the sun goes down at 8:30pm.

For more information, visit: Knightshayes Court | Outdoor Cinema in Tiverton (adventurecinema.co.uk)

Image courtesy of Knackershole Garden Theatre

Knackershole Garden Theatre: Tuesday 18 July – Saturday 26 August

Dulverton’s Knackershole Garden Theatre, a beautifully unique outdoor theatre space, will be hosting a series of live performances over the summer:

Tuesday 18 July: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 7 – 9pm

Saturday 5 August: Romeo and Juliet, 7 – 9pm

Wednesday 9 August: The Jabberwocky & Other Nonsense 7 – 9pm

Sunday 13 August: Dr Doolittle, 1– 2pm & The Great Gatsby, 5 – 7pm

Friday 18 August: Pandora’s Box, 7 – 9pm

Saturday 26 August: The Day of the Triffids, 6 – 8pm

For more information, visit: Upcoming events – Booking by Bookwhen

Please note: all of these performances are all held outside so visitors are advised to be prepared with appropriate seasonal clothing and keep an eye on the weather.  Many of the venues have alternative arrangements in place in case of adverse weather but please check the event information with the provider for further details.  Visitors should be willing to bring their own chairs or picnic blankets, unless stated otherwise by the provider.