Cheltenham Open-Air Theatre Festival

Cheltenham’s ever-popular Open-Air Theatre Festival at The Bacon Theatre will be returning this summer for more alfresco stage entertainment and cinema under the stars.

The Tuckwell Amphitheatre at Cheltenham’s Bacon Theatre will be playing host to the Open-Air Theatre Festival once again in 2010, giving music lovers, drama fans, film buffs and families the perfect opportunity to pack deck chairs and picnics for a host of must-do events.

Celebrating its seventh birthday, organisers say audiences can expect another compelling mix of laid-back music, sophisticated Shakespeare, alfresco cinema, quirky theatre productions and local drama under the stars between Thursday 15 July and Sunday 1 August 2010.

Set in an idyllic spot, The Open-Air Theatre Festival will once again be catering to an eclectic range of audiences all hoping for a fantastic evening of entertainment on a balmy summer’s evening – booking tickets in advance cannot be recommended more strongly if this sounds like your cup of tea.

Jazz on a Summer’s Evening

Thursday 15 July 2010

Always hugely popular, and always guaranteed to sell-out, Peter Gill will be returning to the festival for two performances in 2010.

Don’t miss the chance to listen to the local performer’s laid-back jazz, blues and boogie woogie under the stars.

This event starts at 7.30pm, and tickets cost £15, or £13 for concessions available from ticketweb.co.uk.

Cinema Under The Stars: Dirty Dancing

Tuesday 20 July 2010

For those looking to kick off their shoes and enjoy a generous dose of romance on a balmy summer’s evening, a mid-week showing of 1987 hit Dirty Dancing at Tuckwell Amphitheatre should just about cut the mustard!

Leave the lads at home, crack open a bottle of wine and make sure you snag some ringside seats for this 80s epic starring the one and only Patrick Swayze.

This event starts at 9.15pm, and tickets cost £6 available from ticketweb.co.uk.

The Importance of Being Earnest

Wednesday 21 July 2010

Staged by the ever popular Gloucester-based Rain or Shine Theatre Company, Tuckwell Amphitheatre will be filled with the sound of laughter when Oscar Wilde’s classic comedy is performed by the professional troupe.

Expect ‘hilarious confusion in a world of handbags, perambulators, cucumber sandwiches, muffins, butlers, and the English upper class,’ organisers say.

This event starts at 7.30pm, and tickets cost from £10 to £12 available from ticketweb.co.uk. For more information see The Importance of Being Earnest at Tuckwell Amphitheatre.

Miracle Theatre’s Romeo and Juliet

Saturday 24 July 2010

You can’t beat a pair of star-crossed lovers if an evening of compelling, passionate theatre is what you’re after and Miracle Theatre’s reworking of Romeo and Juliet looks set to take the Bacon Theatre’s open-air stage by storm.

Sure to appeal to theatre-goers young and old, the weekend performance of Shakespeare’s popular tale of conflict, love and hate intoxicate you (although perhaps bring a flask of wine for good measure).

This event starts at 7.30pm, and tickets cost £13 available from ticketweb.co.uk.

The Dragon’s Daughter

Sunday 25 July 2010

An open-air theatre treat for the whole family sees this timeless tale of magic and make-believe aimed at 4 to 7 year olds fly into the Tuckwell Amphitheatre, complete with face-painting and picnics before the show.

Organisers say in a land faraway a little boy called Hans spends his days imagining the most fantastic adventures until one starry night, a real-life baby dragon falls from the sky. Enchanting.

This event starts at 5pm, and tickets cost £10 or £30 for a family available from ticketweb.co.uk.

Cinema Under the Stars: Soul Power

Tuesday 27 July 2010

Alongside The Rumble in the Jungle, the epic fight between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman more than 35 years ago, a constellation of celebrated R&B stars came together for a three night concert: Zaire 74, including James Brown, B.B. King, Bill Withers and many other greats.

Made entirely from restored unseen footage, director Jeffrey Levy-Hinte’s 2008 documentary Soul Power gives a Cheltenham audience the chance to relive some of music’s greatest performers at the height of the career, all on the big screen.

This event starts at 9.15pm, and tickets cost £6 available from ticketweb.co.uk.

Festival Players’ The Tempest

Wednesday 28 July 2010

Celebrating 25 years of professional theatre, The Festival Players’ will be bringing its new production of Shakespeare’s final comedy to the Tuckwell Amphitheatre this July.

Featuring the exiled Duke Prospero, and of course a tempestuous storm, this tale for all the family promises to fascinate audiences old and young.

This event starts at 7.30pm, and tickets cost £12 or £10 for concessions available from ticketweb.co.uk.

Jenny Wren Productions’ The Three Musketeers

Saturday 31 July 2010

Cheltenham theatre-lovers will be transported to 17th century Paris accompanied by the Three Musketeers in this latest stage adaptation of Alexandre Dumas’ timeless novel.

Combining sword-fighting, scheming, spying and a secret rendez-vous, this play promises to provide action-packed fun for ‘toute la famille’.

This event starts at 7pm, and tickets cost £10 or £8 for concessions available from ticketweb.co.uk.

More Jazz on a Summer’s Evening

Sunday 1 August 2010

Closing the Open-Air Theatre Festival 2010 will be the ever-popular Cheltenham performer Peter Gill, for another fantastic helping of cool jazz for a balmy summer’s evening.

Performing different songs this will be a night to compliment his earlier concert, finishing with a bang with a spectacular fireworks finale.

This event starts at 7.30pm, and tickets cost £15 or £13 for concessions available from ticketweb.co.uk.

Book Open Air Theatre Festival tickets directly through ticketweb.co.uk.