Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre returns this summer with a pair of unmissable theatrical delights staged in the atmospheric theatre-in-the-round.
The open-air season will run from Saturday, 1 July to Sunday, 27 August.
Tickets go on sale to Storyhouse Members from Friday, 24 February and on general sale on Friday, 3 March, costing from £25.30 (£23 for Storyhouse members).
Shakespeare’s magical A Midsummer Night’s Dream will open the Grosvenor Park programme on 1 July.
The enchanting new production of the fairy-filled favourite will be directed by Elvi Piper (The Not So Grimm Twins – a Wrongsemble and Gala Durham co-production BOY Leeds Conservatoire) and is suitable for children aged six and up.
Prepare to be whisked away to the circus as sprites, young lovers and ‘rude mechanicals’ become entwined in the Bard’s fantastical tale.
It will be followed by F Scott Fitzgerald’s classic The Great Gatsby, brought to the stage in a new adaptation by writer Deborah McAndrew and directed by Conrad Nelson who previously both worked on Grosvenor Park’s sparkling production of Pride and Prejudice in 2021.
The play, which opens on 21 July and is appropriate for ages 14 and over, promises to plunge audiences into the glamorous and decadent world of New York high society in the Roaring 20s.
And following the success of Alice in Wonderland in the park last season there will also be a new promenade show – The Wind in the Willows – for children aged five and under and their grown-ups.
The Grosvenor Park ‘village’ will also return with the popular tepee bar, seating areas, games, wood fired pizzas, cocktails and more.
And The Other Stage located in the festival tepee will host extra events and activities organised as part of the two-month park residency including live acoustic music, comedy and storytelling.
Storyhouse producer Helen Redcliffe says: “Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre is back with a bang! We’re thrilled to be working with Deborah McAndrew and Conrad Nelson again; their version of The Great Gatsby will be a raucous, sparkling, sensational show bringing the hedonistic Jazz era to the open-air theatre.
“Meanwhile A Midsummer Night’s Dream is Shakespeare’s most playful comedy and is perfect for audiences from the ages of six to 96. Director Elvi Piper is a brilliant talent and I know she’s going to create an unmissable Shakespearean treat for our theatregoers this summer. Plus, our pizza oven is back on site alongside a bigger and better food and drink offer including a BBQ and delicious liege waffles! So, this year you’re invited to the park whether for Shakespeare, Gatsby, pizza or a beer!”
Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre is sponsored by MBNA, the major Chester based employer has backed the park since 2019.
Tickets cost £25.30 – £48.50 (members £23 – £45). Children aged 12 and under go free when accompanied by a full paying adult (A Midsummer Night’s Dream only)
For more details and to book visit www.grosvenorparkopenairtheatre.co.uk/
ENDS
For more information, contact:
Nancy Davies
Storyhouse
07886 743531
LISTINGS
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
1 July – 27 August 2023
Press Night 12 July 2023
The Great Gatsby
21 July – 27 August 2023
FULL SHOW SCHEDULE
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
| 01-Jul-23 | 2pm |
| 01-Jul-23 | 7.30pm |
| 02-Jul-23 | 12pm |
| 02-Jul-23 | 5pm |
| 08-Jul-23 | 2pm |
| 08-Jul-23 | 7.30pm |
| 12-Jul-23 7.30pm PRESS NIGHT
15-Jul-23 |
2pm |
| 15-Jul-23 | 6pm |
| 16-Jul-23 | 2pm |
| 23-Jul-23 | 2pm |
| 23-Jul-23 | 6pm |
| 27-Jul-23 | 2pm |
| 29-Jul-23 | 2pm |
| 30-Jul-23 | 2pm |
| 02-Aug-23 | 2pm |
| 03-Aug-23 | 2pm |
| 05-Aug-23 | 2pm |
| 06-Aug-23 | 2pm |
| 09-Aug-23 | 7.30pm |
| 10-Aug-23 | 2pm |
| 10-Aug-23 | 7.30pm |
| 12-Aug-23 | 2pm |
| 17-Aug-23 | 2pm |
| 17-Aug-23 | 7.30pm |
| 19-Aug-23 | 2pm |
| 19-Aug-23 | 6pm |
| 20-Aug-23 | 2pm |
| 24-Aug-23 | 2pm |
| 24-Aug-23 | 7.30pm |
| 26-Aug-23 | 2pm |
| 26-Aug-23 | 6pm |
| 27-Aug-23 | 2pm |
The Great Gatsby
| 21-Jul-23 | 7.30pm |
| 22-Jul-23 | 7.30pm |
| 26-Jul-23 | 7.30pm |
| 27-Jul-23 | 7.30pmP |
| 28-Jul-23 | 7.30pm |
| 29-Jul-23 | 7.30pm |
| 30-Jul-23 | 7.30pm |
| 01-Aug-23 | 7.30pm |
| 02-Aug-23 | 7.30pm |
| 03-Aug-23 | 7.30pm |
| 04-Aug-23 | 7.30pm |
| 05-Aug-23 | 7.30pm |
| 08-Aug-23 | 7.30pm |
| 11-Aug-23 | 7.30pm |
| 12-Aug-23 | 7.30pm |
| 13-Aug-23 | 7.30pm |
| 15-Aug-23 | 7.30pm |
| 16-Aug-23 | 7.30pm |
| 18-Aug-23 | 7.30pm |
| 20-Aug-23 | 7.30pm |
| 22-Aug-23 | 7.30pm |
| 23-Aug-23 | 7.30pm |
| 25-Aug-23 | 7.30pm |
| 27-Aug-23 | 7.30pm |
TICKET PRICES
Picnic Terraces: £25.30-£36.10 (members £23 – £32.80)
Covered Picnic Terraces: £30.80-£42.80 (members £28 – £38.90)
Premium Covered Picnic Terraces: £47.50 – £48.50 (members £43 – £45)
Picnic Chairs: £28.60-£40.10 (members £26 – £36.45)
Premium Picnic Chairs: £46 – £48.50 (members £42 – £45)
About Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre
The award-winning Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre, located in Chester, is a purpose-built venue with an annual summer repertory season. Founded in 2010 by Storyhouse, it is the only full-time, site-specific professional open-air theatre company outside London.
The company produces all its work in-house under artistic director Alex Clifton.
The open-air theatre designed by the company is built each summer in Grosvenor Park, a public park in Chester. Performances are staged ‘in the round’, with the audience seated on all sides of a central stage. In 2011 the theatre switched from a traditional built stage to a more Shakespearean ‘thrust’ stage, made from woodchip. Covered seating to around 40% of terraces was introduced in 2012. In 2015, the original horseshoe shape was replaced by full ‘in the round’ seating.
Website: www.grosvenorpark.co.uk
Twitter: @storyhouselive
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Grosvenorparkopenairtheatre/
Address: Vicars Lane Chester CH1 1QQ
About Storyhouse
Storyhouse is one of the UK’s foremost cultural centres incorporating a library, theatres and a cinema. It is one of the country’s most successful arts buildings, with more than one million customer visits each year.
The pioneering new library within Storyhouse, where members of the community work alongside city librarians, boasts the longest opening hours of any UK public library and is open every day until 11pm. It runs over 2,000 sessions a year for marginalised communities
The company also runs a highly successful theatre company and the country’s most successful regional open-air theatre, in the city’s Grosvenor Park and Moonlight Flicks open air cinema.
Storyhouse currently holds the official title as the UK’s Most Welcoming Theatre and was the overall national winner in the 2018 Guardian Public Service Awards
Website: www.storyhouse.com To subscribe, visit https://www.storyhouse.com/subscribe Twitter: @storyhouselive Facebook: www.facebook.com/storyhouselive Address: Hunter Street, Chester, CH1 2AR To become a member: https://www.storyhouse.com/storyhousecard