Discover London’s best open-air theatre shows this summer: from all-out musicals in Regent Park’s famed theatre to a delightful double bill tucked away in Richmond, here’s what you need to have on your radar.
London’s outdoor theatre season is one of the great pleasures of summer in the city and 2026 offers an unusually rich programme spread across a range of venues, form grand park venues to intimate churchyard gardens.
Whether you’re after a crowd-pleasing Andrew Lloyd Webber musical under the stars, a fresh look at Shakespeare in a leafy Royal Park, or a Wilde comedy in the heart of Covent Garden, there’s something to suit every taste. Bring a picnic, pack a light layer or two and settle in for a delightful evening.
1. Cats
Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, 25 July – 12 September 2026
It has taken four decades for the UK to see a proper revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s phenomenon, but now it has, it’s landed at exactly the right venue. Directed and choreographed by Artistic Director Drew McOnie (who has previous success with Lloyd Webber, having delivered a celebrated Jesus Christ Superstar on this very stage) the production brings Cats back to London in what is shaping up to be the outdoor theatre event of the summer.
The casting includes Gary Wilmot, Melanie La Barrie and Rachael Wooding and the show runs for seven weeks only before heading out on a UK tour. For anyone who has ever wondered what Memory sounds like drifting across a Royal Park on a warm evening, now is the time to find out.
Alongside Cats, the theatre’s family show Anansi the Spider, back by popular demand after two sell-out runs at the Unicorn Theatre, runs in the daytime slot from 15 August.
2. As You Like It
Shakespeare’s Globe, 14 August – 25 Oct 2026
The Globe’s iconic wooden ‘O’ on the South Bank is the spiritual home of outdoor Shakespeare in London, and this summer’s As You Like It looks set to be one of the more distinctive productions in the theatre’s recent history.
Co-directed by Sean Holmes and playwright Charlie Josephine (who also takes on the role of Orlando) with Lola Shalam as Rosalind, this is a production built on a long and fruitful creative collaboration, with the pair having previously worked together on Cowbois at the RSC and Royal Court. Expect something bold, queer and musically alive.
For those who want their Shakespeare at its most atmospheric, the Globe’s legendary Midnight Matinees are not to be missed: these single performances of selected productions that begin just before midnight draw a crowd that is lively, enthusiastic and usually very good company. This summer’s Midnight Matinees fall on 20 June (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), 31 July (Much Ado About Nothing) and 11 September (As You Like It). Book early: they sell out.
3. A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, 20 June – 18 July 2026
The Open Air Theatre has staged more productions of Shakespeare’s most magical comedy than almost any other venue on earth and this summer brings another, this time A Midsummer Night’s Dream directed by Atri Banerjee with a folk-infused score by composer Maimuna Memon.
With the park in full summer bloom and the sky above as a natural backdrop, there are few more fitting places on the planet to watch the enchanted forest come to life, and Banerjee has promised a production that is, quite frankly, blissful. Look out also for the theatre’s new 12.30pm matinees, introduced to give audiences the option of seeing the show during the cooler hours of the afternoon.
4. The Importance of Being Earnest
The Actors’ Church, Covent Garden – 21-24 July
There are few settings more apt for an outdoor summer show than the garden of St Paul’s Church in Covent Garden (better known as the Actors’ Church) whose walls are lined with memorials to some of the greatest names in British theatre history.
This summer Dramaiocht Productions bring Oscar Wilde’s most beloved comedy The Importance of Being Earnest to the churchyard: a story of double lives, invented identities and the critical importance of being named Ernest, as sparring would-be lovers and their hapless guardians tie themselves in increasingly elaborate knots.
Prepare to feast on Wilde’s dialogue: some of the most perfectly constructed in the English language. It feels entirely at home in this intimate outdoor space, even though it’s only steps from the bustle of the piazza. The Actors’ Church also hosts Nonsense Theatre’s production of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night on 9th July.
5. Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves
The Actors’ Church, Covent Garden 17th August – 4th September 2026
If The Importance of Being Earnest has the wit, Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves has the slapstick. Alfresco Actors bring P.G. Wodehouse’s gloriously silly world to the churchyard steps in what promises to be one of the most purely enjoyable outdoor evenings of the summer.
Bertie Wooster, hapless as ever, finds himself back at the dreaded Totleigh Towers attempting to help his friend Stinker Pinker: a mission that inevitably spirals into a cascade of romantic misunderstandings, meddling aunts and schemes that never quite come off as planned.
The production features live jazz from an ensemble of actor-musicians throughout, giving the whole thing a warm, convivial atmosphere that suits both the material and the setting beautifully. Doors open 45 minutes before the performance for picnics, the bar opens at the same time, making it a complete evening out in one of London’s most characterful outdoor spaces.
6. Twelfth Night
Theatre on Kew, Royal Botanic Gardens 18 July – 23 August 2026
Every summer, the Australian Shakespeare Company makes the journey from the southern hemisphere to present Shakespeare under the stars at the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew. As the light fades through the canopy of heritage trees and the gardens settle into their evening quiet, the stage is set for an experience that feels entirely removed from the usual theatre visit.
This year’s adult production is Twelfth Night, Shakespeare’s comedy of mistaken identity, unrequited love and inspired foolishness. Tickets include daytime entry to the gardens, making it easy to spend the afternoon wandering one of London’s great green spaces before the show.
The company also presents The Wind in the Willows and Jack and the Beanstalk during the day for younger visitors, so the whole family can make a day of it.
7. Love’s Labour’s Lost
Shakespeare in the Squares, 3 June – 12 July 2026
Shakespeare in the Squares has spent a decade bringing the Bard to London’s garden squares, churchyards and parks and, in doing so, taking theatre to audiences who might never otherwise seek it out.
The company has chosen Love’s Labour’s Lost for their 10th anniversary, a witty comedy about a group of noblemen who solemnly vow to give up the company of women until, inevitably, a group of women arrive and the vows unravel spectacularly.
Directed by Toby Gordon, the production tours across London from early June to mid-July, visiting a different green space almost every night. With Dame Judi Dench as patron, this is grassroots outdoor theatre with serious pedigree, and at prices that make it one of the best-value evenings of the summer. Full tour dates and venues are listed on the company’s website.
8. Othello
The Lord Chamberlain’s Men, Various London venues including Ham House, 21 June 2026
Now in their 22nd year, the Lord Chamberlain’s Men are the UK’s leading all-male outdoor Shakespeare touring company, and 2026 marks a milestone: this is the first time in the company’s history they have staged Othello.
Shakespeare’s devastating tragedy of jealousy, manipulation and a good man destroyed by a bad one gets the company’s signature treatment: all-male casting, Elizabethan costume, live music and open air performances in some of London’s most beautiful outdoor spaces, including a performance at Ham House and Garden in Richmond in June.
The format is deliberately simple: bring your own chair and a picnic, and let one of the most powerful plays ever written do the rest. The company tours to over 70 venues across the UK each summer, so there are plenty of opportunities to catch them. Check the website for the full London-area schedule.
9. Much Ado About Nothing
Changeling Theatre Various South East London & surrounding venues, summer 2026
Celebrating their 25th anniversary, Changeling Theatre brings their beloved annual outdoor tour back to parks, gardens and historic spaces across southeast England (including venues within Greater London) with a “glamorous and gothic” take on Shakespeare’s sharpest romantic comedy Much Ado About Nothing.
Benedick and Beatrice’s battle of wits is perfect material for the open air: the comedy is broad, the plot moves quickly, and the play’s warm heart wins over audiences every time.
Changeling have built their reputation on productions that feel like a proper summer evening out rather than a cultural obligation, drawing in first-time Shakespeare audiences alongside seasoned theatregoers. Chairs, blankets and picnics are all very much encouraged. Specific London dates and venues are listed on the Changeling Theatre website. Beware, tickets tend to go quickly.
10. Love’s Labour’s Lost & Much Ado About Nothing
Orange Tree Theatre on the Hill, Thomas’s College Gardens, Richmond 31 July – 22 August 2026
One of the most thoughtfully conceived outdoor theatre events of the summer: the Orange Tree Theatre, named The Stage’s Theatre of the Year in 2025, steps outside its Richmond home for the first time, bringing a Shakespeare double-bill to the gardens of Thomas’s College on Richmond Hill.
Artistic Director Tom Littler directs Love’s Labour’s Lost as the first half of a two-play saga, co-produced with Guildford Shakespeare Company. Set in the summer of 1939, it follows four friends whose scholarly retreat is thrown into delightful chaos by the arrival of four women from town, and it ends, as Littler intends, on one of comedy’s great cliffhangers.
The same ensemble cast then picks up the story six years later in Much Ado About Nothing, set in the summer of 1945 as the same characters (Beatrice and Benedick among them) find their way back to each other in the aftermath of war. The two plays are designed to be seen together, and a double-bill gala package is available, but each works perfectly well as a standalone evening. The grounds open 90 minutes before curtain for picnics.
11. The Tale of Peter Rabbit & Benjamin Bunny
Chiswick House and Gardens, 2 August 2026
For the youngest theatregoers, there are few lovelier settings than the manicured grounds of Chiswick House, the magnificent 18th-century villa in west London, whose gardens make a fittingly bucolic backdrop for Beatrix Potter’s mischievous bunny in Peter Rabbit and the Tale of Benjamin Bunny.
This open-air staging brings the much-loved tale of Peter Rabbit and his adventures in Mr McGregor’s vegetable patch to life for a family audience, in a gentle, charming production perfectly pitched at little ones.
With the gardens to explore before and after, it makes for an easy, relaxed day out for families with young children. Pack a picnic, let them run around the lawns, and settle in for a story that has enchanted generations. A delightful introduction to live theatre for the under-sixes.
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