The return of the outdoor summer theatre is like meeting old friends again, and we’ve got a grand bunch to reunite with this year. Inside the city, it’s wall to wall Shakespeare, with a good range of the rarer plays, plus some old faves.
City Limits
Oxford Theatre Guild are back in their well-trod spot at the back of Uni Parks, near the rainbow bridge, staging All’s Well That Ends Well. It’s set in Bohemian France, in the 1930s, as Helen follows her beloved Bertram to war, determined to win him back. We loved last year’s Twelfth Night, we’re looking forward to AWTEW.
OTG All’s Well That Ends Well, 14 - 25 July 2026
Creation Theatre have been performing outdoor Shakespeare for 30 summers, and if there’s a park they haven’t played in, we haven’t found it. This year they’re taking over Wolfson Cricket Ground for two shows, a reprise of last year’s brilliant A Midsummer Night’s Dream, interlaced with a new Twelfth Night, with a small cast, so expect inventive doubling of parts. Plus there are a couple of performances of Creation’s Young Company’s Robin Hood. Seating is mainly on picnic blankets, so bring a picnic!
Creation Summer Shakespeare: A Midsummer Night's Dream, 8th July - 14th August 2026
AND
Summer Shakespeare: Twelfth Night, 15th July - 16th August 2026
Both at Wolfson College Cricket Ground, Oxford
In the Castle, the Oxford Shakespeare Festival has expanded to four different companies, including stalwarts BMH and Wild Goose. BMH kick off with Julius Caesar, presented as a political thriller. Wild Goose follow on, with Macbeth. For both of these long-standing castle residents, expect a slick and intelligent classic interpretation - a show that’s useful for anyone studying the play and really satisfying for anyone who just wants to be entertained. They’re joined by Siege Theatre, staging Romeo & Juliet, set during the US War of Independence. It’s an explosive backdrop for love and disloyalty. And first-timers Greensleeved Productions present Yorick or The Skull, a new work woven around a core of Hamlet. The Castle’s amphitheatre-like seating is a great place to watch from, and the prison building itself will make a great backdrop to this dark and brooding season.
BMH Productions Presents: Shakespeare's Julius Caesar 22 Jun – 04 Jul 2026
Macbeth, Wild Goose, 06 Jul – 01 Aug 2026
Romeo & Juliet - Siege Theatre (set in US War of Independence) 03 Aug – 15 Aug 2026
Yorick or the Skull - Greensleeved Productions - 21st - 22nd Aug 2026
Get out - you’re bard!
Outside the city bounds old Will loosens his grip a little. The next three spaces are great destinations, and host a wonderfully eclectic collection of shows between them. Waterperry Gardens, out to the east of Oxford, near Wheatley, host not only an annual Opera Festival, but also a number of plays by touring companies. This year they include Othello and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Great Gatsby, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and Treasure Island, and opera-wise everything from Peter Rabbit to La Bohème. There’ll be performances going on from the end of June through to mid-September, and we think there’s something for everyone there.
Othello – The Lord Chamberlain’s Men Sun, 28th June @6:30 pm - 8:40 pm
A Midsummer Night’s Dream - Sat, 5th September @5:00 pm - 8:00 pm
The Great Gatsby - Sat, 12th September @5:00 pm - 6:30 pm
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz – Sat, 29th August @2:30 pm Matinee, and @5:00 pm
Treasure Island – Quantum Theatre Sat, 1st August @5:00 pm - 6:30 pm
AND Waterperry Opera Festival - 7th - 16th August
Further east, near Thame, is Lopemede Farm, who host workshops and courses, and both touring and homegrown productions. They also have a Wonderful Wizard of Oz in August, plus As You Like It, and for younger audiences Folk Tales for Curious Minds. Several of these are promenade productions, making use of the different farm spaces, and AYLI is set in the 1920s so you’re invited to Charleston, whereas Dorothy invites you to a Barn Dance before the hurricane comes. Theatre on the Farm is definitely a good choice for anyone who doesn’t want to sit still for a couple of hours, though they do stress that you don’t have to join in!
Folk Tales for Curious Minds - Sunday 5th July, 12pm & 4:30pm, age 4-10
As You Like It - Fri 7th & Fri 14th - Sun 16th Aug, 6:30pm; Sat 8th Aug, 1:30pm & 6:30pm.
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz - Thu 6th Aug, 4pm; Sun 9th, Wed 12th & Thu 13th Aug 11am & 4pm; Sat 15th & Sun 16th Aug, 11am.
On other farms, at Millets (home of the cleanest softplay known to man), Folksy bring their Midsummer Night’s Dream, complete with live music, frantic role-switching, and a soft lawn under the stars as their backdrop. Past performances have made theatre-goers cry with laughter - you’ve been warned. Meanwhile it’s a Truth universally acknowledged at Cogges that following shipwreck you should disguise yourself as a man, as Truth Told present Twelfth Night out on the lawn.
A Midsummer Night's Dream - Millets Farm, Fri 14th Aug, 7pm.
Twelfth Night - Cogges Farm, Thurs 9th - Fri 10th Jul, 6:30pm - 8:30pm
Just over into Gloucestershire sits the Cotswold Sculpture Park. As well as artworks, they too have an amphitheatre, and host touring productions, which this year include an updated Railway Children from Paperback Theatre Co, Sherlock Holmes and the Mystery of the Governor’s Nose by Jenny Wren Productions, and The Festival Players’ Comedy of Errors. You can bring cushions but not picnics to this venue, but there are a tea-room and bar on site.
The Railway Children presented by The Paperback Theatre Company - Saturday 11th July Doors at 5:30 Showtime 6:30 – 7:50 (no interval) £19 adults / £12 under 18s. Under 5s free.
Sherlock Holmes and the Mystery of the Governor’s Nose presented by Jenny Wren Productions - Saturday 1st August Doors 5:30 Showtime 6:30 – 8:30 £16 adult / £12 under 16s. Under 5s free.
The Comedy of Errors presented by The Festival Players - Thursday 20th August Doors at 5:30 Showtime 6:30 – 8:30 £19.25 adult / £17.25 over 65s & under 16s. Unders 5s free.
Waddesdon are also playing host to a wide range of touring shows, nine in all across the summer, some we’ve already mentioned in other places: The Railway Children and Treasure Island, Tempest, MSND and Twelfth Night, Sword in the Stone and The Three Musketeers, Sherlock Holmes again, though this time grappling The Hound of The Baskervilles, and the charming Everywhere’s a Beach, a non-verbal show taking place under a giant spinning beach umbrella and from the sound of it somewhere M. Hulot would fit right in. You can bring blankets or folding chairs, and picnics if you wish, and if you go on the right day these shows are free with entry to the grounds.
You can also catch The Pantaloons’ Sherlock at Sulgrave Manor near Banbury on Sat 27th Jun, 7pm, and their Twelfth Night at the same venue on Sun 9th Aug. Some have greatness thrust upon them…
Halfway through their season now, we must not forget Garsington Opera. This is the most lavish of outdoor performances, in the Glyndebourne tradition, where black tie is not unusual and the extra-long interval allows picnicking in the most picturesque of backdrops. No longer in Garsington, the opera festival can now be found on the Wormsley estate, near Lewknor, and is very much a destination for opera lovers and aesthetes alike.
Last but not least there are two amazing touring companies who use the quieter routes and tour more slowly round the country: The Handlebards, who travel on two wheels (that’s each, they use 8-10 wheels in total) and Mikron Theatre who use the canal network, which obviously affects where they can perform!
The Handlebards favour Shakespeare, and this year bring As You Like It to Asthall Manor on 1st July and the Earth Trust on 2nd. They’re back at the Earth Trust with Macbeth on 19th July, and at the other end of the summer they perform Macbeth in the Mill Arts Centre, Banbury, on 9th Sept (we do realise that isn’t outdoor…). We have really enjoyed their previous works, and we think we can safely say they’re the fittest bunch of actors we know of, and the best at mending punctures.
Handlebards:As You Like It, Earth Trust, July 2nd @ 7:00 pm
As You Like It, Asthall Manor, Wed 1 Jul 2026 7:00 PM
Macbeth, Earth Trust, July 19th @ 7:30 pm
Macbeth, Mill Arts Centre Banbury, September 9th @ 7:30 pm
Mikron write their own all-singing, all-dancing shows, often with a social history bent, and we’ve previously enjoyed their history of the bicycle among others, in Wolvercote. This year they’re touring Wensleydale Whey, a show crammed full of cheese-puns and chasing a lost recipe, and Top of the Wold, set on board a rather erratic mobile library. Mikron may have started in 1972 but they have the soul of a medieval troupe, pitching up and entertaining folks up and down the land. Catch them if you can. And since they’re going about 4mph you should be able to!
Mikron (on a canal boat):
Top of the Wold – North Aston Village Green, June 18th @ 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Top of the Wold – Marcy Fields near Uffington, July 12th @ 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Top of the Wold – Eyot Centre, Henley-on-Thames, July 14th @ 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Top of the Wold – Wallingford Garden – No 1, High Street, July 25th @ 12:00 pm - 2:00 pm
Top of the Wold – Plough Inn Long Wittenham, July 29th @ 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Top of the Wold – The Boat Inn Thrupp, July 31st @ 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Top of the Wold – The Pig Place Adderbury, August 2nd @ 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Top of the Wold – Wharf House Cropredy, August 8th @ 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
AND
Wensleydale Whey – The Oxford Science Park, June 19th @ 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Wensleydale Whey – Wallingford Garden – No 1, High Street, July 19th @ 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Wensleydale Whey – Plough Inn Long Wittenham, July 28th @ 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Wensleydale Whey – Plough Inn Wolvercote, July 30th @ 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Wensleydale Whey – Kizzies Cafe Garden Lower Heyford, August 1st @ 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Wensleydale Whey – Eynsham Cricket Club, August 4th @ 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Wensleydale Whey – Wharf House Cropredy, August 11th @ 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Whatever you go to, we wish you the best of luck with the weather, the wasps, and your picnic choices, but joking aside we urge you to go to something - there are shows to suit all theatregoers, moods, and budgets, and there’s something really lovely about claiming these spaces for art, listening to great drama as the bats begin to circle and night falls, and enjoying the same tradition of storytelling that humans have gone in for since we lived in caves. Nowadays we just have better picnic blankets. Have fun!
Image credits: Geraint Lewis, Wild Goose Theatre, Paperback Theatre, Mikron Theatre