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I'm Andrzej, the theatre editor at Time Out, and as I type this we’re having a balmy early May and nothing on the planet seems as wonderful as the London open air theatre season, which has just begun. Obviously it’s not going to last, but open air season is – as much as anything else – an annual act of defiance of the English weather, and there’s nothing wrong with that. Here’s my pick of the most exciting open air shows to see this season, which starts now and runs on until basically the end of October
Funniest show: Shucked
Timothy Sheader was one of London’s longest-serving artistic directors, having run the Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre – on the whole, brilliantly – for 18 years until he surprisingly went off to the Donmar last year. As far as it’s possible to tell from a single summer season, Drew McOnie has not tinkered heavily with the OAT’s musicals-heavy formula, but he has got one hell of a musical to open his season. Shucked is a heavyweight Broadway smash that one would have probably expected to go into the West End (and it might still do so). But instead it opens McOnie’s tenure at the OAT. Apparently it is very, very funny, a story of corn-loving hillbillies who venture into the big city for the first time after their corn harvest fails.
Open Air Theatre, May 10-Jun 14. Book tickets here.
Heaviest show: The Crucible
The Shakespeare’s Globe outdoor season is always pretty damn reliable and while there are a couple of more outre choices for 2025 – Troilus and Cressida, anyone? – you can take my word for it that the whole thing looks like a safe bet. The big point of interest this summer is Ola Ince’s revival of Arthur Miller’s all time American classic The Crucible – I believe I’m right in saying that there has never been either an American play or a twentieth century play staged there. But with its epic scope, shadings of the magical and close-to-Shakespeare’s-day setting, The Crucible feels like a fit so perfect it’s incredible it hasn’t been done before.
Shakespeare’s Globe, May 8-Jul 12. Book tickets here.
Closest to your home: Shakespeare in the Squares
Shakespeare in the Squares feels like the sort of concept that should be a decades-old London tradition, but in fact the company has only been around since 2016. The concept is pretty simple: each year the company tours a Shakespeare play around London’s most charming garden squares (plus a few other outside spaces so it’s not purely a tour of west London, although if you’ve ever wanted to hit up a posh west London square, this is your chance). And the Shakespeare is decent: none of the big names of the Globe or RSC and the productions are usually somewhat truncated, but thoughtful takes nonetheless. Which should stand them in good stead for this summer’s pop hit-drenched take on The Taming of the Shrew, a deeply problematic play that can nonetheless be a lot of fun if approached smartly.
Various locations, Jun 4-Jul 12.
Most fabulous: West End Live
There is nothing else in the UK quite like this enormous free festival of musical theatre, which takes over Trafalgar Square for a weekend every June. The deal is pretty simple: for two days the casts of a load of musicals sing a handful of their greatest hits, and while it’s clearly not the same thing as getting a full show, it’s a hell of a lot of incredible songs. A word to the wise: a lot of the biggest shows pile their West End Live slots in before their 2.30pm Saturday matinees and the crowd area can hit capacity very quickly at this time.
Trafalgar Square, Jun 21 and 22.
Best for families: Theatre on Kew
Kew Gardens has a longstanding theatrical partnership with the Australian Shakespeare Company, which is a bit odd when you’re first presented with it but kind of makes sense insofar as the ASC has a repertoire of all-ages open-air shows ready to go and appears to be happy to decamp to west London during the notoriously harsh Australian winters. It’s one of the best spots in London to go for family open-air theatre, not least because your ticket to the show gets you general entry to Kew. This year’s kids shows are The Dream Fairies (for little ones) and Alice in Wonderland (for bigger ones), or for an ultra atmospheric bit of more adult theatre there’s Macbeth, which should be pretty amazing as darkness falls.
Kew Gardens, Jul 18-Aug 31.
Sadly not happening: River Stage
A bit of a PSA here – the National Theatre has ‘paused’ its outdoor River Stage weekenders. This is a big shame, although the NT has a new leader (Indhu Rubasingham) who has only just got her feet under the table, but hopefully she’ll come up with something next summer.
Most spectacular: Greenwich + Docklands International Festival
From simulations of the Northern Lights to a bus journey musing on the life of Stephen Lawrence, GDIF has been hugely on form in recent years as the largely free festival of street theatre – which has increasingly embraced spectacular installations post-pandemic – has drifted into a late summer slot. So late, in fact, that we don’t have a line up or official dates yet. But expect it to be late August into early September, and also bloody spectacular.
Various venues, dates TBC but probably late Aug to early Sep.