In the stunning amphitheatre on the banks of the River Thames, London’s Free Open Air Theatre Season will return for a 16th year with the world premiere of The Sea Queen, a family show about the Irish pirate Grainne O’Malley, and Shakespeare’s popular romantic comedy Twelfth Night.
The season will run from Wednesday 7 August – Sunday 1 September with both shows playing nightly, Wednesday – Sunday. There’s no need to book – just turn up and take a seat! There’s room for 1,000 people at every performance.
These two plays and their two respective heroines, Grainne and Viola, will place the stories of strong, independent women at the heart of our season. It will also be the first year that one of the plays of William Shakespeare is being presented by the Company. Telling classic narratives in modern ways, with strong female role models, is central to the approach being taken by this season’s director, Rae Mcken.
London’s Free Open-Air Theatre Season is delighted to welcome Rae to the team. Over the past decade, through her work with her own company ‘Custom/Practice’, Rae has been at the forefront of presenting classical theatre with diverse casts that better reflect the makeup our cosmopolitan melting pot city. Through her work with ‘Artistic Directors of the Future’, Rae also promotes greater diversity in the next generation of artistic leaders.
Running in tandem with the shows will be a series of free Saturday theatre workshops for families in nearby Hayes Galleria.
