Events in or near United Kingdom

Open air theatre returns to Clovelly in 2026! Rain or Shine Theatre presents The Pickwick Papers Follow the adventures of Samuel Pickwick and his three companions as they travel through South East England getting into mischief and embarrassing scrapes! This Dickens tale is a hilarious and light-hearted story which will be a great start to the open air theatre performances at Clovelly Court Gardens. This performance will take place on the terraces by Clovelly Court Gardens, with the stunning backdrop of Bideford Bay and the Clovelly Estate. Bring a picnic and something to sit on! Who are Rain or Shine Theatre? “Rain or shine is a Gloucester based professional theatre company which specialises in outdoor ‘Pop-up theatre’ summer tours of classical theatre to castles, stately homes and gardens throughout the UK. We have performed classic comedy productions of works by Shakespeare, Sheridan, Goldsmith, Wilde and Vanbrugh to tens of thousands of happy theatre goers. Our indoor winter season features original adaptions of classics transformed into Morecombe and Wise style comedies; always fast, furious and funny, touring small theatres and village halls.”

The Pantaloons present The (Almost) Complete History of Britain This satirical show hilariously condenses British history, highlighting quirky figures and absurdities in a silly summary of key historical events such as Norman conquests and the Spanish Armada! This performance will take place on the terraces by Clovelly Court Gardens, with the stunning backdrop of Bideford Bay and the Clovelly Estate. Bring a picnic and something to sit on! Who are The Pantaloons? “The Pantaloons draw from a wide variety of popular theatre traditions, from commedia dell’arte and pantomime to stand-up comedy and silent movies, to bring what we consider to be a vital sense of “play” back to classical performance. We aim to recapture an aspect of Shakespeare’s drama which the modern naturalistic theatre has lost: the riotous energy of the clown. Hamlet tells us that the clowns in Shakespeare’s day spoke “more than is set down for them”, and we have found that tapping into this rich vein of anarchic humour can have a strangely moving and uplifting effect. Crucially, it also reminds us that we are all simply participants in a game of make-believe. In our theatre, your imagination is just as important as ours. We ask you to become co-creators of the play-world with us; or as Shakespeare put it in the prologue to Henry V, to “piece out our imperfections with your thoughts.””

David Mynne presents Widdershins by Carl Grose Welcome to Widdershins: a long-forgotten village buried deep in a dark, wild corner of Cornwall. Here, Bob Droll (local raconteur, folklore enthusiast and village-hall caretaker) will take you on a tour of a place where mystery lurks about every corner. You won’t believe the shocking tales of poor “Pity Me” Jose; or of Cryer Bledstone, the Sea Captain afraid of death! And then there’s the ghost of Treacle Straight bus stop… But beware. The deeper Bob leads you into his forest of far-fetched fables, the more lost you might get. This performance will take place on the terraces by Clovelly Court Gardens, with the stunning backdrop of Bideford Bay and the Clovelly Estate. Bring a picnic and something to sit on! Who is David Mynne? “A ‘veteran Cornish actor’ and a founder member of the internationally acclaimed Kneehigh Theatre. David tours with one-man shows based on great novels, where character driven narratives and physical theatre meet spoken word, wit and, sometimes, downright daftness! Adapted and created in collaboration with award winning director Simon Harvey.”