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.”

Hotbuckle Productions presents The Return of the Native, adapted from the novel by Thomas Hardy This story is set on desolate Edgon Health in Wessex, and follows the marriage between Clym Yeobright and Eustacia Vye. Eustacia’s desire to escape Egdon Health results in tragedy after a romance between her and her former lover is reignited. 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 Hotbuckle Productions? “Back in 2006, HotBuckle was formed by Adrian Preater and Gemma Aston, and since then, they haven’t looked back! The started of with the original production of Adrian’s “Get Writing with Rosie” which was an educated play about creative writing. They also toured with a number of other original works, Namely Joshua and Ballad of a Bird. Adrian started adapting novels – beginning with Great Expectations. Since then Adrian and his team have toured all over the UK with lots of amazing actors and actresses. ​HotBuckle has gone from strength to strength and after moving from their home in Surrey to a Shropshire base in 2013, they have continued to tour and create quality theatre.”

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.”

The final of our four open air theatre shows at Clovelly for 2026! Cambridge Touring Productions present Sword In The Stone A legendary story of a magical sword embedded in a stone claiming that only the true king could pull it from the stone. After the King of Britain dies leaving no heir, great knights fight for power as the mysterious sword in the stone appears. 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 Cambridge Touring Productions? “For over 25 years we have been writing, performing and producing family friendly shows. Including such classics as Wind in the Willows, Alice In Wonderland and Robin Hood, accessible Shakespeare and contemporary drama. There will be something for your whole family to enjoy this summer.”