St Albans Roman Theatre season begins

June marks the beginning of the Roman Theatre Open Air Festival in St Albans, with its season-long series of live productions running until September, curated by OVO Theatre Company.

OVO presents a musical version of Romeo and Juliet set in 1998 Belfast on various dates between Monday 5th June and 29th July, with other productions including Sherlock Holmes: A Study in Lipstick, Ketchup and Blood; Private Lives; Much Ado About Nothing; The Railway Children; Little Women and The Threepenny Opera.

OVO’s artistic director Adam Nichols said: “I’m particularly excited about this year’s Roman Theatre Open Air Festival in which we mark a number of dramatic firsts.

“We’re mounting our first co-production with Pitlochry Festival with the presentation of Sherlock Holmes: A Study in Lipstick, Ketchup and Blood, which played to capacity audiences at last year’s Pitlochry Festival. OVO’s principal focus is to present modern updates of classic stories and Lesley Hart’s version of perhaps the best-loved Sherlock Holmes story really fits the bill.

“To mark OVO’s 20th anniversary, we return to the very first show we produced back in 2003, Romeo and Juliet, given a 1990s Northern Irish twist by Stephanie Allison and Amy Connery, who will also revive last year’s audience favourite, Little Women.”

Facilities at the Roman Theatre ensure a comfortable and safe environment for all audiences.

A new hilltop bar offers com- petitively priced drinks and snacks and plentiful seating with glorious views over the theatre site and the Ver Valley. The venue is fully accessible as are the newly installed toilet facilities.

The Roman Theatre of Verulamium is in Bluehouse Hill, St Albans AL3 6AE. Parking is just a couple of minutes’ walk away at Verulamium Museum.

To view the full programme and book tickets visit ovo.org.uk.

A day of drama at Hertford Castle

Hertford Castle will be the backdrop to two open air theatre performances on the castle lawn on Saturday 17th June by Quantum Theatre.

The first show, at 2.30pm, will be a family-friendly performance of Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows.

The second show, at 7pm, will be Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Gates will open half an hour before each performance and audiences can bring their own picnic chairs or rugs and their own food and drink or buy refreshments from stalls throughout both performances.

Tickets, which are £10, must be bought in advance at hertford. gov.uk, by calling 01992 584322 or in person from Hertford Town and Tourist Information Centre in The Wash.