Open air Theatre at the Commandery gardens returns this Summer!
27 May 2022
The Worcester Rep Company have begun work on their annual performance at the beautiful Commandery gardens in Worcester, where this year they will be reinterpreting the ageless comedy by Alan Ayckbourn, Round and Round the Garden.
After their successful run at the Commandery last year the Worcester Rep are hoping to bring the same magic, humour and delight to their audiences once again in this exquisite setting. Last year’s production Elsie and Norm’s Macbeth proved very popular with audiences and it was named the ‘perfect post-lockdown tonic’. Worcester Theatres are thrilled to be able to return to the Commandery for another year with an equally entertaining play by another great British playwright.
Sarah-Jane Morgan, CEO & Artistic Director at Worcester Theatres, said
“Performing in the beautiful surroundings of the Commandery gardens is a very special time of year for the Worcester Theatres team and a highlight in our calendar. We are always delighted to see so many of our loyal patrons supporting us from near and far and the Commandery gardens is the perfect setting to come together with friends and family in the summer sunshine (fingers crossed). I adore watching patrons, laden with chairs, picnics and pavlovas – there is always a real sense of occasion and excitement, it’s a special time for us and the city.
I’m overjoyed to be sharing this production with our audiences this year, it’s going to be a really entertaining production with a superb cast of new and old Rep cast members; definitely one not to be missed and I can’t wait!”
Round and Round the Garden, written by Sir Alan Ayckbourn, is the last in the trilogy of Normans Conquests, often said to be the best of the three and is actually set in the garden of a family home. It all starts with sunshine and scandal as we discover Annie is running off for a secret weekend away with her brother-in-law, Norman. But everything begins to go wrong when the rest of Annie’s family arrives including Norman’s wife, her sister, Ruth. Hilarious shenanigans unfold as Annie’s idyllic weekend becomes a disaster.
Director of Round and Round the Garden Ian Good said
“I’m delighted to be back working with Sarah-Jane Morgan and the team at Worcester Theatres on this delightfully funny play. Round and Round the Garden is perfectly placed to play out in the gardens of the Commandery – it’s a light-hearted comedy perfect for a summer evening, full of fun, frustration and compassion, I’m certain this humorous British adaptation will be the ultimate delight in Worcester’s summer season!”
Fans of last year’s Elsie & Norm’s Macbeth will be pleased to hear director Ian Good is returning as well as Ian Parkin, who played Norm, and joining them this year will be Worcestershire and West Midlands locals Katherine Parker–Jones, Dru Stephenson, Laurence Saunders, plus Deborah Vale and Marvyn Dickinson.
So, invite your family and friends, have a drink, take a picnic, have a laugh and enjoy a lovely summers evening watching live theatre with Round and Round the Garden - don’t miss this highlight of Worcester’s summer calendar.