Fill the long summer evenings with relaxation and laughter as you enjoy open-air theatre, star-gazing events, guided walks and music concerts at a National Trust place near you.
Settle in for the evening with a picnic from home (and maybe a bottle of wine too!) or indulge in a variety of light-bite food and drink options, available to purchase from cafés and kiosks during the evening.
Ickworth Estate
Visit the Ickworth Estate for outdoor theatre performances this summer, situated on the North Lawn with the striking backdrop of the Rotunda. Bring a picnic and enjoy an evening of entertainment. Booking advisable.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream | 27 June | 7pm – 9pm | Tickets from £12
Join The Pantaloons as they present their innovative and hilarious version of Shakespeare’s timeless comedy – told, as ever, in their own distinctive and anarchic style. Midsummer night. An enchanted forest. Puck and his musical fairy band tell a tale of lovers, mechanicals, and magical mayhem.
The Wind In The Willows | 25 July | 6pm – 8pm | Tickets from £13
Join Boxtree Productions Events for their fantastic musical adaptation of Kenneth Grahame’s family classic story, ‘The Wind In The Willows’. When Mole gets fed up cleaning her home she decides to leave her burrow and head out on adventure! She meets Ratty and Toad and Badger and discovers a love of the river and the joy of the open road. However, that egocentric Toad is convinced to steal a car by those meddling weasels! Toad is arrested and the Weasels take over Toad Hall to turn it into a theatre for their own amusement! It falls to Mole and Ratty, Badger and Toad to take back Toad Hall! Will they do it?
Sutton Hoo
There’s open air theatre at Sutton Hoo, the awe-inspiring Anglo-Saxon royal burial site.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream | 24 July-25 August | 7.30pm-10pm | Tickets from £13
Theatre in the Forest returns to Sutton Hoo this summer for its big 25th anniversary! Celebrate with one of Shakespeare’s greatest comedies, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and enjoy an enchanting midsummer night under the stars. Get here early to enjoy an evening stroll through Sutton Hoo’s very special landscape, or grab a pizza and drink before the performance gets underway. Expect fairies, magic and a whole lot of hilarious mischief from the cast and crew of Red Rose Chain.
Flatford
Discover the views that John Constable painted in the hamlet of Flatford, set within the Dedham Vale countryside.
Shades of Simon (Paul Simon tribute band) | 20 July | 7pm
Brentwood Mac (Fleetwood Mac tribute band) | 24 August | 7pm
The Hay Wain presented by Packing Shed Theatre | 31 August 7.30pm
Returning after their sell out performance in 2023, join the UK’s number one Paul Simon tribute band ‘Shades of Simon’ as they trace the Paul Simon story with engaging narration, exceptional musicianship and authentic renditions of the best of his songs from Simon & Garfunkel to Graceland.
Later in the season, go your own way and enjoy the flare and dynamics of one of the world’s most treasured bands with Brentwood Mac, a Fleetwood Mac tribute band. Taking to the outdoor stage for the very first time this six-piece amalgamation of some of the finest local musicians promises a night of classics spanning all eras. Lastly, don’t miss the opportunity to experience the highly acclaimed and atmospheric play ‘The Hay Wain’ presented by Packing Shed Theatre.
Described as East Anglia’s very own Les Miserables, it brings to life the people that populate the painting, their lives defined not by simplicity and virtue, but by hardship, hope and resilience.
