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Shakespeare at a cricket ground, a festival in a bombed-out church and park-bench drama – plus more socially distanced shows to enjoy this month
August is over but there’s still time to enjoy open-air theatre season. Presented in York’s Rowntree Park, Matt Aston’s new monologue Every Time a Bell Rings is performed by Lisa Howard and set over the lockdown Easter weekend. It’s part of Engine House’s series of socially distanced park-bench productions (until 5 September), which includes a teddy bears’ picnic for children. In Hove’s Dyke Road Park, Brighton Open Air Theatre has a comedy-heavy programme including Bridget Christie and Shappi Khorsandi, plus Mischief Theatre improvising a movie on stage (9-10 September). At Regent’s Park in London, the superb 90-minute, interval-free concert version of Jesus Christ Superstar runs until 27 September and can be watched either inside the theatre or, thanks to a giant screen, outside on the lawn. Continue reading...