From Shakespeare in a car park and a Jane Austen romance in a Dorset garden to a ghost hunt in a court house and Abba's Waterloo at The Tank Museum, here is our pick of open air theatre and outdoor events happening across Dorset this July
Globe in Boscombe: Shakespeare's epic tragedy Julius Caesar takes on startlingly new relevance at the Sovereign Centre car park in Boscombe this month. When Cassius and Brutus decide Rome's leader, Julius Caesar, poses a political threat to their beloved country, there's only one solution...Shakespeare's Globe and award-winning director Diane Page bring this brutal tale of ambition, incursion, and revolution to life in this modern urban setting in the heart of Boscombe on July 2-3. Book tickets at eventbrite.co.uk
Holme for Gardens Amphitheatre: The story of Shakespeare’s young star-crossed lovers Romeo and Juliet (July 7) plays out in this lovely outdoor space at West Holme near Wareham. The Bennett sisters take centre stage in Pride and Prejudice (July 8), followed by some more famous sisters in Little Women, Louisa M Alcott’s coming-of-age classic (July 22-23). While David Walliam’s Awful Auntie is an ideal afternoon treat for young theatre goers (3pm, July 28). holmeforgardens.co.uk
Jurassic Fields Music Festival: This lovely local festival showcases the best music, comedy, food and entertainment from the West Dorset area has to offer as well as the likes of Scouting for Girls, The Pigeon Detectives and Mad Dog Mcrea. Askers Meadow Bridport July 8-10 jurassicfields.com
Swanage Jazz Festival: Back after a two-year hiatus, the line-up for this jazz by the sea festival covers jazz styles, from traditional to cutting-edge contemporary. Jazz legends such as Alan Barnes, Henry Lowther and Art Themen rub shoulder with rising jazz stars such as Xhosa Cole, Deschanel Gordon and Alex Clarke. British-Bahraini trumpeter Yazz Ahmed headlines on Saturday night. July 8-10 swanagejazzfestival.co.uk
Saltlines: The Salt Path, Raynor Winn’s Sunday Times best-selling memoir of s life-changing walk of the South West Coast Path, combines with British folk sextet the Gigspanner Big Band led by Peter Knight for Saltlines. Together, Raynor and Gigspanner celebrate, in traditional songs and newly written words, this ‘630 uninterrupted miles of coastline, crossing wild headlands with the calls of oystercatchers, and the smell of salt laden air ever present’. July 13 Marine Theatre, Lyme Regis; July 17 Lighthouse Poole
OUTSIDE at Lighthouse Poole: This month’s line-up includes British-Ghanaian Afro-rock legends Osibisa (July 15), funky acid jazz from the James Taylor Quartet (July 22), and folk music from Ninebarrow (July 30). Louise Jordan shines a light on the campaigner, writer and social reformer Florence Nightingale in Florence (July 23 at noon, 3pm). In The Tide (July 23 & 24 at various points in the day) Ryan Cameron and choreographer Jade Hackett of Talawa Theatre explore the narratives and experiences of migration within the UK in this show created exclusively for outdoor performance. Strong Enough (July 24 at noon, 2.30pm) uses circus, comedy and feats of strength to celebrate stories of finding strength in unexpected places. A Summer Night at the Opera (July 29) showcases opera classics with London Festival Opera. Strong Enough (July 24) celebrates stories of finding strength in unexpected places, while Squashbox Theatre’s Myths and Monsters (July 30) uses puppetry and storytelling to introduce children to tales from ancient Greece. lighthousepoole.co.uk
Outdoor performances in Lyme Regis: Oscar Wilde’s play of manners, affairs and handbags The Importance of Being Earnest plays out at The Handlebards slapstick seaside tea party outside the Marine Theatre (July 15). There’s an enchanting outdoor adaptation of Beatrix Potter’s The Tales of Peter Rabbit and Benjamin Bunny at The Davey Fort (2pm, July 23), ideal for younger theatre fans. While the farcical re-telling of the King Arthur myth gallops into town on July 28 (also at Milennium Green, Bridport July 26/thelastbaguette.com). marinetheatre.com
Meet the Romans: The Museum of East Dorset in Wimborne invites you to come dine with the Romans on July 16. Former school teacher Sue Day, a volunteer at the museum, will be preparing some tasty Roman fayre in the museum kitchen and telling us how everyday foods of today came over with the Romans. Families have the chance to handle real and replica artefacts and find out what everyday life was like in Roman times. Children can also make paper mosaic pictures and their own gladiator helmets in the Learning Centre. Runs 10am –2pm. museumofeastdorset.co.uk
Festival of Archaeology at Badbury Rings: Uncover 4,000 years of history at Badbury Rings at a weekend of guided walks, living history and digital reconstructions. Uncover 4,000 years of history at Badbury Rings at a weekend of guided walks at this Iron Age hillfort, living history and digital reconstructions, part of the Council of British Archaeology's Festival of Archaeology. July 16-17 nationaltrust.org.uk/kingston-lacy
Wuthering Heights: Dorset-based SISATA Theatre, bring a vibrant new adaptation of Emily Brontë's elemental masterpiece Wuthering Heights to various outdoor locations. Accompanied by beautifully haunting original live music, immerse yourself in a tempestuous story of love and obsession played out on a brooding windswept moor. July 16 Museum of East Dorset, Wimborne; July 22 Sandsfoot Castle Gardens, Weymouth; July 23-25 Swanage Amphitheatre; July 29 Maumbury Rings, Dorchester; July 30 Red House Museum, Christchurch. Sisata.co.uk
Shakespeare in the Garden: The award-winning gardens at Mapperton provide the backdrop for Castle Theatre Company’s staging of The Comedy of Errors. Combining the farcical dilemmas of mistaken identity with the desperate search for love, this glorious play explores the blissful, chaotic and hysterical reunion of a long-lost family. July 17 at 2pm & 6.30pm. mapperton.com/events
A Midsummer Night’s Dream: Five couples – three human, one fairy, and one mythical – find their relationships sorely tested when a troupe of amateur theatricals bumble into the forest to rehearse a play. Shakespeare's timeless comic masterpiece plays out in the gorgeous outdoor surroundings at Pennsylvania Castle Estate on July 19. ticketsource.co.uk/illyria/t-dvavoda
Open Air Abba Tribute Concert: The outdoor arena at The Tank Museum at Bovington hosts, Waterloo: The Best of ABBA in this fabulous tribute concert with a full live cast, band, stunning costumes and choreography featuring classic songs such as Waterloo, Mamma Mia and Voulez-Vouz a brilliant night out for any Abba fan. July 22 tankmuseum.org/events
Shaftesbury Fringe Festival: From national award winners to first time hopefuls, Edinburgh previews to one-off Shaftesbury exclusives, this wonderful fringe festival running from July 22-24 hosts an eclectic mix of hundreds of performances including comedy, music, theatre, poetry and cabaret. From raucous sing-alongs to silent meditation, there will be something to interest all ages and tastes. Shaftesbury Abbey Gardens at the top of the High Street, is at the heart of all the happenings. shaftesburyfringe.co.uk
Old Shire Hall Ghost Hunt: Dorchester’s Shire Hall on High West Street is the former county courthouse and jail. Over the centuries, prisoners have sat below the streets in cells, awaiting their judgement. Poltergeist activity is a common occurrence at this location and ghostly figures have been reported. Join the Paranormal Eye UK team on this intense ghost hunt. July 23, 9pm – 2am. Book at paranormaleyeuk.co.uk
Cattistock Countryside Show: This popular West Dorset show is celebrating 60 glorious years of rural fun and games including wellie wanging, splating the rat, casting a fly and skittle alley, alongside fire breathing circus performers, sheep shearing races and fancy dress on horseback, not to mentioned ‘dog most like its owner’ and ‘spude most like its grower’. July 24 online tickets £10 cattistockshow.co.uk on the gate £15
Dorset Opera Festival: This international summer opera festival (July 25 - 30) brings world-class opera to the rural heart of Dorset with its residential opera summer school at Bryanston near Blandford. This year’s fully staged operas in the Coade Theatre are Mozart’s The Magic Flute and Puccini’s Manon Lescaut, with evening performances at 7pm, and 2pm matinées of both on Wednesday and Saturday. Bring your own picnic or pre-order a hamper to enjoy in the grounds before the performance. dorsetopera.com
The Rascally Diner: From the award-winning children’s book, The Rascally Cake, meet chef Rufus Skumskins O’Parsley who is on a mission to make everyone taste bad and protect them from the gruesome human-eating gateau he accidentally created. A gentle exploration into healthy eating via a silly, song-filled, riotous performance for humans aged 5+. July 28, 2.30pm Alderholt Village Hall Grounds; July 29, 11.30am Broadmayne First School Field. artsreach.co.uk
Chettle Village Fete: Possibly running off with the award for Britain’s craziest and most original village fete, this strawberries-and-cream-fuelled celebration on July 30 combines fabulous local food, drink and craft stalls with a healthy dose of loopy Chettle humour: the Alternative Dog Show, Miss Chettle Beauty Pageant, as well as the infamous Human Fruit Machine, Cowpat Bingo and Chettle Derby. All money raised goes to charity. chettlefete.co.uk
Click here for outdoor film events in Dorset this summer
