The Great Outdoors

As the Chelsea Flower Show returns this spring, Sarah Riches finds that London comes alive in the sunshine with live music, outdoor opera and canalside restaurants.

- Sarah Riches

THEATRE

Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre launches its 2017 season with the dance musical On the Town (from 19 May), directed and choreographed by Drew McOnie. Later in the summer you can also watch two plays inspired by Charles Dickens: A Tale of Two Cities by Matthew Dunster, and Oliver Twist, adapted by Anya Reiss. The season wraps up with Jesus Christ Superstar, which was a hit last year.

You can also watch theatre under the stars at Shakespeare’s Globe – a careful reconstruction of the original Globe Theatre, which staged William Shakespeare’s plays. This month catch Romeo and Juliet, which is directed by the English National Opera’s artistic director Daniel Kramer, and the comedies Nell Gwynn (2-13 May) and Twelfth Night  (from 18 May). If you want to embrace the outdoors, choose standing tickets, which offer the closest view of the stage and cost just £5. Later in the year, there are also live performances in Battersea Arts Centre’s red-brick open-air courtyard; free shows in The Scoop, an alfresco amphitheatre situated on the South Bank near Tower Bridge; and outdoor opera at Opera Holland Park. Opera shows include Don Giovanni (from 3 Jun).

CHELSEA FLOWER SHOW