Regent's Park Open Air Theatre

In 1932, the New Theatre (now the Noël Coward Theatre) was left without a show after the early closure of a play by Benito Mussolini. Producer Robert Atkins and theatre critic Sydney Carroll presented a ‘black and white’ production of Twelfth Night which subsequently transferred to a makeshift theatre in Regent's Park, thus establishing Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre. The first full season, in 1933, included a revival of the previous year’s Twelfth Night and the first of the theatre's almost 50 productions of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. In 1939, Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre and the Windmill Theatre were the only two theatres to remain open throughout World War II. In 1963, actors and…

Established in 1932, Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre is one of the largest theatres in London, with 1,304 seats. It is situated in Queen Mary’s Gardens in Regent’s Park, one of London’s Royal Parks. The theatre’s annual 18-week season is attended by more than 140,000 people each year. In 2017, the theatre was named London Theatre of the Year in The Stage Awards, and received the Highly Commended Award for London Theatre of the Year in 2021. Many famous people have performed at the theatre. One of the first was in 1936 when Vivien Leigh played Anne Boleyn in Henry VIII, three years before she found fame in Gone with the Wind. Subsequent actors and actresses include Anna Neagle, Eileen Atkins,…