14.03°C Open-air theatre returns to Lower Castle Park this summer as Castle Park Theatre launches its fifth season in Colchester. The 2026 season is supported by Ellisons and will once again bring a summer of outdoor performances to the city.
Set on the Lower Bowls Green in the glorious Castle Park, the theatre has steadily built an audience over recent years, combining outdoor performances with food, drinks and summer evenings in one of Colchester’s most distinctive settings.
Looking back on the theatre’s growth, founder Neil D’Arcy Jones said: “When we first started this project with Colchester City Council, it was about bringing something new to Castle Park that complemented their diverse summer season. We weren’t quite sure how it would be received, but I think the fact we’re still here after five years tells you something.
“We want to develop this space into something akin to what they have in Regent’s Park. That’s our very over-ambitious benchmark, but you aim for the stars and see what happens.”
This year’s season begins with Shakespeare in the Park as the company stages Much Ado About Nothing from 10th to 20th Jun. One of Shakespeare’s best-known comedies, the production centres around the relationship between Beatrice and Benedick, mixing romance, misunderstandings and sharp humour.
Evening performances begin at 7.30pm, with gates opening an hour earlier. A Saturday matinee performance has also been added this year on 20th June at 3pm.
The season then continues from 22nd July 22 to 2nd August with a varied programme of drama, new writing, family theatre and opera.
Local theatre group Stage Craft will make its debut at Castle Park Theatre with Timberlake Wertenbaker’s Our Country’s Good from July 22nd to 25th.
Two nights of new writing follow with New Plays from the Park on 28th July and 29th, featuring eight ten-minute plays written by Colchester writers and performed by locally based professional actors.
Castle Park After Dark also returns from 30th July to 1st August with The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. Following last year’s Dracula Begins, the late-night production once again takes place after the park has closed to the public for the evening.
Family audiences are catered for with the return of Chameleon’s Web and their adaptation of The Jungle Book on the afternoon of 1st August.
The season concludes with Opera in the Park, returning after proving popular with audiences last summer.
Throughout the season, audiences will also be able to use the venue’s BARd area, which serves drinks, ice cream, and light refreshments during performances.
Tickets remain at last year’s prices, with adults £16 and concessions £14.
More information and tickets are available via the Castle Park Theatre website.
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