A show for everyone in the open air

Where: Tuckwell Amphitheatre, Dean Close School, Cheltenham

When: Various dates

Open Air Theatre Festival

With the promise of sunshine after all the rain and with a show for everyone, there's plenty of reasons to be excited for Cheltenham's one and only annual Open Air Theatre Festival at the Tuckwell Amphitheatre!

Kicking off the Open Air Theatre Festival in style on Tuesday, July 16 are the charming Handlebards - the world's first cycling theatre company, with a bicycle-powered production of Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing. This is like none other as this team go above and beyond to do their bit for the environment, pedalling from venue to venue with all the set, props and costume necessary to perform environmentally sustainable Shakespeare across the globe!

If you love live music, then the Tuckwell Amphitheatre is the perfect setting to sit back, relax and settle in as the sun sets, as this year welcomes two evenings of live music!

First up is String Fever. Following their popular performance in the Bacon Theatre last year, this unique quartet perform everything from pop to classical tunes.

Organisers are also delighted to welcome back Cheltenham's very own Peter Gill for his ever popular Swinging Summer Evening.

There is also a great selection of fun family shows for kids both big and little. Favourites include: Heartbreak Productions: Gangsta Granny on July 23; Box Tree Productions: The Legend of King Arthur on July 25; and Cheltenham Youth Theatre: Age of Winter on July 28.

Cinema Under the Stars evenings are a particular highlight as festival goers wait for the sun to set and huddle up for an evening of alfresco cinema. Complete the evening with a traditional wood fired pizza from Old Dough Pizza Dough Hook Co's beautiful vintage van.

Films being shown are Stan and Ollie (July 17), They Shall Not Grow Old (July 24) and Moulin Rouge (July 31)

Finally, for a truly classic evening of theatre in the historical amphitheatre, Opera Anywhere present The Mikado on July 20 and Jenny Wren Productions present The Scarlet Pimpernel on July 26.

To see the full line-up of festival events please visit the Bacon Theatre website or head over to the Tuckwell Amphitheatre Facebook page.