Regent's Park Open Air Theatre

2007 saw the 25th and final year of artistic director, Ian Talbot. The Season included productions of Macbeth, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Lady, Be Good, Fantastic Mr Fox and The Boy Friend. The choice to perform Lady, Be Good was in reflection of his final year, being the first musical he directed at the park.

Timothy Sheader became Artistic Director of the theatre in November 2007. His first season, produced in 2008, consisted of productions of Romeo and Juliet, Twelfth Night, Lerner and Loewe's Gigi[3] – starring Millicent Martin as Mamita and Topol as Honore – and an especially adapted production of A Midsummer Night's Dream for family audiences.

2009 saw Timothy Sheader's second season as Artistic Director of the theatre. Productions included Much Ado About Nothing, The Importance of Being Earnest, The Tempest (adapted for family audiences) and Hello, Dolly!. Dolly! won several awards, including the Olivier Award for Best Revival of a Musical and Best Actress in a Musical for its star Samantha Spiro.[4]

In 2010, the theatre presented new productions of The Crucible, The Comedy of Errors and Macbeth, which was adapted for younger audiences. The Season musical was Into the Woods, by Stephen Sondheim. The production starred Hannah Waddingham as the Witch, Jenna Russell as the Baker's Wife, and Helen Dallimore as Cinderella. It was the first time that Into the Woods had been performed outside and won the Olivier Award for "Best Musical Revival". The production subsequently transferred to the Public Theater's Delacorte Theater in New York City in 2012 starring a completely American cast which included Academy Award nominee Amy Adams.

The 2011 season included productions of Lord of the Flies, The Beggar's Opera, Shakespeare's Pericles (re-imagined for everyone aged six and over)[5] and the Musical Crazy for You. Crazy for You received the highest number of five star reviews of any musical opening in 2011 and became the first Open Air Theatre production to transfer directly into the West End, where it played at the Novello Theatre.[6]

For the 2012 season, two productions ran across the entire season in repertoire: The Tony Award-winning Ragtime the Musical directed by Timothy Sheader and Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream directed by Matthew Dunster.

Directed by Timothy Sheader and adapted for the stage by Christopher Sergel, Harper Lee's American classic To Kill a Mockingbird opened the 2013 season with Robert Sean Leonard as Atticus Finch, his first London appearance in 22 years. The show returned in 2014.

Celebrating the 200th anniversary of the novel, a stage adaptation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice starring Jane Asher as Lady Catherine de Bourgh, followed To Kill a Mockingbird. A production of William Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale, tailored specifically for children aged six and over, ran alongside.

Returning to close the 2013 season, Rachel Kavanaugh directed a sell-out and extended run of The Sound of Music starring Charlotte Wakefield as Maria. With over 188,000 visitors, the 2013 season broke all records.

The 2014 season began with Arthur Miller's All My Sons, directed by Timothy Sheader, followed by Harold Brighouse's Hobson's Choice, and Shakespeare's Twelfth Night re-imagined for aged six and over. Timothy Sheader also directed The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess with a cast drawn from Broadway and the West End.

Following its sell-out run in 2013,[7] To Kill a Mockingbird returned to conclude the 2014 season, before embarking on a UK tour.[8] To Kill a Mockingbird returned to London in June 2015, when Robert Sean Leonard reprised his role of Atticus Finch at the Barbican Centre.[9]

The 2015 season was announced in late October. J.M. Barrie's original stage play of Peter Pan opened the season, and was followed by Anton Chekhov's The Seagull in a new version by Torben Betts. Rachel Kavanaugh returned to the park to direct the musical Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. Their 2011 acclaimed production of William Golding's Lord of the Flies returned for 14 performances ahead of a major UK tour.[10]

A new adaptation of Running Wild by Michael Morpurgo opened the 2016 season as a co-production with Chichester Festival Theatre. Henry V followed in celebration of the life and legacy of William Shakespeare. Artistic Director, Timothy Sheader directed the 2016 musical, a revival of Jesus Christ Superstar by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber, which played to sold-out audiences and won a Laurence Olivier Award for Best Musical Revival. Following a sell-out run in 2013, Pride and Prejudice returned to the Park at the end of the season ahead of a UK tour.

In November 2016 it was announced that On the Town would open the 2017 season, followed by Dickens Uncovered, a new adaptation of A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, and Oliver Twist adapted for younger audiences by Anya Reiss, Oliver Twist created for everyone aged six and over. Jesus Christ Superstar returned to conclude the season. In January 2017 it was announced that the theatre had won London Theatre of the Year at The Stage Awards.[11]

The 2018 season welcomed the return of Peter Pan, a revival of their 2015 Olivier Award-nominated production. For a limited run, in a co-production with the English National Opera, Artistic Director Timothy Sheader rediscovered Benjamin Britten's The Turn of the Screw, receiving acclaimed reviews.[12] Max Webster directed William Shakespeare's As You Like It. For families, Dinosaur World Live, a new interactive show played daytime performances. The season concluded with the mean green monster musical Little Shop of Horrors, which played to critical acclaim.[13] 2018 also saw Regent's Park Open Air Theatre's production of Jesus Christ Superstar play at Chicago's Lyric Opera.[14]

The 2019 season opened with Thornton Wilder’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play Our Town (16 May – 8 June), directed by Ellen McDougall, Artistic Director of the Gate Theatre. Continuing their collaboration with English National Opera, they present Engelbert Humperdinck’s opera Hansel and Gretel (14 June – 22 June) - members of the ENO Orchestra and was conducted by Ben Glassberg, with direction by Open Air Theatre’s Artistic Director, Timothy Sheader. Dominic Hill, Artistic Director of the Citizens Theatre, Glasgow, then directed a new production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream (28 June – 27 July). To conclude the season, Jamie Lloyd directed Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Evita (2 August – 21 September). The theatre's multi award-winning[15] production of Jesus Christ Superstar also transferred to the Barbican Centre for just 60 performances from 4 July - 24 August 2019, prior to a 50th anniversary tour of the US.[16] In November 2019, Regent's Park's production of Evita won Best Musical at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards.[17]

The theatre postponed the entirety of the planned 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The theatre presented a concert version of their award winning production of Jesus Christ Superstar for 6 weeks from 14 August as well as a limited series of MOREoutdoor comedy events. From 19 August performances of Jesus Christ Superstar: The Concert and selected MOREoutdoor comedy events were also relayed ‘live’ via a giant screen on the venue’s lawn.[18]

The 2021 season will open with William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet directed by Kimberley Sykes (26 June to 24 July). This will be followed by Rodgers and Hammerstein's Carousel directed by Timothy Sheader (30 July to 18 September), who reunites with Jesus Christ Superstar Choreographer Drew McOnie. Finally, Dragons and Mythical Beasts runs from 11 August to 6 September. These productions were all postponed from 2020.[19] A planned production of a new musical 101 Dalmatians was cancelled.[20]