Chris Williams is setting up his deckchair and slathering on the sunscreen, not for the beach, but for a day – or several – in front of boards trodden. From the Bard to Gilbert & Sullivan, here’s where you can catch outdoor theatre under summer skies in Wales.

Cardiff Open Air Theatre Festival

Cardiff Open Air Theatre Festival, Wales’ biggest al fresco drama event, returns this summer with an ample programme of events spanning June and July. Now in its 41st year, the festival added family shows in 1988, musicals in 1993 and light entertainment shows in 2012; since 2013, it has made its home in Sophia Gardens.

The festival’s varied menu of events ranges from Shakespeare to Abba, with musicals and standup in between. Shakespeare’s dark comedy The Tempest (Thurs 20-Fri 28 June) is a big hitter, naturally: this drama of mystical spirits and marooned seafarers is updated in the form of a plane crash. Everyman Youth Theatre do their bit for the Bard, too, presenting Romeo & Juliet (Sun 7-Sun 21 July). Other COATF fare this year includes One Man Two Guvnors (Thurs 4-Sat 13 July) – Richard Bean’s play transplanting 18th-century Italy to 1960s England – and hit musical Guys And Dolls (Thurs 18-Sat 27 July), plus performing arts students performing Shrek Jr (Sat 20-Sat 27 July). (Info: here)

Theatre at Powis Castle & Garden

Everyman’s are not the only open-air theatre events – in fact there’s a wealth of them in Wales this summer, with a smorgasbord of theatre in castles. On Wed 12 June at Powis Castle & Garden, Welshpool, The Duke’s Theatre present Shakespeare’s surprisingly queer, gender-mixing As You Like It: Orlando falls in love with Rosalind, but Rosalind – disguised as a boy – tries to ‘cure’ Orlando’s love for Rosalind by making Orlando fall in love with ‘him’. Clear as Shakespearean mud! (Info: here)

Theatre at Erddig Hall

Another National Trust property playing host to outdoor theatre is Erddig Hall near Wrexham. Outdoor theatre company Chapterhouse bring two shows – Beauty And The Beast on Sat 22 June, and Little Women on Sat 24 Aug – to the Hall’s 18th-century formal gardens. (Info: Beauty And The Beast / Little Women)

Hijinx Unity Festival

Hijinx’s Unity Festival, where disabled, learning disabled and/or autistic artists get performance opportunities, is the only such event of its kind in Wales. This year, it takes place in four locations: one-day events in and around Pontio, Bangor (Thurs 27 June) and Y Ffwrnes, Llanelli (Sat 29 June) are followed by the main festival at the Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay (Wed 3-Sun 7 July) and some auxiliary events across town at Chapter Arts Centre (Thurs 4-Sat 6 July). On Saturday and Sunday, the WMC performances also form part of the Cardiff Food & Drink Festival in the Oval Basin. (Info: here)

The Big Splash at the Riverfront

In Newport, the Riverfront will again make a Big Splash as Wales’s largest free, family-friendly, outdoor arts festival transforms the streets of Newport into an outdoor stage on Sat 20 and Sun 21 July. (Info: here)

Theatre at Pembroke Castle

And from there, we visit Pembroke Castle’s grounds to watch E. Nesbit’s Psammead, the grumpy sand-fairy, grant children’s’ wishes in Five Children And It on Wed 24 July. (Info: here)

Illyria outdoor theatre

The ever-reliable Illyria have four theatrical titles to choose from, touring all over the UK from July to September. Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Gondoliers is at Cardigan Castle on Tue 23 July and Abergavenny Castle on Sat 31 Aug; Cardigan also gets Sherlock Holmes’s most famous canine crime story The Hound Of The Baskervilles on Sat 10 Aug, which hits Cardiff’s Insole Court on Fri 13 Sept.

From star-crossed lovers to animal discourse, Illyria’s other titles are Romeo & Juliet (Nantclwyd Y Dre, Ruthin, Sun 7 July; Montgomery Castle, Tue 9; The Kymin, Penarth, Thurs 11; Oriel Plas Glyn-Y-Weddw, Pwllheli, Tue 6 Aug; Pembroke Castle, Wed 7; Oystermouth Castle, Thurs 8) and The Adventures Of Doctor Dolittle (Oriel Plas Glyn-Y-Weddw, Pwllheli, Sun 28 and Mon 29 July; Pembroke Castle Wed 31 July; The Kymin, Sat 10 Aug; Abergavenny Castle, Sun 11 Aug). (Info: here)

Theatre at St Donat’s Castle

Lastly, St Donat’s Castle plays home to Beatrix Potter’s loveable but foolish duck, as The Tale Of Jemima Puddle-Duck sees our billed protagonist nearly falling foul (unintended pun) of a nefarious farmer on Sun 18 Aug. (Info: here)

words CHRIS WILLIAMS