Timothy Sheader

Timothy Sheader was appointed artistic director at the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre in November 2007, being responsible for productions from the 2008 season.

2008

His first season, produced in 2008, consisted of productions of Romeo and Juliet, Twelfth Night, Lerner and Loewe's Gigi - starring Millicent Martin as Mamita and Topol as Honore - and an especially adapted production of A Midsummer Night's Dream for family audiences.

2009

Productions in 2009 included Much Ado About Nothing, The Importance of Being Earnest, The Tempest which was adapted for family audiences, and Hello, Dolly!. The latter won several awards, including the Olivier Award for Best Revival of a Musical and Best Actress in a Musical for its star Samantha Spiro.

2010

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 and only time that Into the Woods had been performed outside and won the Olivier Award for "Best Musical Revival".

2011

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) and the musical Crazy for You, which 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.

2012

For the 2012 season, two productions were run across the entire season in repertoire: the Tony Award-winning Ragtime the Musical and Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream'.'^[1]

2013

The 2013 season included productions of To Kill a Mockingbird, Pride and Prejudice (adapted for the stage by Simon Reade), The Winter's Tale (re-imagined for everyone aged six and over) and The Sound of Music.^[2]

References