Shakespeare on the Lawn at Doddington Hall

Enjoy an unforgettable open-air theatre experience on the Croquet Lawn as The Lord Chamberlain’s Men bring Twelfth Night to Doddington Hall.

Join The Lord Chamberlain’s Men this summer, in their 21st year, for Shakespeare’s greatest romantic comedy, Twelfth Night. With a history stretching back to William Shakespeare’s original company, they present this joyous play as he first saw it – in the open air, with an all male cast and Elizabethan costumes, music and dance.

“If music be the food of love play on!”

Orsino, Duke of Illyria, is desperately in love with Countess Olivia. But she, in mourning for her brother, has sworn off all men. Suddenly Viola, separated from her twin brother in a shipwreck and now disguised as a man, enters Orsino’s court as his servant and turns everyone’s world upside down. Sent to woo Olivia on Orsino’s behalf, Viola is stunned to find herself the object of Olivia’s affections and, as Olivia falls in love with Viola, so Viola falls in love with Orsino.

“O time, thou must untangle this, not I. It is too hard a knot for me to untie.”

Romantic confusion, mistaken identity, practical jokes and riotous disorder abounds in Shakespeare’s hilarious and lyrical romantic comedy about love, its many and glorious facets, and the mess it can make of us all.

“Nothing that is so, is so.”

Bring a chair and a picnic, or order a Doddington Farm Shop picnic bag, and prepare to be entertained and transported. Book early to avoid missing out!

“The best authentic Shakespearean experience” Yorkshire Post