Beloved Dukes’ park show returns in 2020
The Dukes’ beloved ‘Play in the Park’ will be back in summer 2020 with a brand-new production of Alice in Wonderland.
The park show will return after a year’s hiatus, during which time The Dukes has been fundraising for new technical equipment to secure the future of this Lancaster tradition – raising more than £59,000 so far.
For the first time there will be a full week of preview performances, giving more people than ever the opportunity to buy an accessibly-priced ticket, costing £12 for adults and £7 for children.
Alice in Wonderland will be performed from July 7 to August 22 at 7.15pm in Williamson Park. Tickets are available at www.dukes-lancaster.org or by calling 01524 598500.
Karen O’Neill, Director of The Dukes, said: “We’re thrilled to be able to announce Alice in Wonderland as our 2020 park show title, and are looking forward to seeing the extraordinary world that director and writer Sarah Punshon and the team are going to create for us.
“We are also extremely pleased to extend our preview priced performances to enable as many people as possible to get an accessibly-priced ticket and be a part of this unique Lancaster tradition.”
The venue’s former Artistic Director, Sarah Punshon, will be returning to write and direct the new adaptation and will be joined by composers Claire Tustin and Ziad Jabero, who she previously collaborated with on the Dukes’ record-breaking Christmas production of Peter Pan.
Sarah added: “I’m delighted to be returning to both The Dukes and the park, to create this brand new adaptation and give generations of families the chance to make new memories together.”
The production will once again take audiences from location to location in the beautiful surroundings of Williamson Park, following the action and the actors as they move from scene to scene.
Since it began in 1987 with A Midsummer Night’s Dream, starring a young Andy Serkis, more than half a million people have been entertained by The Dukes Park Show, making it the biggest walkabout theatre season in the UK.
The venue’s 2016 production of The Hobbit won the UK Theatre Award for Best Show for Children and Young People, as well as selling out during its final weeks.
Tickets are available at www.dukes-lancaster.org or by calling 01524 598500.