Regents Park Open Air Theatre

19:17 Alyson 0 Comments

I took to online research to find out about the Open Air Theatre at Regent's Park. While it was too early for my family in town at the time, it was perfect for some of our summer visitors.

So, with Paul's parents and grandmother in town, we set off to try something new in London.

The theatre shows 3-4 performances each summer, and this summer, the line-up includes To Kill a Mockingbird, Pride & Prejudice, The Winter's Tale and Sound of Music. I was so excited, some of my favorites were on here!! We decided to book tickets for To Kill a Mockingbird, as it worked best for our schedule. 

Come the day of, we check the forecasts. Rain! We go outside - cloudy! I crossed my fingers and hoped for a typical London day where it hinted rain, but just never quite happened.

We got to the park early to show his family around and partake in the picnic. You could bring your own or buy a basket in advance, however we were not so prepared for either of these options, so we tried out the barbeque on the grounds. As we are standing in line waiting for our burgers and kebabs, the clouds open up and the rain began.

At first, it's London's usual light rain. As time goes on, it gets worse. I'm wishing I had an umbrella as I hover under an awning by the picnic lawn. It lets up and they usher us inside to start the play, only after paying 6 GBP for some rain coverings for our chairs.

We sit a few minutes, waiting for the show to start - they have delayed it due to the rain, but finally come on and get the show on the road.

The play is well done, and an interesting set-up. I was caught up in the drama, until, surprise surprise, it began to rain again. After a few minutes pause, they deemed it dry enough to continue, so the show went on.

We finally made it to intermission, when the real rains came. The theatre was packed, full of people in trash bags, rain jackets, umbrellas, doing the best they could to stay dry in some of the hardest rain I've ever experienced in London. Despite sitting through 10 solid minutes of rain hoping to see the end of the show, it was cancelled for the evening and we were sent off on our way.

I was disappointed to miss it, but luckily, you're given a weather check. While we had seen the performance on the last day of its run, we were going to have to miss out on seeing the end and try something different.

The next show on the docket was Pride and Prejudice, my favorite book of all time (not to mention the BBC movie) and we were able to get a rain check for the showing this week.

It was lovely - we had perfect weather, with the sun setting just behind the trees as we sat down, swallows circling above us. The play started and it was true to the book and quite funny. Even as the sun came down, it wasn't too cold. I tossed on my rain jacket (always be prepared!) and snuggled up next to Paul.

Now - I've got Sound of Music to look forward to in August!