New home for outdoor Shakespeare performers

A theatre company which ended open-air performances on a Dorset island after 60 years following a row with the National Trust, has announced a new venue.

Brownsea Open Air Theatre (Boat) and the trust were in dispute over the use of a temporary auditorium on Brownsea Island for the annual Shakespeare plays.

The volunteer-run company has announced its 2025 production will be staged in the grounds of Canford School at Merley, near Wimborne Minster.

It said discussions were continuing with the National Trust over plans for 2026.

Boat's summer productions were attended by more than 4,000 people each year who made the trip to the island nature reserve to watch a Shakespeare play in a temporarily constructed auditorium.

It announced earlier this year that August's Macbeth would be its last on the island as future shows were "financially unviable."

Earlier plans for developing a natural amphitheatre as an arts venue stalled and the National Trust said in April it was "considering the impact" of shows on the island's nature and wildlife.

Boat trustees said they were "very happy" to announce The Winter's Tale would be staged over two weeks in August 2025.

"Boat have agreed within Merley that we can put our annual Shakespeare production on in their beautiful grounds - and we will be doing so with an auditorium similar to that we are all used to on Brownsea Island."

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