The Roman Theatre Festival will celebrate its tenth anniversary in St Albans this year.

The Roman Theatre is the oldest producing theatre in the UK, and is run by OVO.

It will run from May 31 to September 8, presenting a rich blend of theatre and music in St Albans.

Herts Advertiser: Performance of the Railway Children at the Roman Theatre Open Air FestivalPerformance of the Railway Children at the Roman Theatre Open Air Festival (Image: Elliott Franks)

The festival will showcase vibrant adaptations of British classics as well as revivals of popular favourites.

Adam Nichols, artistic director of OVO, said: "It hardly seems possible that we have reached our tenth anniversary, but we couldn’t have assembled a more exciting array of productions and creative talent to help us celebrate this milestone.

"We are particularly excited to be collaborating with so many companies, and especially that we are continuing our partnership with Pitlochry Festival Theatre.

"Every one of the shows we are presenting will embody OVO’s bold, imaginative, and inspiring qualities, so expect wit, irreverence, cheek and amazing entertainment under the stars this summer."

Herts Advertiser:

The festival will kickstart with Shakespeare's 'The Merry Wives of Windsor', a daring reimagining set in the 1980s.

The close of the festival features the highly anticipated new musical 'The Highwayman', based on the poem by Alfred Noyes and crafted by Kitty Morgan.

Collaboration is key in this year's festival, with a recent partnership with the Pitlochry Festival Theatre seeing Frances Poet's vivid adaptation of 'Sense and Sensibility'.

An inventive mashup of Chekhov’s 'The Cherry Orchard' and 'The Seagull', produced with Knuckledown, promises to challenge audiences.

Herts Advertiser:  Performance of Private Lives at the Roman Theatre Open Air Festival Performance of Private Lives at the Roman Theatre Open Air Festival (Image: Elliott Franks)

Other highlights include restaging of Noel Coward’s 'Present Laughter' and Shakespeare's 'Henry V' by Changeling Theatre; a folk/indie gig theatre reimagination of Christopher Marlowe’s 'Hero and Leander'; and Kernow Chamber Players' innovative opera version of Shakespeare’s 'Richard III'.

St Albans’ local talent also joins the line-up with the St Albans Musical Theatre Company presenting 'Spring Awakening'; Act4 Productions stages the beloved Sondheim musical 'Into the Woods'; and OVO’s youth ensemble is performing a new production of 'The Secret Garden'.

Alongside the theatre, OVO will host a series of classical and folk music events featuring the Classical Chorus, Jez Lowe, Bob Fox & Julie Matthews, and St Albans-based ukulele group, the Ver Players.