Lancaster theatre launches poll to decide 2027 Park Show in 40th birthday year

Robin Hood was the Park Show in 2026 but what will you choose for 2027?

Fans of a Lancaster theatre have the chance to pick next year's Park Show to help celebrate its 40th birthday.

The Dukes is inviting people to decide what will be its outdoor walkabout theatre show in Williamson Park in 2027, 40 years on from the first event of its kind.

An online poll has been launched between The Three Musketeers, Treasure Island and King Arthur, with the winner to be announced at The Dukes' 55th birthday celebration on Wednesday November 18.

The Three Musketeers was last performed in the park in 2018 and would feature swashbuckling swordplay, daring escapes and friendship as D’Artagnan joins the king’s musketeers to fight a villainous plot.

Treasure Island was last in the park in 2017 and you could expect pirates, a buried treasure and a cabin boy who finds himself in the thick of it.

And King Arthur was last performed in the park in 2011 (Merlin & the Legend of King Arthur) with a sword in a stone, a round table and the rise of a legendary king.

The Dukes' very first walkabout theatre show in Williamson Park was held in 1987, and starred Andy Serkis as Lysander.

Serkis, a Lancaster University graduate, went on to achieve huge success as an actor and director, playing legendary movie characters including Gollum in the Lord of the Rings films, Supreme Leader Snoke in the Star Wars films, and Ian Dury in Sex and Drugs and Rock n Roll. 

After this historic beginning, the Park Show has continued to go from strength to strength and delights audiences of thousands each summer, as they follow the action from scene to scene in picturesque surroundings.

You can vote for the 2027 Park Show HERE.

The Dukes' 55th birthday celebration on November 18 starts at 6pm (arrive for 5.15pm) and you can book free tickets HERE.

The Dukes in Lancaster

The event will include a look back over the last 55 years, a raffle with prizes, information on The Dukes' upcoming spring and summer season, the unveiling of a new painting by acclaimed local artist Chas Jacobs, as well as the revelation of the title of the 2027 Park Show.

The Dukes opened on November 18 1971 after a year of work to convert St Anne's Church into Lancaster's new civic theatre.

The Queen, as the Duke of Lancaster, had given her approval to name the space The Duke's Playhouse, and Lord Eccles, Paymaster General and Minister for the Arts, opened the new venue.

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