From Torchwood to Tchaikovsky
Castle gears up for a festival of midsummer magic
With a programme ranging from an evening with TV Torchwood star John Barrowman to Shakespearean comedy performed open-air in The Collector Earl's fantastical garden, this year's eagerly anticipated Arundel Festival promises to be a highlight of the Sussex summer arts scene.
Taking place between 21 and 31 August, the Festival will centre on the town and the magical medieval Castle, which will provide the stunning venue for many of the week's planned spectaculars.
The ambitious programme promises theatrical midsummer magic, candlelit opera, comic Elizabethan caperings, a rock & pop concert, songs from the shows and some of the best-loved music from the classical composers.
Thousands of fans are set to descend on Arundel Castle on Friday 21 August for an evening of summer music, The excellent line-up includes multi-award winning Supergrass, Ian Broudie's The Lightning Seeds, and Indie rock band Idlewild.
On Saturday 22 August we welcome the multi-talented John Barrowman - this highly popular singer, dancer, actor and presenter has been called "a unique talent in the British entertainment industry". A sell-out crowd is expected for his open air picnic concert when he will perform songs from the stage and screen.
On Sunday 23 August the National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Anthony Inglis performs an outdoor concert of classical favourites on the themes of Love and War, culminating in the canons and bells of Tchaikovsky's spectacular 1812 Overture.
The touring Candlelight Opera company takes over the Castle's magnificent Barons' Hall on Tuesday 25 August, returning there after last year's festival triumph to present another new, fully staged production of a favourite Mozart opera. The company will perform Don Giovanni in "daring 17th century style dress, set in the manner of Charles II's Restoration court".
Lovers of traditional Shakespearean open air theatre have a double treat in store this year with the renowned British Shakespeare Company performing two plays in what they say will be "a magical festival of love, laughter and amorous adventure".
The company, Europe's leading exponent of open air theatre, attracted sell-out crowds for its visit to the Arundel Castle for last year's festival. This year the BSC will stage Much Ado About Nothing on Thursday 27 August and Friday 28 August and by huge popular demand a reprise of last summer's triumphant A Midsummer Night's Dream on Saturday 29 August. They will be performed in the Castle's celebrated Collector Earl's Garden, which will act as a natural other-worldly stage for two of the Bard's most playful productions.
On this website you can find out all you need to know about the Arundel Castle Festival events; how to book all Castle events tickets whether in person, by telephone, email or online (concerts only) and how to contact the Arundel Castle Events team.
Full details for each event What's on… For full directions to Arundel Castle please see our Find us page.