Rehearsals are under way for the Chester’s Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre, which opens in five weeks.

A cast of 15 actors are currently rehearsing Romeo and Juliet, The Wind and The Willows and The Merry Wives of Windsor.

Opening July 3 and running until August 23, 53 performances will be staged in the unique open air theatre that is now fully in the round.

Alex Clifton, artistic director at Chester Performs, said: “We’re having a creative, diverse and exciting time. We have a richly talented company of actors – one of the strongest we’ve ever had.

The Merry Wives is set to be another riotous comedy – our audiences will be thrilled - while Glyn Maxwell’s new adaptation of The Wind in the Willows is quite brilliant. It utterly serves the spirit of Kenneth Graeme whilst making it alive and modern. We cannot wait!”

Also working on The Wind in the Willows is choreographer by Lee Proud who was the choreographer for the West End hit Billy Elliot.

Producers Chester Performs have reported more than 10,000 tickets have been sold for the theatre already, with more than 400 families having booked.

To book and find out more visit www.grosvenorparkopenairtheatre.co.uk call 0845 241 7868 or drop into Chester Visitor Centre.