OVO Brings 1967-Inspired As You Like It to the Roman Theatre of Verulamium
ST ALBANS, Hertfordshire, July 2026 – OVO’s award-winning production of Shakespeare’sAs You Like It, is coming to the spectacular open-air Roman Theatre of Verulamium from Friday 31 July, inviting audiences on a magical trip to the 1967 Summer of Love.
Shakespeare’s glorious comedy is given a vibrant Swinging Sixties makeover, brought vividly to life through iconic vintage styling and live music.
Pressured by the generation gap, lovers Rosalind and Orlando escape the city and journey to the Forest of Arden where they become entangled in a beguiling game of love, lust and mistaken identity.
First staged in 2016, this vibrant 60s-inspired adaptation marked OVO’s debut at the iconic Minack Theatre in Cornwall, where it won the prestigious Minack Trophy for Best Production. Following a hit revival in 2019 – which earned it a spot on The Guardian’s list of the best productions of the year – the show has been revisited and refreshed for a special 10th Anniversary production.
With a supremely talented cast of actor-musicians performing classic hits of the era seamlessly throughout the play – from The Kinks, Jimi Hendrix, Small Faces and many more – get set for a truly uplifting summer theatrical event in the amazing setting of the Roman Theatre Festival site.
Adam Nichols, OVO Founder and the production’s adaptor and director, said: “My aim has been to create a show that is fresh, funny, sexy and – when it matters – moving and touching. It is a genuinely hilarious romcom between Rosalind and Orlando, but it also has so much depth with the other brilliant characters and subplots. We can’t wait for audiences to experience the atmosphere of a summer of love at the Roman Theatre.”
As You Like It runs from 31 July to 22 August at the Roman Theatre of Verulamium in St Albans. For tickets visitwww.ovo.org.uk
Main image courtesy of Hannah Couzens
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