Outdoor Theatre

From garden art last week to art in the garden today, because there is more to gardens than pretty flowers?

Gardens provide wonderful inspiration for artists, and make an atmospheric setting for open-air performances and fun garden parties. Here’s our round-up of artsy outdoor entertainment in Dublin over the next month.

First off, a celebration of Shakespeare! To celebrate the 450th anniversary of his birthday, Mouth on Fire theatre company, in association with Dublin Castle, will stage a birthday bash like no other. The first in a series of summer events in the Dubh Linn Gardens, the inaugural, fully seated, open-air representation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream takes place on July 23 and continues until August 3, rain or shine?? get tickets here.

For a more intimate and immersive artistic experience in a wild meadow garden, Burtown House in Kildare is hosting a number of art workshops throughout the summer. Join the former Sculptor-In-Residence of Mount Rushmore National Memorial for a Garden Sculpture Workshop, August 1?3. On August 23, join?Wicklow-based artist Yanny Petters for a botanical watercolour painting and illustration course at the Schoolhouse for Art in Enniskerry, where you will draw from a medley of wild and edible plants and flowers from the garden.

If you are into elegant gardens and exquisite topiary art, and want to learn more about how to make them come alive, join Cathal O?Sullivan of the RHK-IMMA for a tour of the formal gardens on July 26. Finish the day by attending the Summer Party to explore the galleries and the grounds at night.

Finally, if you’re around Wexford/Waterford from July 28 to August 4, don’t miss Art in the Open. Organised by South East Plein Air – a non-profit association of painters who live in the region and draw their inspiration from the local landscape – the festival?gathers artists from many countries to paint together for a week of fun, friendship, learning and inspiration in the Irish landscape. More than 150 artists are expected to participate, visiting a different venue each day and meeting the challenge of painting coastal scenes, pastoral landscapes, villages, castles, gardens and towns. At the end of the week artists are invited to submit their best work for exhibition and awards.

For summer-party styling tips and night-time outdoor entertainment, we’ve made a little selection of the best inspirational pins here.

@Image_Interiors / @DianaNacu