The best: Open-air theatre in Manchester

Brimming with live music and puppetry, and featuring all the beloved characters from Lewis Carroll’s children’s classic, this interactive outdoor performance of Alice in Wonderland plays on Friday afternoon in Sale’s immaculately maintained Walkden Gardens.

Later that day, Shakespeare’s inimitable romantic comedy plays for one night only as the sun sets in Sale’s secluded botanical haven. Full of charismatic characters, live music and audience interaction, the show makes for a perfect child-friendly introduction to The Bard’s work.

Engineered for chance encounters with the public rather than a conventional audience, Gambit sees human chess pieces invade Manchester City Centre in a singular bid to ‘overturn the traditional order’.

Playing in the grounds of Stockport’s gorgeous Tudor manor, the outdoor production of David Walliams’ Awful Auntie follows Stella Saxby as she attempts to outmanoeuvre her hideous aunt, who is desperate to wrest the deed to Saxby Hall as part of a nefarious plan.

Recommended for over-7s.

Running across two nights in Didsbury, Heartbreak Productions’ take on the Charlotte Brontë follows the beloved Victorian heroine and her relentless tribulations against a carnival backdrop, featuring acrobats, jugglers and more.

Slightly further afield, Outreach Opera return to Chorley’s Astley Park for an unforgettable evening of classic British orchestral anthems, played as night falls over the park’s gorgeous Walled Garden. Visitors are encouraged to bring blankets, picnics and clothing that might befit the symptoms of an early northern autumn.