The best: Outdoor theatre shows coming to Greater Manchester

Hailed as ‘live entertainment at its best’ by North West End, Pantaloons Theatre’s fast-paced and furiously funny adaptation of the classic Jane Austen novel takes over the grounds of Arley Hall with a night of romance, heartbreak, live music and audience interaction.

Brimming with scandal, scoundrels and societal pressure, Sense & Sensibility follows the Dashwood sisters – Elinor, the embodiment of restraint and rationality, and Marianne, governed by emotion and impulse – in a tale of redemption and growth as they navigate new lives after their family loses its fortune.

Down at Stockport’s historic Bramall Hall, the award-winning Illyria return with an whip-smart reworking of Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor on Sun 20 Jul.

Falstaff, destitute and desperate, attempts to seduce two merchants’ wives in a bid to make off with their money. When the pair realise they’ve received identical love letters, however, they vow to teach him a lasting lesson in deceit with the help of their husbands and friends.

Tickets include access to Bramall Hall before the performance, so that you can explore the iconic building and its grounds set against one of the most beautiful landscapes in the North West.

Specialist outdoor theatre company The Three Inch Fools hit the Walton Hall stage with a fresh take on Shakespeare’s best-loved comedy this month.

On the eve of midsummer, the Fairy King and Queen are quarrelling in the heart of an enchanted forest. Nearby, four lovers are on the run from an arranged marriage, and a troupe of hopeless actors are rehearsing an audacious theatrical showpiece. As their stories intertwine, the shapeshifting mischief-maker Puck adds a dose of alchemical mayhem to throw all plans into disarray.

On Sun 3 Aug, the HandleBards pedal into Ordsall Hall’s scenic grounds with their set, props and costumes in tow for a one-off performance of their environmentally sustainable production of another madcap Shakespeare comedy, Much Ado About Nothing.

Promising a showcase of the greatest ever playwright ‘like you’ve never seen before’, the bicycle-powered theatre experience delivers boundless energy, flamboyant chaos and all-ages excitement through the story of a group of soldiers who, returning from war to a household in Messina, reignite old rivalries and foster new love interests in a whirlwind of scheming, melodrama and misunderstanding.

From Warrington to Wilmslow, the Three Inch Fools head to Quarry Bank on Sun 3 Aug for a delightfully off-kilter romp brought to life by the last queen of the Tudor dynasty.

Packed with regicidal feuds, devilish drama and plotting playwrights, The Most Perilous Comedie of Elizabeth I offers a ‘largely historical, totally hysterical’ tale of carnage and confusion, in which the Good Queen must make the most of a shabby script or risk her royal downfall.

Inspired by the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle collection, Molly Taylor and Ellie Hurt’s brand new Sherlock Holmes adventure leaves no stone unturned with a specially developed show which runs for six weeks at Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre.

In the centre of present-day Chester, Holmes and his industrious sidekick Dr. Watson find themselves in the spotlight as they bring the audience on their most absorbing and personal mystery yet.

On Fri 22 Aug, Folksy Theatre brings yet more Shakespeare shenanigans to the region with an uproarious interpretation of Twelfth Night in Walkden Gardens.

Shipwrecked and separated from her twin brother, Viola washes ashore and swiftly disguises herself as a man to avoid detection – only to become embroiled in a love triangle with the pining Duke Orsino and Countess Olivia, who falls for the incognito protagonist while having no idea of her true identity.

Billed as a blend of fun, folly and live music with a cast of fabulously flawed characters, Folksy Theatre’s Twelfth Night guarantees a memorable summer evening of theatre in Sale’s idyllic botanical sanctuary.