Pack a picnic and plan for Shakespeare under the open sky: A Midsummer Night’s Dream by East London Shakespeare Festival is coming to Gunnersbury Park on Thursday 9 July 2026 at 7:30pm.
The performance is a family-friendly outdoor Theatre Performance in Gunnersbury Park, London, with East London Shakespeare Festival presenting a high-energy version of William Shakespeare’s comedy. Around Ealing is also running a competition for free tickets, with entries closing at 5pm on Monday 6 July 2026.
The prize is aimed at readers who want a summer evening out without paying for tickets if they are selected. The winner will be notified on Tuesday 7 July.
Date, time and venue for the park performance
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Event | A Midsummer Night’s Dream by East London Shakespeare Festival |
| Date | Thursday 9 July 2026 |
| Time | 7:30pm |
| Venue | Gunnersbury Park, London |
| Cost note | Competition for free tickets |
| Audience | Family-friendly |
| Entry deadline | 5pm on Monday 6 July 2026 |
The event is being staged outdoors, so the source encourages visitors to pack a picnic and make an evening of it in the park.
Gunnersbury Park gives the production a natural setting for one of Shakespeare’s best-known comedies, which follows Hermia, Lysander, Helena and Demetrius into an enchanted forest. The source describes the show as lively, romantic and magical, with mischievous fairies turning the characters’ world upside down.
What East London Shakespeare Festival is bringing to Ealing
East London Shakespeare Festival is presenting a fresh, high-energy version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, designed as a family-friendly summer show rather than a formal indoor theatre night.
That matters for local planning. A 7:30pm start means the performance sits firmly in the evening, and the picnic-friendly setting gives families, couples and groups of friends a way to treat it as a full summer outing rather than only a ticketed performance.
The production’s core appeal is straightforward: Shakespeare’s comedy, performed in the open air, with romance, magic and confusion driving the story. For readers who know the play, the draw is seeing how ELSF handles the enchanted forest in a park setting. For those who do not, the plot is accessible enough for a mixed-age audience, with lovers, fairies and comic reversals carrying the action.
How the free ticket competition works
Around Ealing says one reader will win a prize supplied by East London Shakespeare Festival.
The winner can receive either a family ticket for 2 adults and 2 children under 16, or 1 adult and 3 under-16s. The alternative prize is 1 pair of full-price adult tickets.
To enter, readers must answer the competition question by email. The question is: Who wrote A Midsummer Night’s Dream? The options given are Charles Dickens, Oscar Wilde and William Shakespeare.
Entries must be emailed to [email protected]. Entrants need to include their name and address and put “MIDSUMMER WIN” in the subject line of the email.
Only 1 entry is permitted per person. Entries must arrive before 5pm on Monday 6 July 2026.
Deadline and competition terms to note
After the deadline, the winner will be drawn at random and notified on Tuesday 7 July 2026. Only the winner will be notified.
The source says contact details will be used to administer the competition and contact the winner. If needed, the winner’s details may also be passed to the organisation or company providing the prize so the prize can be claimed.
There is no cash alternative. Entries that do not comply with the competition terms may be disqualified, and if a winning entry is disqualified, the council reserves the right to award the prize to another entrant.
The entry deadline and random selection of the winner are final. Entrants are treated as accepting the terms and conditions by entering the competition.
Source: Ealing Council
Source check Source trail
This preview uses the event details and competition terms supplied by Around Ealing and the verified event brief.
- Confirmed the event date as Thursday 9 July 2026.
- Confirmed the 7:30pm start time and Gunnersbury Park venue.
- Confirmed the free ticket competition deadline as 5pm on Monday 6 July 2026.
- Kept booking, transport and accessibility details out where they were not provided.
- Source
- Around Ealing
- Scope
- Ealing
- Updated
- 2026-07-01 09:42
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