GUILDFORD Shakespeare Company is staging a magical double bill this summer in two stunning outdoor venues in the heart of historic Guildford.

First up is A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the enchanting Racks Close. This former chalk quarry in Quarry Street is now a wooded oasis.

Shakespeare’s raucous comedy of young lovers and mischievous fairies is directed by Abigail Anderson, who said: “I have loved A Midsummer Night’s Dream ever since I was a child. It is a near perfect play, like a laughter factory moving between banter, farce and slapstick, constantly raising the stakes and moving at a whipcrack pace.”

In July the company will move to Stoke Park for an Edwardian-set promenade production of The Tempest, its 50th show.

On a remote island a mother and daughter watch as a ship is wrecked on the shore. As the survivors come to discover, magic does exist and those we think are lost forever are really just waiting to be found.

The play will use the boating lake island, stone circle and rose garden, as well as the company’s new Astolat Pavilion headquarters. Director Caroline Devlin said: “Having Stoke Park as our world to play and promenade through is such a gift.”

A Midsummer Night’s Dream runs from June 16-July 2 at 7.30pm, with a matinee on June 18 at 2.30pm. The Tempest runs from July 15-30 at 7.30pm, with matinees on July 16, 23 and 30 at 2.30pm.

For tickets priced £27.50 (concessions £24.50, under-16s £16.50) visit www.guildford-shakespeare-company.co.uk