After two years in lockdown, Wells Theatre Festival is back with its biggest programme of performances to date.

 Neil Johnson, co-founder and Associate Director of the Festival said: "We are delighted to be back and with such an exciting and diverse programme for 2022. With 21 productions to choose from, there is something for everyone – from improvised comedy to Shakespeare."

The hugely popular Bristol-based comedy improvisation company - Instant Wit will be making its first appearance at the Festival with a quick-fire comedy show, improvised and directed by the audience.

Theatre company Hordern Ciani returns to the Festival with a new musical version of Frances Hodgson Burnett's novel, The Secret Garden. The classic children's book tells the story of a young girl, orphaned and sent to live with her uncle in a rambling old mansion on the Yorkshire moors. She finds a disused, walled garden and unlocks its sad story and the magic within. 

 Also making a return are The Devil's Violin with their production The Beast in Me. 

Wassail Theatre's Whispering Willows is a highly accessible non-verbal production about roots, life and loss, all experienced through the world of a willow weaver. The performance draws on ancient folklore of the Southwest, the more recent devastation of WW2 and the invention of plastic. 

For the first time, The Rotunda Theatre will pop up by the Bishop's Barn at Wells Recreation Grounds as part of the Festival. The geodesic dome theatre will be hosting some highly acclaimed theatre productions. These include Hint-of-Lime's The Trials of Galileo and Grist to the Mill's new adaptation of HG Wells' classic – The War of the Worlds. Grist to the Mill will also bring The Ballad of Mulan, telling the story of the real Chinese heroine that inspired Disney's animation.

The Ballad of Mulan

As ever, an integral part of the Festival is the Wells Community Theatre production which this year will be Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare. Directed by Wells Theatre Festival Artistic Director Ros Johnson, the play is cast entirely from local residents and will be performed in front the Cathedral.

Wells Theatre Festival runs between 7 - 10 July in venues all over the City of Wells.

For more information and to book tickets www.wellstheatrefestival.org