YORK Theatre Royal is to take a summer production of Around the World in 80 Days around the city of York.

A fresh adaptation of the Jules Verne classic story will tour to three outdoor venues - all York school playing fields - before ending up on stage at the theatre.

The adaptation is by the theatre’s Creative Director Juliet Forster, who directed the Travelling Pantomime, which visited 16 venues across the city last Christmas.

Juliet said: “As one of the characters in the play says: ‘If you can’t travel to exciting parts of the globe this summer, don’t despair – we are here to bring the world to you!’ That is the spirit of this production really.

“Many of us are feeling disappointed that there are still a lot of restrictions around travelling this summer, so this show is the perfect opportunity for some armchair tourism – or rather, picnic blanket tourism.”

A spokesman said the production will be staged on playing fields at Carr Junior School from August 6-8, Archbishop Holgate School from August 14-16 and Joseph Rowntree School from August 18-21, and then indoors at York Theatre Royal from August 25-28, with a fourth outdoor venue to be confirmed soon.

Other summer productions include Mugabe, My Dad and Me, with its delayed world premiere from September 9-18 September after it was postponed last May when theatres closed as a result of the Covid pandemic.

A critically-acclaimed production of Willy Russell’s Educating Rita, starring Stephen Tompkinson and Jessica Johnson, will also come to York Theatre Royal from August 31 to September 4.