A huge open-air festival is launching its summer programme of entertainment just in time for half term.

The Hever Festival, which takes place at the Festival Theatre in Hever Castle, near Edenbridge, is celebrating the start of its 40th anniversary at the end of May.

This year’s festival kicks off with a performance of Shakespeare’s comedy As You Like It by the Three Inch Fools on Saturday, May 27 in the Italian Gardens.

The opening performance mirrors the festival’s very first play 40 years ago, which was also one of the Bard’s best-known works, A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

During the school holidays, there will be a number of family-friendly events, including an amateur production of Roald Dahl’s Matilda and outdoor theatre company Illyria’s adaptation of Robin Hood.

The first week of the festival also boasts two Comedy at the Castle performances from Patrick Monahan and Geoff Boyz, a Fleetwood Mac tribute and a historic talk entitled the Boleyns in Context by Ann Henning Jocelyn.

If you can’t make it to the castle in the first week, there’s no need to worry as the festival continues right through the summer.

There will be musical acts such as the Guildhall Strings’ Best of Baroque, the New Jersey Beat, the Dolly Show, Just Floyd and a rousing closing concert with the Last Night of the Hever Proms.

Theatre fans can enjoy open-air productions of classic shows, including the Wizard of Oz, Pride and Prejudice and Twelfth Night, with different adaptations suitable for all ages.

This year’s Hever Festival will run from Saturday, May 27 until Wednesday, August 30.

Most performances will take place within the grounds of Hever Castle, however some events will be held at Chiddingstone Castle.

You can book tickets to individual performances online here.

You can also purchase joint tickets that include entry to Hever Castle and Gardens along with the festival performance at a discounted price.