EVERYMAN Theatre will begin their open air festival on Wednesday, June 24.

Wales' largest and best-loved open air theatre festival returns to Sophia Gardens in Cardiff, with a decadent offering of summer entertainment.

Following last year’s near sell-out Elizabethan run, we pick up with Lord Edmund Blackadder’s decadent in Regency England. Having moved down the social scale to Butler, but not lost any of his ancestor’s acerbic ‘charm’, once again we find him – and his ever-faithful dogsbody Baldrick – ridiculously pandering to royalty, this time in the court of the foppish Prince George.

Blackadder the Third opens this year’s Festival, and runs until Saturday, July 4 – advanced booking is strongly recommended.

Then cross the Atlantic, and fast forward to the 1960s to meet Charity Hope Valentine, the Coney Island dance hall hostess who dreams of a brighter, more romantic future, but always seems to lend her heart to the wrong guy.

However, after a chance meeting with a mild-mannered accountant, things just might be looking up. Combining a sparkling score - including ‘Big Spender’, ‘If My Friends Could See Me Now’ and ‘The Rhythm of Life’ – vibrant dance numbers and searing retro design – this is the musical event of the summer.

Sweet Charity runs from Wednesday, July 8 to Saturday 18.

This year’s Shakespeare, As You Like It, returns us to Britain, 1915, where the characters are torn between two very different worlds – the formality of an imposing court, and the rustic freedom of the forest of Arden (where ‘All the World is a Stage’).

Banished to the forest the heroine Rosalind - disguised as a man - goes in search of her exiled father. Instead she encounters Orlando, the man she has fallen for, and safe in her disguise, begins to teach him the truth about love. Featuring original, live music from Tim Riley, the production runs from Wednesday, July 22 to Saturday, August 1.

The Festival concludes with Go Productions daytime staging of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast Jr from Saturday, July 25 until Saturday, August 1. In 18th century France, village girl Belle and her father Maurice live a relatively quiet life until one day she becomes the captive of a troubled Beast, and his enchanted household. Join them for this hour-long version of a true Disney classic, with all your favourite characters and Oscar-winning songs. This tale, as old as time, is not to be missed.

There will also be two ‘Sunday Nights at the Festival’ performances on June 28 with Forte as they present One Night Only, an evening of songs from your favourite films and musicals and on July 12, 57 Chevy line up with the ultimate 50s and 60s show – tickets for these guest events are just £10.

All seats are numbered and under cover so you can watch the shows in comfort, whatever the weather. Also onsite there is the Festival bar, sponsored by Otleys and, new for 2015, Everyman has teamed up with the good people at Fablas Ice-cream and Dusty Knuckle Pizza Company to ensure audiences have a great night out.

Tickets for Blackadder the Third, Sweet Charity and As You Like It are £12-£16. Tickets for Disney’s Beauty and the Beast Jr are £8 each or £25 for a family ticket for four people.

For more information and to book tickets online visit the Everyman Festival website at everymanfestival.co.uk or call the box office on 0333 6663366.