Meaning & use
open-air theatre
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountableBritish
A place where plays are performed outside, with no roof over the stage or audience.
Grammar: Countable: say 'an open-air theatre' or 'open-air theatres'. In American English the spelling is 'open-air theater'.
Patterns
- perform at an open-air theatre
- an open-air theatre production
We watched Hamlet at an open-air theatre in the park.
The festival takes place in an open-air theatre beside the lake.
Open-air theatres usually close for the winter.
noununcountableBritish
The activity or art of staging plays outdoors rather than inside a building.
Grammar: Uncountable when it means the art form: 'a season of open-air theatre'.
Patterns
- a tradition of open-air theatre
- open-air theatre in summer
The town has a long tradition of open-air theatre.
She studied open-air theatre and stage design.
Word forms
| plural | open-air theatres |
|---|
Common combinations
- open-air theatre performance
- The open-air theatre performance was cancelled because of rain.
- open-air theatre festival
- Every August the city holds an open-air theatre festival.
- perform in an open-air theatre
- The company performs in an open-air theatre all summer.
- open-air theatre season
- Tickets for the open-air theatre season sell out fast.
Synonyms and how they differ
- amphitheatre
- An amphitheatre is a round or oval outdoor structure with rows of seats; an open-air theatre can be any outdoor performance space, including a simple stage in a park.
- outdoor stage
- This is the physical platform rather than the whole venue, so it fits when you mean the structure, not the institution.
Word family
- theatre noun
- A building or company where plays are performed.
- theatrical adjective
- Relating to the theatre or to exaggerated, dramatic behavior.
Commonly confused: open-air theatre or theater?
open-air theatre vs theater
'Theater' is the American spelling; 'theatre' is standard in British English. Both are correct, but keep the spelling consistent within one text.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'open-air theatre' correctly?
Choose one answer.
An open-air theatre is outdoors, so a park fits. A mall, a television broadcast, and a closed studio are all indoors or not a venue, so they contradict 'open-air'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “open-air theatre”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.