After being the home of Phillip Breen's glorious The Comedy of Errors this summer, we've begun taking apart our Garden Theatre, as well as preparing for the reopening of the Royal Shakespeare Theatre next month.

Almost 30,000 tickets were sold for the temporary outdoor theatre, which was conceived of at the start of the year as a safe and accessible way to bring live theatre back to Stratford. We also sold more than 1,000 waterproof degradable ponchos, for those days when the British summertime made outdoor performances a little damper.

The deconstruction will take about six weeks to complete, including a tidy up of the site. The Swan Gardens will be closed to allow for groundworks to clear the ground and replant the grass, and the Riverside Walk will also be closed during this time. We are hopeful that most of the gardens will be accessible for October half term; however, some areas will remain closed off to allow for the grass on the new lawn to grow fully.

What's next?

We are reusing the set from The Comedy of Errors for the show's tour, which visits Nottingham, Canterbury and Bradford from next month and its run in the Barbican, while the stage and seating will go into storage for future use.

We are also currently preparing the Royal Shakespeare Theatre ready for it to reopen on 14 October with our magical new family musical, The Magician's Elephant. Until then, the theatre building, including the Rooftop Restaurant and Riverside Cafe, will be closed to the public.