I’ve never ‘trodden the boards’ myself, as the experts call it. Nor have I acted on stage in any professional sense, as the rest of us call it. But there’s a time and a place for watching others do it. With friends, with family, with a date. Many combine an evening of food and drink alongside the show itself, so what’s not to like?

Fort Canning Park, Singapore

One of the newest outdoor theatres, Singapore's 'Shakespeare in the Park' season has made a real impression in Asia in just a few years. This year’s production is Macbeth, with performances until 22nd May 2011. The park itself is in the heart of downtown Singapore near Orchard Road, but you’ll be transported to Shakespeare’s time in no time. Where else could you chow down on Cantonese food and take in Shakespeare’s shows?

Visit the Singapore Repertory Theatre website for details.

The Minack Theatre, England

While Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre just south of the River Thames in Central London may well lay claim to being one of the more original outdoor theatres in the UK, and Europe’s largest open air theatre has just opened in Scarborough, Yorkshire, the Minack Theatre in the far west of England in Cornwall, gets my vote every time. Set into jagged cliffs overlooking the bay near Land’s End, the views are spectacular. There’s a varied programme of shows, from Roald Dahl favourites to musicals, choral evenings and more serious works, including those by Tom Stoppard.

Visit the Minack Theatre website for details.

Terme di Caracalla, Rome

One of Rome’s most ancient sites, the ‘Baths of Caracella’ date from the third century AD. Situated just south of the Coliseum, these former baths have formed the dramatic backdrop for opera since the late 1930s. Performing to audiences of nearly 20,000 people, the baths remain an incredible place to see opera. Opera might not be to everyone’s taste, but you should experience it at least once in your life.

Visit the Teatro Dell’Opera Di Roma website for details.

Maynardville Open-Air Theatre, South Africa

Located in a picturesque Cape Town suburb, there aren’t many open-air theatres quite like this in Africa, let alone South Africa. Running since the 1950s, the theatre performs Shakespeare plays annually in the southern-hemisphere summer, primarily late January.

Visit the Maynardville Open-Air Theatre website for details.

Delphi Theatre, Greece

Of course, if you want to visit one of the oldest open-air theatres in the world, try the theatre at Adelphi in Greece. It was built in the fourth century BC and no longer hosts live theatre. You’ll just have to use your imagination. But it’s a UNESCO World Heritage site and is the reason that New York’s Broadway and London’s West End have their own Adelphi and Apollo theatres, so it is well worth checking out.

Visit the Greek government’s Delphi Theatre website for details.

Of course, open-air theatres come with one major catch. The weather. Even I can’t control that, so I always have a plan B, just in case. Which usually means having an extra bottle of champagne on ice. I’m yet to meet a woman who can’t forgive a little rain on the one hand when she’s clutching some champagne in the other.