Set against a backdrop of eucalyptus trees and the starlit sky of Balboa Park, the 620-seat Lowell Davies Festival Theatre is The Old Globe's outdoor performance venue and home to the summer Shakespeare Festival in San Diego, California. The theatre was constructed in 1984 at a cost of $2.1 million after an arson fire destroyed its predecessor, rising in just 222 days to open in time for that year's summer season. The original outdoor Festival Stage had itself been emergency-built in only 52 days in 1978 after a separate arson fire destroyed the historic Old Globe Theatre. That first open-air stage allowed the Tony Award-winning company to continue presenting its summer program without interruption. When a second fire struck in 1984, the company responded with the permanent steel-and-concrete structure that stands today, named for Lowell Davies, a former board president and major Old Globe supporter. The Lowell Davies Festival Theatre operates during The Old Globe's Summer Festival season, typically July through September, presenting Shakespeare and contemporary works in a terraced-seating configuration that places the audience close to the action. Sightlines are intimate, and the natural surroundings of Balboa Park contribute to an immersive theatrical atmosphere. Blankets are available on request, and patrons are encouraged to dress warmly for evening performances in the coastal climate. The outdoor theatre is one of three stages within the Old Globe complex at 1363 Old Globe Way. The other two -- the 580-seat Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage in the Old Globe Theatre and the 250-seat Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre -- are housed in the Conrad Prebys Theatre Center. Together the three venues support a season of roughly 15 productions and nearly 600 performances annually, making The Old Globe one of the country's leading regional theatre companies and California's oldest professional theatre.

Type: Outdoors

Address: 1363 Old Globe Way, San Diego, CA, United States, 92101

Telephone: 619-234-5623

Website: https://www.theoldglobe.org/

Capacity: 620