The Mop Fair opens at 3pm on Sunday with nine streets closed until Tuesday, the Alcester 10K starts at 10am on Sunday, and NT Live's The Misanthrope screens tonight.

The Mop Fair opens at 3pm on Sunday, and nine town centre streets close from the early hours of Sunday until Tuesday morning. The Alcester 10K starts on the High Street there at 10am on Sunday. Tonight the Bear Pit screens the National Theatre’s The Misanthrope.

Here is what is on from Friday 10 to Sunday 12 October, from each organiser’s own listing. Check with the venue before you travel.

Friday 10 October

The Misanthrope, NT Live at the Bear Pit. The Bear Pit Theatre on Rother Street screens the National Theatre’s production of Martin Crimp’s version of Moliere’s comedy, with Sandra Oh in the title role, according to the theatre’s listing. The listing gives the date only. Time and tickets are on its booking page.

As You Like It at the RST. Jonathan Groff’s Rosalind continues at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre through the weekend. The run goes to 7 November, per the RSC’s what’s on page. Tickets and performance times are on the RSC site, and the box office is 01789 331111.

Saturday 11 October

Last ordinary Saturday in the town centre before the fair. The Mop Fair’s road closures start in the early hours of Sunday, so Saturday is the last day this weekend to drive in and park on the fair streets.

Compton Verney. The gallery near Kineton, CV35 9HZ, has Nancy Cadogan’s The Lost Trees, open since 2 October, alongside Raqib Shaw’s night sonnets and the Enid Marx design exhibition. All are included in admission, according to the gallery’s listing. Open 10am to 5pm. Compton Verney is about nine miles east of Stratford.

Sunday 11 October

Alcester 10K, 10am. The twelfth running of the race starts and finishes at the Turks Head, 4 High Street, Alcester, B49 5AD. The organiser, Raceways Events CIC, says it is a single loop out into the lanes with two drinks stations, chip timing, and a medal and t-shirt for every finisher. There is a free 1K kids’ fun run starting beside the adult finish, with a medal for every child. Entry is listed at £30 to £32 on the race page, which warns that last year sold out early. Alcester is about seven miles west of Stratford.

The race runs under a county council road closure order for the Sunday morning. We could not find the 2026 order published today, so check before driving into Alcester town centre that morning, and expect the High Street to be closed around the start and finish.

Mop Fair, from 3pm. The fair opens on Sunday afternoon and runs until 11pm. Most of the big rides go on Bridge Street. The 127-year-old Golden Carousel is back in Rother Street. There is no entry charge; you pay per ride. The district council set it all out in its Mop Fair announcement on 28 September.

The closed streets are Greenhill Street, Rother Street from Ely Street, Wood Street, Union Street, Bridge Street, Windsor Street between Mansell Street and Rother Street, Meer Street, Henley Street and High Street. The council’s announcement gives the closure as 00:01 on Sunday 11 October to 7.30am on Tuesday 13 October; the sealed order says 1am to 6am. Our Mop Fair page has the full closure list and the buses, and the roadworks page has the order street by street.

Monday 12 October, for completeness

The fair’s formal opening is at 11am on Monday, when district and town council dignitaries open it. The Scouts’ pig roast is at the bottom of Bridge Street on the Monday, with the first slice auctioned for charity. The fair closes at 11pm and the streets reopen on Tuesday morning.

Not this weekend

  • Stratford Racecourse has no meeting. The next is Saturday 17 October, gates 11.40am, first race 1.39pm, per the fixtures page.
  • The Runaway Mop is Friday 23 and Saturday 24 October.
  • Half term events, including the Butterfly Farm’s Monarch butterfly week, are on our Halloween and half term page.