MALVERN Theatres offers a very different space to that offered by Regent's Park Open Air Theatre in London, but Tim Sheader will be bringing his acclaimed production of To Kill a Mockingbird indoors for a 30-date tour, including a six day run in Malvern.

He says, however, that the production won't undergo any major design changes to bring it in from the elements. "The biggest change," he says "will be in the audience's experience. As an open air production, an audience never knows what they're going to see - whether they'll see it in full sunshine, pouring rain, whether they'll even see the whole play and whether they'll see it in fits and starts as the weather dictates impromptu intervals.

"It will lose the threat of uncertainty in an indoor space."

It's not a book/play that immediately says 'open air theatre', but Tim says that's the point, adding that when he took on the role of director at Regent's Park, the first question was "what can we present that has not traditionally been offered in this open air theatre or in any open air theatre."

Among other productions have been The Crucible, with All My Sons, added to the programme this year. "We have tried to find plays that can be reimagined for the space.

Like Atticus Finch, Tim Sheader studied law, but knew that it was never going to be where his career was going. "There are things from my legal training that I use - attention to detail and discipline, but it wasn't me. It's not my soul.

"I was lucky I had a vocation, and even though I was doing law I knew what I wanted to do. It wasn't a difficult decision.

He concedes that very occasionally, working on Mockingbird, he might wonder if he should have been a human rights lawyer instead.

"I love my job and I feel very privileged," he says, "on days when it's working, sharing that muscular story with people and what the book's about - its sociological and familial issues. Watching these wonderful children being brought up in the most perfect way to go out into the world with an audience and sharing that with people.

"We are touring it because we're so proud of it. It's about celebrating the book.

"It's a stylised production," Tim explains. "Unlike most of the other touring productions of the work. It's like a flash mob reading of To Kill a Mockingbird.

It's very exciting to be working on it again," he says as he prepares to revive the production for the current tour.

To Kill a Mockingbird runs at Malvern Theatres from Monday, September 29 to Saturday, October 4. To book, call the box office on 01684 892277 or visit malvern-theatres.co.uk