Next week Aristophanes’ classic Greek comedy, The Birds, will be performed by Best Theatre Arts’ award-winning youth theatre group, TheByte, will be flying high in the beautiful surroundings of the Roman Theatre in Verulanium Park.

This 2000-year old play tells the story of two Athenians, worn down and fed up with the inequalities and pressures of city life, and their search for a simpler way of living. Their journey takes them away from the city of Athens and brings them to the king of the birds.

Together, they create Cloud Cuckoo Land, a new world where the birds are more powerful than humans and the Athenians are more powerful than the gods, than Zeus himself even. But is it possible to create the perfect world? Or is that just cloud cuckoo land? And what do the gods themselves have to say about it?

Co-director of the production, Lisa Schulberg, said of the play: "It's a fast and funny adaptation of a fabulous story, performed by a hugely talented cast in a gorgeous setting! What's not to like?"

Entrance to the Roman theatre in Verulanium Park is at Gorhambury Drive, AL3 6AE, July 17 and 18, 7.30pm. Details: ticketsource.co.uk/ovo