Punters will have to pay for tickets for this year’s open-air theatre season in Central Park – but it will be cheaper if you live in the borough.

Plays by Shakespeare and Oliver Goldsmith are coming to Dartford Outdoor Theatre as part of the council’s Summer Season of Arts.

A charge is being levied on tickets this year in an attempt to help fund more performances.

Council Leader Jeremy Kite (Con) said: “These performances are amazingly popular but when tickets are free we tend to have the entire allocation snapped up almost immediately only to find that a proportion of guests don’t turn up on the night.

“It’s particularly disappointing because space at the Outdoor Theatre is limited and we could have allocated more tickets.

“We’re hoping that a small charge will reduce the number of no-shows even though it’s only a fraction of the price theatre fans are paying for these very same performances elsewhere in Kent.”

Tickets for all performances will be £5 for Dartford residents and £15 for non-residents.

The second season at the town’s outdoor stage starts on June 21 with a performance of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream followed on July 27 with She Stoops to Conquer – Oliver Goldsmith’s 18th century comedy of deception and seduction.

Shakespeare returns on August 10 with All’s Well That Ends Well.

Cllr Kite added: “Residents from outside the borough might be disappointed we are charging them more but I believe the council should provide great value services to the people we represent and I want Dartford residents to have the best deals.

“We’re elected to look after them, not others.”

All the proceeds from tickets will be ploughed back into further outdoor performances.

Guests are invited to bring along a blanket and picnic to make a night out of it.

Rob Forknall, artistic director of Changeling Theatre, which has performed many of the summer Shakespeare plays, said: “We have performed in Dartford since 2012 and its beautiful setting and warm and enthusiastic audiences always make for a great show.”