The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 6 plus 7 letter word STREET THEATRE
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
S
T
R
E
E
T
T
H
E
A
T
R
E
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Play in open" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case play in open = street theatre.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.