The Nuneaton Arts CIO is very happy to announce that we will be opening our doors again at the end of May for live events, performances and movies following the fourteen month enforced closure due to Covid-19 restrictions.
At first we will only be able to accommodate 30% maximum seating within the auditorium as we will have to continue with 1m social distancing, but those rules we hope will be removed after the final step of the country’s emergence from the pandemic rules in June.
In addition to the main theatre, we will also be opening our brand new intimate outdoor performance space – The Courtyard at the Abbey Theatre – on Saturday May 22nd in what we hope will be a successful new venture for us bringing a wider variety to our calendar.
Check out our What’s On page for those events already announced together with links to where you can buy tickets online – and why not bookmark the page, as we’ll be adding dates and shows as we start to get back to normality.
We are all eager to get back to the business of keeping you entertained and we certainly hope you’re eager to get back to enjoying the excellent programme we have on offer.
The Abbey Theatre – At the heart of the community.
Welcome to the home of the Abbey Theatre, a volunteer run venue, which provides Nuneaton with its ONLY live public performance venue for drama, music, dance and a wide variety of other arts based events. The Abbey Theatre is managed by the Nuneaton Arts Council, a registered charity.
Seating 250 in our comfortable auditorium, plus space for wheelchairs/carers at the front, we have increased our choice of programming in the past 5 years to include professional touring acts, and even the odd celebrity. Nicholas Parsons, Honor Blackman and Jimmy Cricket have played here, as well as musical performances from Maddy Prior and StringFever.
In addition over the past few years we have started to run regular Movie Nights at the Abbey Theatre, with children’s matinees out of term time, and sing-a-long versions of classic movies throughout the year. We recently had the pleasure of hosting a viewing of Star Wars – Rogue One, whereby Nuneaton born director Gareth Edwards hosted a Q&A session which was live broadcast via Social Media.
Another successful venture is our regular Funhouse Comedy night which boasts 4 different professional stand-up comedians from around the country each time.
Our licensed bar area has a selection of real ales along with wines/spirits and soft drinks and of course the traditional ice creams and snacks.
Upstairs, our two rehearsal/meeting rooms are home to several local performing societies for rehearsals, and these can also be made available during the day for commercial bookings.
Open for 11 months of the year (closing in August for repairs and improvements) there will undoubtedly be something for everyone in our packed calendar.