Category: Theatres

This was the 26th Suffolk theatre I had been to, in twelve months, in my self-imposed challenge, each time writing about the venue and a different style of production. It was the turn of contemporary dance. DanceEast opened on the Ipswich Waterfront in 2009, as the centre for professional dance in East of England and host  public performances, usually of contemporary dance.   They also hold classes for […]

In the centre of town with a large public carpark next door, The Regal at Stowmarket has an impressive new café, upgraded foyer and toilets.  The Regal was opened in 1936 as a 566-seat cinema and has a long history. As the website says it was built…  “…on the former Dukes Head Meadow which had previously been used for travelling fairs and circuses. Coincidentally, the […]

I’ve been to several theatres created in old Victorian school buildings during my tour of Suffolk’s theatres. The Kings Theatre in Newmarket is another one and, just off the High Street, a new destination for me. It is the home of Nomads, Newmarket Operatic, Musical and Dramatic Society. The 1850-built school closed in 1939 and was a wartime tearoom, then venue for clubs to meet. […]

The Corn Exchange is in Ipswich town centre, on the Cornhill, in the building that also houses the Town Hall. The Cornhill is the place where big outdoor civic events take place. The name Corn Exchange obviously portrays the original function of the building, and it was built on the site used as a marketplace from at least the 14th century.   The Town Hall steps are […]

x It was a very dark winter’s night when I walked along the narrow residential street to where The Cut is to be found. The car parking is a few minutes walk away, in the town centre. Entering, there are a few steps up into the café (there is a stair lift, which I noticed wasn’t working when I arrived, so it may be worth […]

According to their website, in 1882 Daniel Gurteen, Haverhill business owner “built a Town Hall as a place for the people of Haverhill to go so that they could appreciate music performances, hear lectures, play chess and avail themselves of the books and newspapers in the reading room.” The exterior of the building still has quite a ‘wow factor’ sited in the main street surrounded […]

The stage at Beccles Public Hall has a 1903 plaque above, marking the renovation of the building, so it has been a venue at a busy crossroads in the town centre, for many years. The website says that,  “In 1785 the Corporation of Beccles Fen decided that building a Public Room as an Assembly Room and a Playhouse would encourage people of independent means to […]

The Seckford Theatre is a modern building set in the beautiful 45 acres of grounds at Woodbridge School. Obviously used for school productions,  it is also hired by amateur groups like Deben Players and The Company of Four, stage and dance schools, and small-scale professional tours such as those by Eastern Angles and Common Ground Theatre Company. Even the Royal Ballet has performed there! I have […]

The Red Rose Theatre Company is well known for its amazing outdoor productions of Shakespeare.  Always a madcap ride that are perfect for both newcomers to his work and aficionados, this year they took Macbeth to their new summer home of Sutton Hoo, near Woodbridge. (Read my review here: https://www.rachelsloane.co.uk/2022/07/30/review-macbeth-presented-by-the-red-rose-chain/) However, many people don’t realise that since 2015 they have their own theatre, next to Gippeswyck […]

I must have driven past this theatre several times when I’ve been in Lowestoft but hadn’t noticed it on Battery Green Road, the main road past the old harbour, just after the bridge.  The Lowestoft Players bought the building in 2009 and transformed it into a 200 seat theatre which opened in 2012. Previously they’d performed in the Sparrow’s Nest Theatre, which I visited as […]