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Venues Arts Centre Opera House


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Venues in Jersey

THE main performance venues in the Island are Jersey Opera House, the Jersey Arts Centre's Benjamin Meaker Theatre and St James and the Gloucester Hall at the Island's main leisure complex, Fort Regent.

Refurbished three years ago in time for its hundredth birthday, the Opera House was opened in 1900 with a show starring the Jersey Lily, the famous Edwardian beauty, Lily Langtry. There has been a theatre on the site for over 150 years, however, and the Grand Old Lady of Gloucester Street has been a major factor in keeping both Islanders and visitors entertained.

But the music hall days are long gone and now the 625 seater-venue is a firm date on many a professional company's national tour and presents West End musicals, contemporary theatre, stand-up comedians and world-renowned musicians.

The more intimate Benjamin Meaker Theatre, which seats 250 people, can be found at Jersey Arts Centre's main building in Phillips Street, which is often simply referred to as the Arts Centre although Jersey's arts centre also runs St James, plus organises street theatre and outdoor performances at the beautifully landscaped Howard Davis Park as part of its Alfresco Arts! programme supported by Jersey Tourism. This public park provides a delightful open air venue for a number of performers, from bands to storytellers.

Once an elegant 19th century church, St James has been deconsecrated and is now building a reputation as a versatile performance space with wonderful acoustics, as everyone from the Taiko Drummers to the Harlem Gospel Choir have discovered.

Phillips Street also boasts both the Berni art gallery (see galleries) and a bar gallery showing the best in contemporary Jersey art.

Fort Regent is the island's biggest leisure complex but its Gloucester Hall can be converted into a 2,200 capacity theatre making it the Island's largest indoor performance venue which stages popular shows such as Spirit of the Dance as well as the Jersey Symphony Orchestra's version of the Last Night of the Proms. It has also been used to full advantage by Jersey's independent promoters +Positiv and On Stage Events who have packed the Hall for performers such as Australian Pink Floyd, Chris de Burgh and Status Quo.

There are also a number of pubs which host live original entertainment from local bands to stand-up comedians.

author - Jane Delmer

This article updated: January 2004













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Cider apples were a major crop in the Island for centuries and cider was a major export. In the 1820s a quarter of all land was taken up by orchards.