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The Lighthouse (Poole)
Encyclopedia
The Lighthouse is an arts centre
in Poole
, Dorset
, England
. According to the Arts council of England
it is the largest arts centre in the United Kingdom
outside London
.
It has a 669 seat theatre
, a 1,500 seat concert hall, a 150 seat studio
, a 105 seat cinema
, an Image Lab/media suite, a large gallery for photography and digital art, a restaurant and three function rooms. The concert hall is home to the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
.
. The venue closed in May 2002 for an £8.5 million radical refurbishment and overhaul. This was paid for by Arts Council
Lottery Awards, the Borough of Poole
and through private donations. It reopened as Lighthouse, Poole's Centre for the Arts in October 2002. The refurbishment added new extensive facilities including a modern cinema, expanded concert hall and photography labs. Other additions included expanded customer facilities and a new restaurant.
The Lighthouse receives additional funding from the Arts Council England
. In 2005/06 £230,000, in 2006/07 they received £330,000 in 2007/08 they will receive a total of £339,080. The Lighthouse is currently owned by the Poole Arts Trust Ltd.
The venue is easily accessible by public transport (10 minute walk from Poole railway station
(for trains to London Waterloo, Southampton, Winchester and Weymouth, amongst others) and is opposite Poole bus station for local services across the town and into Bournemouth
, Christchurch
, Salisbury
and Swanage
) and also by the road network, within reasonable travel time from such towns as Dorchester, Weymouth, Yeovil
, Salisbury, Christchurch, Bournemouth, Lymington
, Southampton
and Blandford.
There is adequate car parking for visitors to the Lighthouse Theatre in the Dolphin Centre multi-storey which is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Arts centre
An art centre or arts center is distinct from an art gallery or art museum. An arts centre is a functional community centre with a specific remit to encourage arts practice and to provide facilities such as theatre space, gallery space, venues for musical performance, workshop areas, educational...
in Poole
Poole
Poole is a large coastal town and seaport in the county of Dorset, on the south coast of England. The town is east of Dorchester, and Bournemouth adjoins Poole to the east. The Borough of Poole was made a unitary authority in 1997, gaining administrative independence from Dorset County Council...
, Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. According to the Arts council of England
Arts Council England
Arts Council England was formed in 1994 when the Arts Council of Great Britain was divided into three separate bodies for England, Scotland and Wales. It is a non-departmental public body of the Department of Culture, Media and Sport...
it is the largest arts centre in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
outside London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
It has a 669 seat theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
, a 1,500 seat concert hall, a 150 seat studio
Studio
A studio is an artist's or worker's workroom, or the catchall term for an artist and his or her employees who work within that studio. This can be for the purpose of architecture, painting, pottery , sculpture, scrapbooking, photography, graphic design, filmmaking, animation, radio or television...
, a 105 seat cinema
Movie theater
A movie theater, cinema, movie house, picture theater, film theater is a venue, usually a building, for viewing motion pictures ....
, an Image Lab/media suite, a large gallery for photography and digital art, a restaurant and three function rooms. The concert hall is home to the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra is an English orchestra. Originally based in Bournemouth, the BSO moved its offices to the adjacent town of Poole in 1979....
.
History, development and funding
The Towngate theatre and Poole Arts Centre opened in April 1978 to serve the South East Dorset conurbationSouth East Dorset conurbation
The South east Dorset conurbation is a multi-centred conurbation on the south coast of Dorset in England. The area is rapidly becoming an amalgamation with the area of South West Hampshire immediately on the fringe of the newly formed New Forest National Park...
. The venue closed in May 2002 for an £8.5 million radical refurbishment and overhaul. This was paid for by Arts Council
Arts council
An arts council is a government or private, non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the arts mainly by funding local artists, awarding prizes, and organizing events at home and abroad...
Lottery Awards, the Borough of Poole
Poole
Poole is a large coastal town and seaport in the county of Dorset, on the south coast of England. The town is east of Dorchester, and Bournemouth adjoins Poole to the east. The Borough of Poole was made a unitary authority in 1997, gaining administrative independence from Dorset County Council...
and through private donations. It reopened as Lighthouse, Poole's Centre for the Arts in October 2002. The refurbishment added new extensive facilities including a modern cinema, expanded concert hall and photography labs. Other additions included expanded customer facilities and a new restaurant.
The Lighthouse receives additional funding from the Arts Council England
Arts Council England
Arts Council England was formed in 1994 when the Arts Council of Great Britain was divided into three separate bodies for England, Scotland and Wales. It is a non-departmental public body of the Department of Culture, Media and Sport...
. In 2005/06 £230,000, in 2006/07 they received £330,000 in 2007/08 they will receive a total of £339,080. The Lighthouse is currently owned by the Poole Arts Trust Ltd.
Programming and types of shows
Lighthouse provides a wide ranging programme, including:Theatre
- Mid-scale musical tours (such as FameFame (musical)A stage musical based on the 1980 musical film Fame has been staged under two titles. The first, 'Fame – The Musical' conceived and developed by David De Silva, is a musical with a book by Jose Fernandez, music by Steve Margoshes and lyrics by Jacques Levy. The musical premiered in 1988 in Miami,...
and Blood Brothers) - Opera (annually from English Touring OperaEnglish Touring OperaEnglish Touring Opera is an opera company in the United Kingdom. From 1979 to 1992 it was known as Opera 80.- About the company :Opera 80 was founded in 1979 by the Arts Council of Great Britain as the successor to Opera For All; in 1992 the company changed its name to English Touring Opera...
) - Dance (both contemporary and classical)
- Ballet
- Plays (ranging from classics such as Romeo and JulietRomeo and JulietRomeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular archetypal stories of young, teenage lovers.Romeo and Juliet belongs to a...
, An Inspector CallsAn Inspector CallsAn Inspector Calls is a play written by English dramatist J. B. Priestley, first performed in 1945 in the Soviet Union and 1946 in the UK. It is considered to be one of Priestley's best known works for the stage and one of the classics of mid-20th century English theatre...
to more modern day 'kitchen sink dramas') - Pantomime (CinderellaCinderella"Cinderella; or, The Little Glass Slipper" is a folk tale embodying a myth-element of unjust oppression/triumphant reward. Thousands of variants are known throughout the world. The title character is a young woman living in unfortunate circumstances that are suddenly changed to remarkable fortune...
for 2006/7 starring Bobby CrushBobby CrushBobby Crush is an English pianist, songwriter and television presenter.-Career:Crush first came to public attention after making six winning appearances on Hughie Green's British ITV talent show, Opportunity Knocks, in the early 1970s...
, Peter DuncanPeter Duncan (actor)Peter Duncan is a British actor and television presenter, best known as a former presenter of Blue Peter and for his later family travel documentaries.-Education:...
& Brian CantBrian CantBrian Cant is an English actor, television presenter and writer.-Personal life:Born in Ipswich, he currently lives in Buckinghamshire and is married to writer and director Cherry Britton, sister of TV presenter Fern Britton and actor Jasper Britton. They have three children, daughter Rose, and...
)
Concert Hall
- Weekly performances on Wednesday nights from the Bournemouth Symphony OrchestraBournemouth Symphony OrchestraThe Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra is an English orchestra. Originally based in Bournemouth, the BSO moved its offices to the adjacent town of Poole in 1979....
- Regular performances from the Wessex Youth OrchestraWessex Youth OrchestraThe Wessex Youth Orchestra has been performing since 1971, and has performed three concerts per year in that time, mostly in the Wessex Hall at Poole's...
- World music
- Rock concerts (including KISSKISS (band)Kiss is an American rock band formed in New York City in January 1973. Well-known for its members' face paint and flamboyant stage outfits, the group rose to prominence in the mid to late 1970s on the basis of their elaborate live performances, which featured fire breathing, blood spitting,...
, OasisOasis (band)Oasis were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1991. Originally known as The Rain, the group was formed by Liam Gallagher , Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs , Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan and Tony McCarroll , who were soon joined by Liam's older brother Noel Gallagher...
, Kings of LeonKings of LeonKings of Leon is an American rock band that originated in Albion, Oklahoma but formed in Nashville, Tennessee in 1999. The band is composed of brothers Anthony Caleb Followill , Ivan Nathan Followill and Michael Jared Followill Kings of Leon is an American rock band that originated in Albion,...
, U2U2U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
, Page & Plant, Rufus WainwrightRufus WainwrightRufus McGarrigle Wainwright is an American-Canadian singer-songwriter. He has recorded six albums of original music, EPs, and tracks on compilations and film soundtracks.-Early years:...
, Doves, Fun Loving Criminals) - Jazz
Cinema
Eclectic mix of world cinema, and recent releases normally presented 4–8 weeks after general release.Location
Lighthouse is situated just outside the main shopping centre / high street in Poole. However it is only a short walk from the centre of town.The venue is easily accessible by public transport (10 minute walk from Poole railway station
Poole railway station
thumb|right|Down stopping train in 1958Poole railway station is a railway station on the South Western Main Line serving the town of Poole in Dorset, England. The station is situated in the town centre next to Holes Bay...
(for trains to London Waterloo, Southampton, Winchester and Weymouth, amongst others) and is opposite Poole bus station for local services across the town and into Bournemouth
Bournemouth
Bournemouth is a large coastal resort town in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. According to the 2001 Census the town has a population of 163,444, making it the largest settlement in Dorset. It is also the largest settlement between Southampton and Plymouth...
, Christchurch
Christchurch, Dorset
Christchurch is a borough and town in the county of Dorset on the south coast of England. The town adjoins Bournemouth in the west and the New Forest lies to the east. Historically in Hampshire, it joined Dorset with the reorganisation of local government in 1974 and is the most easterly borough in...
, Salisbury
Salisbury
Salisbury is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England and the only city in the county. It is the second largest settlement in the county...
and Swanage
Swanage
Swanage is a coastal town and civil parish in the south east of Dorset, England. It is situated at the eastern end of the Isle of Purbeck, approximately 10 km south of Poole and 40 km east of Dorchester. The parish has a population of 10,124 . Nearby are Ballard Down and Old Harry Rocks,...
) and also by the road network, within reasonable travel time from such towns as Dorchester, Weymouth, Yeovil
Yeovil
Yeovil is a town and civil parish in south Somerset, England. The parish had a population of 27,949 at the 2001 census, although the wider urban area had a population of 42,140...
, Salisbury, Christchurch, Bournemouth, Lymington
Lymington
Lymington is a port on the west bank of the Lymington River on the Solent, in the New Forest district of Hampshire, England. It is to the east of the South East Dorset conurbation, and faces Yarmouth on the Isle of Wight which is connected to it by a car ferry, operated by Wightlink. The town...
, Southampton
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
and Blandford.
There is adequate car parking for visitors to the Lighthouse Theatre in the Dolphin Centre multi-storey which is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.