Abbey Theatre

About

The Abbey Theatre is situated on Pool Bank Street in the Abbey Ward of Nuneaton, England, and is managed and run by volunteers by the Nuneaton Arts Council (NAC). The venue hosts performances including visiting theatre companies, touring shows, musicals, pantomime and drama, dance, comedy and film screenings. The Abbey Theatre is run by a charity, Nuneaton Arts CIO, Charity No 1193774 With a regular annual attendance of over 30,000, the Abbey is the only public theatre in Nuneaton and one of the busiest venues in Warwickshire.

History: The Nuneaton Arts Council was founded in 1969 by a group of local arts devotees who noted the continuing demise of other venues in Nuneaton. When the local Territorial Army drill hall became available, the new Arts Council began converting the building. The task was completed in 1974, and the first performance was from the Nuneaton Pantomime and Revue Society, with their production of Finian's Rainbow. For several years in the 1980s the theatre was the town's only cinema following the closure of the last full time picture house, The Ritz. It continued semi-regular screenings until the new Odeon multi-screen complex opened in the nearby Bermuda Estate...