Alban Arena (formerly known as St Albans City Hall or Civic Hall) is a

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

and

music venue A music venue is any location used for a concert or musical performance. Music venues range in size and location, from a small coffeehouse for folk music shows, an outdoor bandshell or bandstand or a concert hall to an indoor sports stadium. Ty ...

located in

St Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. The venue opened in 1968 with a performance by blues singer

John Mayall John Mayall, OBE (born 29 November 1933) is an English blues singer, musician and songwriter, whose musical career spans over sixty years. In the 1960s, he was the founder of John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, a band that has counted among it ...

, and has staged concerts by bands such as

Dire Straits Dire Straits were a British rock band formed in London in 1977 by Mark Knopfler (lead vocals and lead guitar), David Knopfler (rhythm guitar and backing vocals), John Illsley (bass guitar and backing vocals) and Pick Withers (drums and percuss ...

in 1978 and Jethro Tull in 2010. Mayall returned to celebrate 40th anniversary in 2008. Soon after opening in 1968 the City Hall began hosting regular "Civic Discos", on Mondays for teenagers and on Saturday nights (with occasional live music) for older patrons. The Monday night Disc Jockeys included the London impresario "Rocky Rivers" and Jeff Spencer, later DJs included Graham Kentsley who hosted a series of events celebrating 50 years of the Civic Disco in aid of the New St Albans Museum that opened in 2018. Over the

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

period of 2004, the pantomime

Aladdin Aladdin ( ; ar, علاء الدين, ', , ATU 561, ‘Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with ''The Book of One Thousand and One Nights'' (''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part of ...

was staged at the venue with participation

Michelle Bass Michelle Bass (born 2 February 1981) is an English glamour model and television personality turned singer and columnist. She first came to fame as a contestant on the fifth series of the UK reality television show '' Big Brother''. Previousl ...

, the December 2005 show was

Peter Pan Peter Pan is a fictional character created by List of Scottish novelists, Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and Puer aeternus, never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending ...

with

Leslie Grantham Leslie Michael Grantham (30 April 1947 – 15 June 2018) was an English actor, best known for his role as "Dirty" Den Watts in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders''. He was a convicted murderer, having served 10 years for the killing of a West Germ ...

and

Dani Harmer Danielle Jane Harmer (born 8 February 1989) is an English actress, television personality, and former singer. She is best known for her lead role as Tracy Beaker in the CBBC series ''The Story of Tracy Beaker'' (2002–2006), ''Tracy Beaker R ...

, and in 2009

The Little Mermaid "The Little Mermaid" ( da, Den lille havfrue) is a literary fairy tale written by the Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. The story follows the journey of a young mermaid who is willing to give up her life in the sea as a mermaid to gain a h ...

with

Sarah-Jane Honeywell Sarah-Jane Honeywell (born 5 January 1974) is an English actress, writer, TV and radio presenter, blogger and singer. She is best known for her work on the CBeebies television channel. As well as appearing on pre-school TV, Honeywell is a suppor ...

. In 2007 the

St Albans International Organ Festival The International Organ Festival (IOF) is a biennial music festival and organ competition held in St Albans, England since 1963. Originally held annually, it was changed to every two years in 1965 due to the complexity of organising the increasin ...

took place at the arena.Info from St Albans International Organ Festival#The Fringe

Notes

References

External links

* Buildings and structures in St Albans Theatres in Hertfordshire Music venues in Hertfordshire {{Music-venue-stub