The culture of Plymouth is a social aspect of the

unitary authority A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...

and city of Plymouth that is located in the south-west of England. Built in 1815, Union Street was at the heart of Plymouth's historical culture. It became known as ''the servicemen's playground'', as it was where sailors from the Royal Navy would seek entertainment. During the 1930s, there were 30 pubs and it attracted such performers as Charlie Chaplin to the

New Palace Theatre The Palace Theatre is a disused theatre in Union Street, Plymouth, Devon in south west England. It opened in 1898 as a music hall but was damaged by fire only three months after opening, and was re-opened in 1899 as the New Palace Theatre of Va ...

. It is now the late-night hub of Plymouth's entertainment strip, but has a reputation for trouble at closing hours. Outdoor events and festivals are held including the annual British Firework Championships in August, which attracts tens of thousands of people across the waterfront. In August 2006 the world record for the most simultaneous fireworks was surpassed, by Roy Lowry of the

University of Plymouth The University of Plymouth is a public research university based predominantly in Plymouth, England, where the main campus is located, but the university has campuses and affiliated colleges across South West England. With students, it is the ...

, over

Plymouth Sound Plymouth Sound, or locally just The Sound, is a deep inlet or sound in the English Channel near Plymouth in England. Description Its southwest and southeast corners are Penlee Point in Cornwall and Wembury Point in Devon, a distance of abou ...

. Since 1992 the Music of the Night has been performed in the Royal Citadel by the

29 Commando Regiment 29 Commando Regiment, Royal Artillery is the Commando-trained unit of the British Army's Royal Artillery, based in Plymouth. The regiment is under the operational control of 3 Commando Brigade, to which it provides artillery support and gunnery ...

and local performers to raise money for local and military charities. In 2009 Plymouth Culture, an arts and cultural development agency, was set up to provide strategic direction for cultural development across the city. The city is recognised by Arts Council England with a number National Portfolio Organisations, each of whom received annual funding to support the delivery of cultural activity across the city - for the 2018-22 funded period, the organisations funded were: * The Box, Plymouth * Barbican Theatre, Plymouth * KARST * Literature Works * Plymouth Culture * Plymouth Music Zone * Real Ideas Organisation * Take A Part CIC * Theatre Royal Plymouth

Radio and television

Plymouth is the sub-regional television centre of BBC South West. Plymouth is the regional television centre of BBC South West. A team of journalists are headquartered at Plymouth for the

ITV West Country ITV West Country is the British television service provided by ITV Broadcasting Limited for the South West England franchise area on the ITV network. Previously, between 2009 and 2013, the area was a non-franchise region, branded with the sa ...

regional station, after a merger with

ITV West ITV Wales and West, previously known as Harlech Television (HTV), was an ITV franchise area in the United Kingdom until 31 December 2013, licensed to a broadcaster by the regulator Ofcom. There is no channel, past or present, named "ITV Wale ...

forced

ITV Westcountry ITV Westcountry, formerly known as Westcountry Television and Carlton Westcountry, was the ITV franchise holder for the south west of England, covering Cornwall, Devon, Isles of Scilly, southern and western Somerset and western Dorset. The co ...

to close on 16 February 2009. The main local newspapers serving Plymouth are The Herald and

Western Morning News The ''Western Morning News'' is a daily regional newspaper founded in 1860, and covering the West Country including Devon, Cornwall, the Isles of Scilly and parts of Somerset and Dorset in the South West of England. Organisation The ''Western M ...

with

BBC Radio Devon BBC Radio Devon is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of Devon. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios in the Mannamead area of Plymouth. According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly audience of 1 ...

and

Heart West Heart West is a regional radio station owned and operated by Global as part of the Heart network. It broadcasts to the West and the South West of England from studios in Bristol. The station launched on 3 June 2019, following a merger of four ...

being the main local radio stations.

Theatre

Plymouth is home to a number of theatres and performance spaces used for professional, community and amateur work; the main professional spaces are located in and around the city centre, offering a variety of performances all year round. Theatre Royal Plymouth is a regional producing theatre which incorporates three stages - The Lyric (1315 seats), The Drum (c.200 seats) and The Lab (c.50 seats). Its production and education centre, TR2, is in an award-winning building at Cattedown. Th
Barbican Theatre
is in a converted Mission which hosts a programme of live dance, theatre, music and comedy.

is home to The House - a state-of-the-art performance venue with 200 seats - and can also host performances in two lecture theatres within the Roland Levinsky Building. The Plymouth Athenaeum has a 332 seat theatre on its grounds, which returned to public use in 2016 after a period of inactivity. Outside of the city centre, venues include the Devonport Playhouse (used primarily by community and amateur groups), the Soapbox Theatre (presenting shows for children and young audiences) and Marjon Arts Centre (based at

Plymouth Marjon University , mottoeng = Out of studies comes character , former_names = University College Plymouth St Mark & St John (2007–2012)College of St Mark and St John (1923–2007) , established = University status (2012)Joint College (1923)St John's (1840) ...

). There are also two Grade II listed theatres currently out of use, and included on the

Theatres Trust The Theatres Trust is the National Advisory Public Body for Theatres in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1976 by an Act of Parliament to "promote the better protection of theatres for the benefit of the nation". The Trust has played a leadi ...

Theatres at Risk Register - the Palace Theatre on Union Street, and the Globe Theatre within Stonehouse Barracks. Theatrical performances periodically happen across the city in public and established spaces, such as the world premiere o
The Hatchling
- featuring a large dragon puppet awakening in the city before taking flight from Plymouth Hoe - and the annua
Plymouth Fringe Festival

Cinema and concerts

There are currently two multi-screen chain cinemas located in Plymouth -

Vue cinema Vue International (, like "view"), is a multinational cinema holding company based in London, England. It operates in the United Kingdom and Ireland as Vue, with international operations in Denmark and Germany (as CinemaxX); Italy (as The Space ...

at the Barbican Leisure Park, and

Cineworld Cineworld Group plc is a British cinema operator headquartered in London, England. It is the world's second-largest cinema chain (after AMC Theatres), with 9,518 screens across 790 sites in 10 countries: Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Irela ...

at The Barcode, Drake Circus - alongside a small number of independent venues. Plymouth Arts Cinema (formerly known as Plymouth Arts Centre) specializes in art house and foreign films, and is based at

Plymouth College of Art Arts University Plymouth is an independent university-sector Higher Education (HE) provider located in Plymouth in South West England. The former Plymouth College of Art was officially granted university status in 2022. In April 2019 the s ...

; at

, the Jill Craigie Cinema hosts a curated programmed of historic pieces, world cinema and talks on specific films. The

Plymouth Pavilions Plymouth Pavilions is an entertainment and sports complex in Plymouth, Devon, England. It has an ice rink and indoor arena. The arena is used as an entertainment venue and also for corporate hire. The Pavilions is built on the site of the form ...

stages music concerts from rock and pop to ballet, as well as hosting basketball, wrestling and line dancing.

Museums, art galleries and historic buildings

The Box opened in 2020, replacing the Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery on Drake Circus. It hosts a variety of exhibitions and collections of fine and decorative arts, natural history and human history. The Arts Institute (formerly Peninsula Arts) is the curated public arts programme of

, with a gallery located on the university campus; their public arts programme includes exhibitions, installations, performances, films and talks available to both students and the general public.
KARST
is South West England's largest independent artist-led contemporary arts gallery and studio space, based in the Stonehouse area of Plymouth. Ocean Studios, based in the Royal William Yard, opened in 2015 as an independent gallery and co-working space. It is currently operated b
Real Ideas
who also operate the Market Hall in Devonport - which is home to a 15m immersive dome, the first of its kind in Europe. There are also smaller and privately owned retail galleries in the Barbican, such as Kaya Gallery. Also in Plymouth are the Plymouth and West Devon Record Office,

Smeaton's Tower Smeaton's Tower is a memorial to civil engineer John Smeaton, designer of the third and most notable Eddystone Lighthouse. A major step forward in lighthouse design, Smeaton's structure was in use from 1759 to 1877, until erosion of the ledge it ...

, the Elizabethan House, and Merchants House in The Barbican. Plymouth is home to the National Marine Aquarium. The

Plymouth Synagogue The Plymouth Synagogue is a synagogue in the city of Plymouth, England and the home of the Plymouth Hebrew Congregation. Built in 1762, it is a listed Grade II* building and the oldest extant synagogue built by Ashkenazi Jews in the English ...

, in Catherine Street, was built in 1762. Plymouth Naval Base Museum is a

maritime museum A maritime museum (sometimes nautical museum) is a museum specializing in the display of objects relating to ships and travel on large bodies of water. A subcategory of maritime museums are naval museums, which focus on navies and the milita ...

under development at HMNB Devonport.

Nightlife

Union Street has been the centre of Plymouth's nightlife for over a century. Previously lined with music halls and cinemas, the street is now run down but is still home to a number of bars, clubs and casinos. Although most clubs play commercial dance and R&B, there are some which play less popular genres. Other clubs and bars are at the Barbican Leisure Park and on Lockyer Street. There are a number of bars with live music. Mutley Plain and North Hill have many student bars.

Media

Plymouth is a sub-regional television centre of BBC South West. A team of journalists are headquartered at Plymouth for the

regional station, after a merger with

forced

to close on 16 February 2009. The regional stations include

BBC Radio Cornwall BBC Radio Cornwall is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of Cornwall. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios at Phoenix Wharf in Truro. According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly audience of 1 ...

and

Pirate FM Pirate FM is an Independent Local Radio station owned and operated by Bauer and based in Cornwall. The station forms part of the Hits Radio network, although its entire output and playlist is locally produced and takes no network programming. ...

. The main regional newspaper is the

, whose local publishing and print centre at Derriford were designed by architect Nicholas Grimshaw. The local city paper, from the same publisher, Northcliffe Media group, at the same print centre, is the Plymouth ''Herald''.

Hospital Radio Plymouth Hospital Radio Plymouth is a hospital radio station based in Plymouth, England. It provides entertainment to the patients of Derriford Hospital broadcasting via the internet and on 107.3fm. The station holds a long term restricted service lice ...

is a station dedicated to the city's patients, broadcasting to Derriford Hospital, The Royal Eye Infirmary and on 87.7fm.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Culture Of Plymouth Plymouth, Devon Plymouth