Culture of Plymouth facts for kids
The culture of Plymouth is a social aspect of the unitary authority 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. 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, over Plymouth Sound. Since 1992 the Music of the Night has been performed in the Royal Citadel by the 29 Commando Regiment 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
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 regional station, after a merger with ITV West forced ITV Westcountry to close on 16 February 2009. The main local newspapers serving Plymouth are The Herald and Western Morning News with BBC Radio Devon and Heart West being the main local radio stations.
Theatres and cinemas
The Theatre Royal is a provincial producing theatre and incorporates a studio theatre (The Drum). Its production and education centre, TR2, is in an award-winning building at Cattedown. The Barbican Theatre is in a converted Mission.[1]. The university has two well-equipped theatres within the Roland Levinsky Building. Amateurs perform at the Devonport Playhouse and the Globe Theatre (within Stonehouse barracks). The Plymouth Pavilions stages music concerts from rock and pop to ballet, as well as hosting basketball, wrestling and line dancing.
There is a small cinema at Derry's Cross. In Looe Street, Plymouth Arts Centre has a single screen cinema specialising in art house and foreign films. The Levinsky arts building at the university has a film centre and there is a Vue cinema at the Barbican Leisure Park.
Museums, art galleries and historic buildings
The Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery in Drake Circus has collections of fine and decorative arts, natural history and human history.
The Plymouth Arts Centre, established in 1948, is located near the Barbican, and regularly offers visiting displays of work by a wide range of local, British and international artists such as Beryl Cook, Richard Deacon, Andy Goldsworthy and Sir Terry Frost. As well as promoting visual arts, many independent art house and foreign films are shown.
A converted church on North Hill, now the Sherwell Centre and part of the university, hosts regular exhibitions, concerts, recitals, lectures and other public events. There are smaller and privately owned retail galleries in the Barbican.
Also in Plymouth are the Plymouth and West Devon Record Office, Smeaton's Tower, the Elizabethan House, and Merchants House in The Barbican. Plymouth is home to the National Marine Aquarium. The Plymouth Synagogue, in Catherine Street, was built in 1762.
Plymouth Naval Base Museum is a maritime museum under development at HMNB Devonport.
Images for kids
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Looking towards the sea, from Cliff Road near the Hoe
