www.norfolksbest.co.uk
There’s always something going on in the arts and entertainment field in Norwich, though it’s a pity that because of renovations at the Castle the magnificent collection of works by the Norwich School of painters is currently on view only in London (see Attractions).
Designed by the eminent architect, Sir Norman Foster, the award-winning Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts at the University of East Anglia is the setting for the Robert and Lisa Sainsbury Collection of paintings and sculptures from different ages and many parts of the world. The collection includes works by the painter Francis Bacon and sculptors Giocometti and Henry Moore. Visiting exhibitions are staged at the centre.
Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, University of East Anglia, Earlham Road; tel: 01603 456060. Open Tue-Sun 11.00-17.00. Admission charge.
Quarterly exhibitions of larger works by local artists are held at the Advice Arcade Gallery, formerly the city’s subscription library.
Advice Arcade Gallery, Guildhall Hill; tel: 01603 212089. Open Mon-Fri 10.00-17.00 (closed public holidays).
A restored Georgian building, the Assembly House has rooms devoted to the work of local arts and crafts workers, while display cabinets show off examples of small craft works and paintings. There is a restaurant.
Assembly House, Theatre Street; tel: 01603 627526. Open Mon-Sat 10.00-22.00 (closed public holidays).
Changing exhibitions of contemporary paintings are staged at the King of Hearts, part of a Tudor mansion restored in the late 1980s when medieval beamed ceilings, fireplaces and windows were uncovered. It is now used as an intimate centre for people and the arts, where musical events, poetry readings and story-telling are also featured.
King of Hearts, Fye Bridge Street; tel; 01603 766129.
Norwich Arts Centre stages changing photographic exhibitions as well as a varied programme of music, dance, comedy and cabaret.
Norwich Arts Centre, Reeves Yard, St Benedict’s Street; tel: 01603 660352.
Leading international artists and companies perform in opera, ballet and drama at the Theatre Royal, rightly regarded as one of Britain’s best provincial theatres.
Theatre Royal, Theatre Street; tel: 01603 630000.
The Maddermarket Theatre has been the home of the Norwich Players, an amateur company led by a professional director, for more than 75 years. Set around a tranquil courtyard and conveying the ambience of an Elizabethan theatre, the building was formerly a Roman Catholic chapel.
Maddermarket Theatre, St John’s Alley; tel: 01603 620917.
Housed in the former medieval St. James’s Church, the popular Norwich Puppet Theatre stages productions appealing to all ages.
Norwich Puppet Theatre, St James’s Church, Whitefriars; tel: 01603 629921.
A wide programme of public performances and concerts ranging from rock to the classics is hosted by the Centre for Creative and Performing Arts at the University of East Anglia. Public lectures, including presentations by international literary figures, are held in the Arthur Miller Centre.
University of East Anglia, Earlham Road; tel: 01603 456161.
