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Boutique live arts venue to open in Harrogate

Thursday, 31 July 2025 11:26

Kelly Nevett, Artistic Director at The Harrogate Playhouse.

A new boutique live arts venue is set to open in Harrogate this September.

The Harrogate Playhouse will open on John Street, offering a vibrant, culturally rich space for local creatives and audiences.

Founded by Kelly Nevett, the venue has been under development for over a year.

The Harrogate Playhouse occupies a stunning refurbished space and includes three distinct areas: the Garden Room studio space, an upstairs Studio Theatre, and The Pouring Room bar.

Kelly Nevett, Artistic Director and driving force behind the project, told Your Harrogate:

“It’s going to be a very exciting, vibrant venue in the heart of Harrogate!

“The idea is that it’s an arts venue with lots of cultural events - from live music, comedy, talks, plays, musicals, new writing and lots of eclectic arts events.”

She added:

“We’ve created a range of spaces. It’s called The Harrogate Playhouse and it’s akin to a house – our slogan is ‘welcome home.’

“We want everyone to feel like they belong here and find something that interests them, something they’d like to pursue or to be involved in the arts programme.”

Kelly, who trained in performing arts, also founded the Act Academy, which evolved into the Northern Performance Academy five years ago.

She saw the Harrogate Playhouse as the natural "next step" for the business.

She said:

“The Harrogate Playhouse seemed like the next step to create a professional theatre space so that the people that we’re training in Harrogate actually can go and work within the industry and find their artistic voice.

“The space is gorgeous – it’s really got a boutique feel to it and every room is different.”

The Harrogate Playhouse is also set to host bespoke corporate and community events, rehearsals, training sessions and creative business meet-ups.

A full programme of events is set to be released in the coming weeks.

Find out more at www.theharrogateplayhouse.com and register your interest to be among the first to receive updates.

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