The Atkinson Centre Southport

About the venue

The Atkinson is Southport’s beautiful new home for music, theatre, art, poetry, literature and history, right in the middle of Lord Street in Southport.

Significant investment has been made in refurbishing the stunning 19th century buildings, to create a really welcoming multi art-form venue with a strong contemporary feel. The Atkinson offers an exciting and varied destination for families, cultural tourists and arts enthusiasts alike, with a full day and night time offer. The Tourist Information Centre is the first stop in spending the day at The Atkinson. Followed by a visit to the shop that sells gifts and contemporary crafts from regional makers and then relax in the Bakery, choosing from a selection of artisan bread sandwiches, cakes and sharing platters. You can even take little bit of The Atkinson home with you from the delicatessen. The recently opened interactive museum Between Land & Sea – 10,000 years of Sefton’s Coast displays a remarkable collection telling the story of local history from pre-historic times to modern day. Our permanent exhibition Discover Ancient Egypt takes you back thousands of years to the time of the Pharaohs, exhibiting an Egyptology collection previously hidden away for over 40 years. The exhibition spaces features gems from The Atkinson’s permanent collections and we also regularly host touring exhibitions. Artists featured since we have opened include Matisse, L.S. Lowry and Tracey Emin to name a few! The theatre and studio offer the very best in live entertainment with comedians, bands and classical music concerts more. We host a number of Festivals including Love Folk in February, American Festival in autumn, and Blues Fest in October and have some of the best names in jazz performing as part of the annual Southport Jazz Festival.