스윈던 아트 센터 (Swindon Arts Centre)

스윈던 아트 센터는 스윈던 올드 타운 중심부, 디바이지스 로드에 위치한 200석 규모의 공연장으로, 자매 공연장인 위번 시어터(Wyvern Theatre)와 가까운 거리에 있습니다. 1956년에 문을 연 이곳은 스윈던 자치구 의회(Swindon Borough Council)를 대신해 트라팔가 시어터스(Trafalgar Theatres)가 운영하며, 콘서트, 코미디, 무용, 연극, 전시, 뮤지컬 공연 및 지역 아마추어 극단의 공연 등 연중 다양한 프로그램을 선보입니다. 이 건물은 유연한 구조를 갖추고 있어, 2층의 공연장 외에도 1층에는 퍼포먼스 스튜디오, 바 겸 카페, 그리고 사우스 스윈던 패리시 도서관(South Swindon Parish Library)이 자리하고 있습니다. 소규모지만 친근한 분위기 속에서 라이브 공연을 즐길 수 있는 공간입니다.

The Arts Centre opened officially on Saturday 1 September 1956, with the mayor, N V Toze, and Llewelyn Wyn Griffith, vice chairman of the Arts Council of Great Britain, doing the honours. It was not quite the first attempt: roughly ten years earlier a separate arts centre had operated in a former Methodist Hall in the town centre. The Devizes Road building has a chapel past of its own, having previously been a Methodist Hall, which helps explain how adaptable the venue has proved to be.

Seven decades on, the venue has become one of Wiltshire's established live entertainment addresses, welcoming thousands of people each year to a mixed programme of concerts, comedy, dance, drama, exhibitions, musical theatre and local amateur productions.

Two rounds of building work shaped the Arts Centre that audiences use today. It reopened in January 2003 after a refurbishment that added a lift in a new entrance foyer to reach the first floor auditorium, along with new accessible toilets and new seating. A larger project followed in 2010, when the ground floor was completely redesigned to create a performance studio, a bar and cafe, and space for the Old Town public library to move into the building. That same year the television personality Richard Digance became the venue's first Patron, while Pam Ayres is Patron of the Friends of Swindon Arts Centre.

On the management side, Swindon Borough Council awarded the contract to run the Arts Centre alongside the Wyvern Theatre to HQ Theatres and Hospitality in early 2015. The venue is now managed by Trafalgar Theatres on behalf of the council, with Laura James as Theatre Director following a line of managers that includes Clarry Bean, Darren Edwards and Elly Stimpson Duffy.

The auditorium is on the first floor and is reached by a lift installed in the entrance foyer, and the building has accessible toilets, both added as part of the refurbishment completed in January 2003.

• Access tickets: wheelchair spaces and companion tickets are arranged directly with the team. Contact the Swindon Theatres ticket office on 01793 535534, by phone, in person or through the online enquiry form.
• Assistance dogs: working dogs are welcome, and the team asks that you mention this when booking so suitable seating can be arranged.
• Assisted performances: selected shows across Swindon Theatres are audio described, British Sign Language interpreted, captioned or presented as relaxed performances for audiences who prefer a less formal environment.
• Parking: accessible parking spaces cannot be reserved in advance.