Lighthouse plays a vital role in Poole and the South West as a nationally important cultural building where creative work is made, rehearsed, discussed, shared and presented. It is a place where our community present their work and where entire schools can showcase their talent in a professional performance environment – an experience never to be forgotten in anyone’s lifetime.
Opened in 1978, Lighthouse was conceived as a receiving venue with the vision of injecting cultural provision into Dorset and providing a new home for Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra (BSO). We are the centre of excellence for live performance, film and visual art in the South West, providing a dynamic, world-class cultural facility for Poole, Dorset and beyond.
Lighthouse is unique in that we are the only multi-space venue with four auditoria in the South West, and one of the largest outside London. We house a symphonic concert hall, mid-scale theatre, small-scale studio theatre, independent cinema, art galleries, and function room spaces. Our audiences can discover and enjoy an extraordinary mix of art forms, not possible elsewhere across the South West, all under one roof.
