Helmsley Arts Centre

the arts for everyone in Ryedale

We have three main spaces for hire. 

The Dorothy Morley Room 

Arts Award advisors at a training seminar

This is a light and airy upstairs room in the recently built west extension of the Centre. It has a very good polished wooden floor, suitable for theatre and movement work. At present, for example it is used a lot for theatre rehearsals and Yoga classes. 

Chairs and tables are available. Sitting in theatre-style the space will cater for 30 people and 20 if sitting in boardroom style. It is used regularly for meetings and classes in both formats.
It is also used at present for art classes.

There is  a cupboard that opens onto storage space, with a sink, with hot and cold water,and tea/coffee making facilities. Another door leads into a dressing room for the theatre, which could provide more space for group working. 

Conversely, the Morley Room is a useful extra space  for performers preparing to go onstage in the auditorium, especially if the performance involves a lot of people or equipment.

Two WCs are within a few paces from the room. 

The Main Theatre  
It has an intimate, friendly atmosphere and extraordinarily good acoustics - good enough for some musicians performing there to have asked to use it for recording their work.
                                                                                                                          
The raked seating can accommodate 140 people,

A rehearsal in the theatre

looking down onto a stage area of 7.5m(25ft) x 7m(23ft) whose height from the ceiling is 6m(20ft). It  is equipped with
excellent sound systems, one for theatre events or talks and one for cinema( including a hearing loop). The cinema screen is electrically operated and is 5.5m(18ft) x 3m(10ft). The theatre has a 35mm film projector and also excellent dvd/blue ray/HD projecction facilities.



The Studio Bar 

Audience gathering in the bar before a performance

As the name suggests, this room serves more than one purpose. It is used as a bar with tables and chairs arranged around it and exhibition pictures on its walls. But it has an
excellent wooden floor, suitable for dancing, and so, cleared of tables and chairs, it is turned into a ballet studio or a venue for ballroom dancing. Then again it can be turned

Jazz in the courtyard

into a venue for small-scale theatre or musical events. Or as a meeting room. It is well lit through a series of french doors on its east facing side, that open out onto a courtyard garden, where we have had regular summer jazz concerts.

The floor area is 9m(25ft) x 7.25m (24ft)

The Entrance Foyer 
This is also a pleasantly spacious area that leads into the studio bar and whose walls are also used for art exhibitions. It is a convenient overflow area when the studio bar fills up. But could as easily be used as a break out area for small group work - as can a number of other spaces in the building.

In fact, all the areas put together make a very agreeable venue for day conferences, courses or similar activities.

More technical specifications are here.

For further information about hiring our rooms contact Jean Kershaw
or phone 01439 771700