Entertainment in Great Yarmouth

A go-to Victorian seaside resort, Great Yarmouth has an impressive theatre scene including the Britannia Pier, St George’s Theatre and the Gorleston Pavilion.

Not only a bustling theatre offering stand up comedy, panto, dart championships and more, Britannia Pier on Great Yarmouth Beach is also home to an arcade, fairground rides and several bars and cafés. Located on the town’s second pier, the theatre really comes to life in the summer when it books a series of big events, with headliners like Jimmy Carr and big-name bands regulars at the 2,000-capacity main pavilion which was built at the start of the millennium.

Heading inland away from the coast is St George’s Theatre, a converted Grade I listed former chapel that puts on a wide range of plays, comedy and musical events. Open year-round, the building was first used as a chapel in the 1700s, with many of the original features still on display, creating an evocative and memorable theatre. The theatre runs regular in-house events as well as shows from other production companies, with the café bar on hand for pre-show snacks, food and drinks.

A 300-capacity theatre based in Gorleston across the banks of the River Yare from Great Yarmouth and close to our Lowestoft hotel, the Gorleston Pavilion is an impressive Edwardian building that hosts a variety of year-round plays, musicals and concerts. The main focus is on their summer Showtime series which extends for 26 weeks, with popular tribute acts, cabaret shows and musicals running for a week at a time.

Spread over nine acres, the Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach is a free-entry fun park that’s been a mainstay of the entertainment scene for over a century. The beach is packed with roller coasters, ghost trains, waltzers and dozens more traditional funfair rides: you can either pay-as-you-go for the rides or pick up a wristband that gives you unlimited rides for that day, with the cheapest option to buy your tickets online before you go. There are dozens of rides to choose from, with special kids and family rides, as well as plenty of on-site cafés, food and drink stalls and shops. The park is open from March to October and is located at the southern end of Great Yarmouth Beach, around a mile from our Great Yarmouth hotel.

Built in 1903 on Marine Parade on the main stretch of beachfront (also known as the Golden Mile), the Hippodrome Circus is one of only three purpose-built circus buildings in the world and is put to good use, with regular shows as well as special events around Easter, summer and Halloween. The circus has hosted some of the biggest names in the business during its time, including The Moscow State Circus and the Berlin Symphony Orchestra. It attracts over 50,000 guests each year while the incredible venue also doubles up and can host pop concerts. Perhaps the most impressive part of the building, though, is its underwater main ring which can sink, filling with 50,000 litres of water and creating a magic environment that’s truly unique.