Warwick Arts Centre
Warwick Arts Centre
4
8:30 AM - 11:00 PM
Monday
8:30 AM - 11:00 PM
Tuesday
8:30 AM - 11:00 PM
Wednesday
8:30 AM - 11:00 PM
Thursday
8:30 AM - 11:00 PM
Friday
8:30 AM - 11:00 PM
Saturday
8:30 AM - 11:00 PM
Sunday
2:00 PM - 11:00 PM
About
One of the largest multi-artform venues in the UK, Warwick Arts Centre delivers a high quality, engaging, and diverse programme of performing and visual arts, concerts, films, festivals, education and learning activities, and special events - all presented in world-class venues and spaces. Since opening in 1974, the venue - at the heart of Coventry's University of Warwick campus - has been a distinctive and special place, an important resource for both the arts and audiences in the region, as well as a significant force in national and international arts networks. A recent transformation has seen the venue significantly expanded and upgraded, with a spacious new foyer, three state-of-the-art cinema screens, and a remodelled gallery.
Suggested duration
More than 3 hours
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Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.
Popular mentions
4.0
245 reviews
Excellent
121
Very good
71
Average
19
Poor
18
Terrible
17
jaffacakes_yum
Kenilworth, UK58 contributions
Apr 2023 • Couples
Great show, Richard E Grant was brilliant.
Arts centre itself is very poorly run, we have now been numerous times and it is equally bad on all occasions.
Huge queues for poorly stocked bar. Warm wine and poor snacks.
At the interval pop up refreshments stands sell warm beer and wine and warm soft drinks. It is so amateur it's embarrassing for a multi million pound facility like this.
Arts centre itself is very poorly run, we have now been numerous times and it is equally bad on all occasions.
Huge queues for poorly stocked bar. Warm wine and poor snacks.
At the interval pop up refreshments stands sell warm beer and wine and warm soft drinks. It is so amateur it's embarrassing for a multi million pound facility like this.
Written May 29, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Wendy R
1 contribution
May 2023
Fantastic evening in the Butterworth Hall for the Proclaimers. The atmosphere was great especially after one of the guitarists encouraged us all to get to our feet. We were rocking! Great evening. So great that Warwick Arts Centre attracts good bands. The only downside was the difficulty with paying the £1 car park fee as others have said.
Written May 20, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
CovAaron
Coventry, UK118 contributions
Feb 2023
You'll find most comedians' comedy tour Coventry stops here. The venue has been renovated recently which is slightly bland inside but the Butterworth Hall, Theatre & Studio inside are nice & comfortable and great venues for comedy.
Parking is a little confusing but here's signs around to direct you to the short walk to the venue.
Parking is a little confusing but here's signs around to direct you to the short walk to the venue.
Written March 15, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
John C
Oxford, UK31 contributions
Mar 2023
The theatre is good, once you find it, but the parking is a farse. We spent a quater of an hour in freezing conditions, attempting to pay a £1 fee. We, as did the people behind us, had to use two different mobile phones in order to complete the transaction. Surely a machine can collect £1 coins or if not have an honesty bucket inside the venue. No one is going to shirk paying a pound for parking.
Written March 13, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
francis g
4 contributions
Feb 2023
It was our wedding anniversary so we booked to see Spirit of the Dance and thought a nice meal in the new benugo kitchen bar would be nice.Well looking at the menu prior to booking was dissapointing ,very limited we would have liked a nice ribeye or lemon dover sole but no, so we went to a proper restaurant ,and benugo were not at all pleased when i conveyed my comments to them about the menu. Spirit of the Dance was Fantastic ,but I have to agree with other comments that the old restaurant and set up were so much better.I agree that the staff were very good I certainly needed assistance paying car park exit fee. I won't mention that i found the seats uncomfortable you might think me an old moaning git.
Written February 24, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Cathy A
1 contribution
Jan 2023
We have been regulars at Warwick Arts for c. 20 years, it was a go to venue as a couple and with friends for so many great comedy gigs, concerts, films, plus the cafe catering in the lobby, and various restaurants which came and went, were also reasonable offerings and usually busy, however we were looking forward to the new refurb'd venue with anticipation. This was the 2nd time we'd been since the redevelopment.
Since when: Parking is now a significant distance away across campus near to the sports centre as the Arts Centre multi-storey has gone (what about anyone older or less able?). The Apcoa parking app is anything but user-friendly (we use RingGo etc regularly) - was told however you can pay at pay stations by the Arts Centre, no signage, not made clear.
The Venue is now utterly soulless, clinical (think cryogenic lab!), no vibe (others have said the same) - and the cinema (Screen 3) was cold, everyone kept their coats on. Mind you, there were only a handful of us in there for a top billing film and the prices have shot up, uncompetitive.
The Benugo catering offering is disappointing and the only option - we came out of the film at 7.45pm, asked politely for a table, were immediately informed we only had a few minutes to place an order and they closed at 9pm, no welcome. She pointed us towards a table which was crowded out by another larger group, we asked to sit at an empty table next to it where there was space but were told it hadn't been cleaned so No......we left and ate out in Kenilworth.
And someone needs to get a grip of the website, really unintuitive, especially via smartphone.
What a missed opportunity - the new ££££'s Warwick Arts is a dud and has gone from a 'go to' to a 'last resort' venue.
Since when: Parking is now a significant distance away across campus near to the sports centre as the Arts Centre multi-storey has gone (what about anyone older or less able?). The Apcoa parking app is anything but user-friendly (we use RingGo etc regularly) - was told however you can pay at pay stations by the Arts Centre, no signage, not made clear.
The Venue is now utterly soulless, clinical (think cryogenic lab!), no vibe (others have said the same) - and the cinema (Screen 3) was cold, everyone kept their coats on. Mind you, there were only a handful of us in there for a top billing film and the prices have shot up, uncompetitive.
The Benugo catering offering is disappointing and the only option - we came out of the film at 7.45pm, asked politely for a table, were immediately informed we only had a few minutes to place an order and they closed at 9pm, no welcome. She pointed us towards a table which was crowded out by another larger group, we asked to sit at an empty table next to it where there was space but were told it hadn't been cleaned so No......we left and ate out in Kenilworth.
And someone needs to get a grip of the website, really unintuitive, especially via smartphone.
What a missed opportunity - the new ££££'s Warwick Arts is a dud and has gone from a 'go to' to a 'last resort' venue.
Written January 31, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
paul d
Leicester, UK157 contributions
Nov 2022
Excellent auditorium and seating arrangements . Well organised staff , all knew what they were doing and kept things moving smoothly. Easy access in and out.
Written December 10, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
nicksig
York, United Kingdom65 contributions
Dec 2022 • Friends
I liked the old Arts Centre as it was with its nice little cafe as you walked through and in the old days the Entertainer restaurant. Tried the new Benugo and it was simply awful. Expensive, bland food and shocking service from staff that really didn’t seem to care. I waited over 30 mins for a second-rate and the restaurant wasn’t even a quarter full. And the rest of the Arts Centre was empty. Soulless I’m afraid
Written December 8, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
cath53
Coventry, UK86 contributions
Oct 2022
I’ve been to the Warwick Arts many times over the years but probably not since before lockdown. I went the other Friday night to see tennis star Sue Barker. I thought I knew the best place to park - a multi-storey near the centre or another car park opposite. Well, the university has clearly changed a lot! I arrived at the site about 25 mins early but it was a dark and rainy Friday night, the signage was APPALLING so I managed to get totally lost. I had checked out the website before that said the closest parking was at the sports centre across the road so I headed that way. Again NO signs and I pulled into an enormous empty car park with no idea how close I was. There were a few of us all heading to the same Sue Barker talk, we were all none the wiser where the centre was and how to pay at the car park. Passing students weren’t much help. Eventually someone realised we were at the wrong end of the car park so I jumped back in the car, zoomed up the other end and then realised it was a 10-15min walk to the Arts Centre - which I ended up looking up on Google maps to see where I was. Again, I’ve been to this venue several times, goodness knows how new visitors would get on!
I made it to the event - thankfully they didn’t start dead on 7.30 as despite arriving onsite about 7.05, it was 7.45 before I collapsed in a sweaty heap in my seat!
The centre is very nice, clearly had a refit but IMPROVE YOUR SIGNAGE. Not everyone who goes here works/studies at the university!
I made it to the event - thankfully they didn’t start dead on 7.30 as despite arriving onsite about 7.05, it was 7.45 before I collapsed in a sweaty heap in my seat!
The centre is very nice, clearly had a refit but IMPROVE YOUR SIGNAGE. Not everyone who goes here works/studies at the university!
Written November 13, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Cousin jack
8 contributions
Oct 2022
The Arts Centre website is one of the worst I have come across. Almost impossible to see what films are coming during the next few weeks. I can’t believe it was ever tested by users before being implemented.
Written November 2, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
tezzasmif
Coventry, UK25 contributions
Hi why are seats further back more expensive than first few rows please?
Scenic52667610988
Stratford-upon-Avon, UK
Hi
How do you get free parking for Warwick Arts Centre?
The performance is at 7pm.
Many thanks
photolass
Telford, UK77 contributions
They have demolished the multi story and you have to park a bit further from the centre. But there is blue badge parking a bit nearer although I still found it a fair walk. Allow plenty of time for the signing is not that good. But yes it is free.
Covgal77
Kings Norton, UK
Hi, does anyone know whether the seats behind the safety rail in Butterworth hall restrict the view?
frawdder
Birmingham, UK
Are the seats numbered in the Helen Martin Theatre
SteveS1970
Coventry, UK7,238 contributions
Seats are not numbered in the Helen Martin theatre. You can sit anywhere on a first come basis.
bobo55s
Birmingham, UK46 contributions
Left Side Balcony Row WW
How good are these seats?
Roadstechno
Kingswear, UK444 contributions
Good. All of the balcony seats are good - it's such a relatively small venue.
Suzanne F
1 contribution
Hi, I would like to book seats for The Hungry Caterpillar, and there are front row seats available....can anyone tell me if these would cause neck strain for my 3 year old please? Would I be better booking seats further back, and if so, how far back do you think is best. Many thanks!
Mandy C
Warwick, UK89 contributions
Hi
I have taken my granddaughter and been in the front seats, with no problem. The Arts centre does provide some booster seats, which are really good - but it is first come first serve, so you are not guaranteed one.
The only issue I had, was my granddaughter wanted to get up on stage with the actors, as it was so close!
blightyboy1979
Warwick, UK6 contributions
How good are the balcony seats?
WarwickArtsCentre1
Coventry, UK
You can see inside our spaces on our virtual tour. Visit our website and search 'virtual tour'. Click the 'pages' tab on the results page and then the 'Virtual Tour' page.
(Apologies, we can't paste links in to this message thread)
We hope that helps.
Warwick Arts Centre (Coventry) - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go
Frequently Asked Questions about Warwick Arts Centre
- Warwick Arts Centre is open:
- Sun - Sun 2:00 PM - 11:00 PM
- Mon - Sat 8:30 AM - 11:00 PM
- Hotels near Warwick Arts Centre:
- (0.14 mi) Radcliffe Guest House
- (0.16 mi) Radcliffe Training and Conference Centre
- (0.32 mi) Scarman Training and Conference Centre
- (0.32 mi) Warwick Conferences Scarman
- (0.36 mi) Warwick Conferences - Radcliffe
- Restaurants near Warwick Arts Centre:
- (0.01 mi) Benugo Bar & Kitchen
- (0.08 mi) Curiositea
- (0.34 mi) Naic Cafe
- (0.37 mi) Varsity Bar
- (2.03 mi) Earlsdon Supper Club
Warwick Arts Centre Information
Excellent Reviews | 120 |
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Very Good Reviews | 71 |
Warwick Arts Centre Photos | 30 |