North Wall Arts Centre
The North Wall is an arts centre with a vibrant public programme of theatre, music, comedy, dance, talks, virtual & digital arts and family shows. The programme places an emphasis on new and innovative work, offering an alternative to the mainstream.
The venue is based on the campus of St. Edward’s School in the heart of Summertown. Built on the site of a listed disused Victorian swimming pool, the site was converted by leading architects Haworth Tompkins to combine the original building with modern architecture, winning several architectural awards. It opened in 2007.
The arts centre offers a 200-seat theatre space, drama and dance studios and a public art gallery. Exhibitions change every three weeks, with free admission.
The North Wall actively supports early-career artists through residencies, mentorship and festivals of new work. It also puts children, young people and families at the heart of its participation programme, forging long-term partnerships with local schools and community groups.
Family Activities
The North Wall Arts Centre offers children’s performances once a month, as well as family-friendly workshops alongside these shows.
Opening Hours
Box Office: from 6pm for evening performances
Online ticket sales: 24 hours
Pricing
Gallery: admission free
Performances: from £6 – £16
Address:
North Wall Arts Centre, South Parade, Summertown,Oxford, Oxfordshire OX2 7JN United Kingdom
Events
February 2023
YouthLab: Weekly Drama Sessions
Join the YouthLab youth theatre to develop skills in drama, discover an artistic style and be the creator of your own work. Spend the autumn term developing skills in performance, the spring term devising a show and the summer term rehearsing for a Summer Showcase at The North Wall. For ages 12-17 Course fee: £210...
Find out more »Inspiring People: John Simpson
John Simpson, the BBC’s World Affairs Editor, is a household name and the most distinguished foreign correspondent of the age. A veteran broadcaster and accomplished author, John has reported from 140 countries and interviewed 200 world leaders and dictators. His seminal reports on the big moments of recent history include the Iranian Revolution, the First and Second Gulf Wars, the Fall of the Soviet Union and the Berlin Wall, the end of Apartheid in South Africa and the Tiananmen Square…
Find out more »Rhys James: Spilt Milk
Rhys James is right back where he belongs: on tour around the country, with a markedly different schedule to Chelsea’s fixture list to prove he is not the footballer. One of the final Mock The Week regulars and star of Live At The Apollo, Rhys’s previous tour sold out over 70 dates nationwide. Since then he’s released a third, ARIA nominated, Radio 4 series; starred in ‘The Great American Joke Off’ for US network The CW; and been hurled through…
Find out more »I Want My Hat Back Trilogy
A bear has lost his hat. What if he never sees it again? WAIT! He has seen his hat. A fish has stolen a hat. And he’ll probably get away with it. Probably. Two turtles have found a hat. The hat looks good on both of them. But there are two turtles. And there is only one hat. Following their hit Youtube series, and a sold out run at Little Angel Theatre, lockdown sensations Ian Nicholson and Sam Wilde are…
Find out more »Fara
Scottish powerhouse quartet FARA return to The North Wall with songs from their highly anticipated third studio album, Energy Islands. Fusing the talents of three fine Orcadian fiddlers and vocalists – Jeana Leslie, Catriona Price and Kristan Harvey – alongside stand-out Highland pianist and newest member Rory Matheson, this concert will showcase the band’s unique mix of spell-binding vocals, intricately woven fiddle harmonies and energetic closers. Recently nominated for Live Act of the Year at 2019’s Scots Trad Music Awards,…
Find out more »Ivo Graham: My Future My Clutter
Ivo Graham at the North Wall Arts Centre Bumbling wordsmith and tripe factory returns to discuss three years of heavy-duty pranking/parenting/procrastinating since Dave’s 2019 nominations for Best Comedy Show and Joke of the Fringe (“I’ve got an Eton College advent calendar, where all the doors are opened by my father’s contacts”). As seen/heard on Mock The Week, Live At The Apollo, Have I Got News For You, British As Folk, and fondue-set winner on Richard Osman’s House of Games. Age…
Find out more »The Unicorn by Sam Potter
“I’m not a whirlwind of sexual energy… just a very lonely unicorn.” Shortly after making a sexual harassment complaint at work, Andrea is fired from her job. Overwhelmed by feelings of frustration and depression, she attempts to combat her loneliness through casual sex, but what starts as a distraction, soon threatens to take over her life. An unmissable new play from Offie-Award finalist and North Wall Arts Centre Creative Associate Sam Potter (Hanna), about a young woman trying to find…
Find out more »Jon Boden
Jon Boden is best known is the lead singer of the progressive folk juggernaut Bellowhead who have sold 250,000 albums, had seven singles playlisted on Radio 2 and sold out hundreds venues including The Royal Albert Hall. Alongside Bellowhead Jon has continued his development as one of the foremost names in English folk music. Solo Jon performs the self-penned songs of Songs From The Floodplain, Painted Lady, Afterglow and Rose In June, material from Bellowhead, Spiers & Boden, and his…
Find out more »Seeun Kim: The Oxford Global Agenda Project 2023
Seeun Kim is an Oxford-based South Korean metal craftswoman, visual artist and social commentator. Seeun exhibited at The North Wall in 2021 and, this year, she returns to showcase a new social art project, a new collection of jewellery and works of visual art. Seeun’s social art projects combine jewellery with various global social issues, emerging as works of art. She uses her work to communicate her many ideas; working with courage and dreaming of a society where everyone can…
Find out more »Jericho Comedy Live
The well-loved, award-winning Jericho Comedy club presents a new series of ever inventive and ‘very funny’ (Daily Telegraph) comedy gigs at the North Wall Arts Centre. Hosted by a Jericho Comedy MC, every night the line-up is different, with a wide range of performers, from award-nominated newcomers to surprise visits from big-name headliners. You never know who will perform at a Jericho Comedy show but you can always guarantee a great night. Recommended by the Sunday Times and featured on…
Find out more »Kendal Mountain Tour 2023
Nature and Environment Film Collection + Guest Speaker at the North Wall Arts Centre. Kendal Mountain Tour brings you a special chance to wonder at a spectacular collection of films focusing on the planet and the ways people are working out how to connect with, and care for nature. The organisers will also bring to the stage a renowned speaker to share some of the very best adventure stories. The evening will be hosted by a member of our Kendal…
Find out more »Kendal Mountain Tour 2023 – Adventure Film Collection + Monisha Rajesh
Coming to the North Wall Arts Centre in Oxford on Saturday 25th February 2023 Join the North Wall for an evening celebrating adventure from some of the most spectacular places on earth, brought to you by the world's biggest mountain Festival - Kendal Mountain Festival. A chance to watch a selection of award-winning films from high altitude adventure to cinematically beautiful tales showcasing wilderness and adventure travel from across the globe. Each film will be introduced by the Kendal Mountain…
Find out more »March 2023
Our Town by Thornton Wilder
Life, love, death and everything in between. Just the everyday rhythm of the business of life. Lives that may appear to be unremarkable at first glance but in this small town epic are found to be extraordinary through the passage of time and the playing of the smallest events of daily life. Considered to be a classic of American theatre, Our Town was the realisation of Thornton Wilder’s radical vision to challenge the potential of theatre. He created a timeless…
Find out more »Angela Barnes: Hot Mess
Angela Barnes (Mock The Week, Live at the Apollo, 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown and former chair of BBC Radio 4’s The News Quiz) has good intentions but trying to live your best life, as it turns out, is really bloody hard. Stand-up, stories and jokes from “…a gloriously down-to-earth, straight-talking and extremely funny comic” (Guardian). Age guidance: 14+
Find out more »James Wilton Dance: The Four Seasons
Using Max Richter’s recomposed version of Vivaldi’s seminal work The Four Seasons, James Wilton Dance has created a work of immense physicality, driving energy and sweeping beauty. The work features the company’s signature blend of capoeira, acrobatics, martial arts and classical dance, alongside stunning stage and costume designs. This abstract, yet honestly human choreography relates each of the four seasons of the musical composition to the four stages of the universe, creating a kaleidoscopic visual feast for audiences that is…
Find out more »The Tap Dancing Mermaid
It’s time to hear the Moon’s story, one you will NEVER forget… Gather round for the Moon’s magical story about a tippetty-top tap dancer who he has been watching at night. Marina Skippett creeps out of her house every night to shuffle and stomp on the boardwalk to the sounds of the sea. She can’t tap dance at home any more since her evil, tractor-sized Aunty banned it! But then, one moonlit night, Marina meets a mysterious, watery boy swimming…
Find out more »St Edward’s School: Vista
An exhibition of work by five IB Art pupils from St Edward’s School. Hermione Brewster investigates architectural structures from different perspectives. Through assembling layers of colour and shape in a variety of ways, she analyses the structures from a range of viewpoints. Aurea Frei explores the symbolism within her work through the lens of surrealism, taking inspiration from artists such as Catherine Bernhardt, using an array of colour paired with an impression of detail to depict her viewpoint. Her work…
Find out more »SAP by Rafaella Marcus
A contemporary thriller with ancient roots. When a woman tells a lie to her girlfriend, a seed is planted that starts to grow in the darkness. Now roots are cracking up through the pavement and branches are coming in at the windows, and – as she starts to see things that no one else can – she becomes the focus of some seriously unwanted attention. A new play about passion, power, and photosynthesis, fresh from its critically-acclaimed, award-winning Edinburgh run.…
Find out more »Mike Wozniak: Zusa
Ever wondered how Mike’s Great-Aunt Zusa made it from Poland to Luton with a war nipping at her heels? Here’s your chance to find out. As seen on Taskmaster (Channel 4) , Man Down (Channel 4) and Would I Lie To You? (BBC One). As heard on Small Scenes (BBC Radio 4), the St Elwick’s Neighbourhood Association Newsletter podcast and the Three Bean Salad podcast.
Find out more »Hack-Poets Guild: Blackletter Garland
Three of the UK’s most innovative and prestigious folk artists present Blackletter Garland, a brand new album and live tour. Inspired by historic broadside ballads – daily song sheets sold for pence from the 16th to 20th centuries – Marry, Lisa and Nathaniel rejuvenate and reinvent these stories. Fascinating interpretations and original compositions tell intricate tales of birth, love, conflict and death, with all the imagination of the folklore from which they’re based. Arguably the forerunners of our modern news…
Find out more »Peter Lawrence: Making a Mark
Known primarily as a wood engraver of detailed, black and white prints, Peter Lawrence also creates colourful and expressive paintings and collages. The collages allow for the recycling of ephemera – an element of surrealism is created when different styles rub up against each other. Wood engraving is a slow and painstaking technique, cutting with small, sharp tools, traditionally, into endgrain blocks of boxwood. Wood engravings engage the hand, the eye and the brain. By contrast, the paintings are free…
Find out more »April 2023
Emily Portman & Rob Harbron
Award-winning performers Emily Portman & Rob Harbron join forces in this inspired new collaboration, delving into English folk traditions to create a boldly exposed and intricately woven contemporary folk sound. Emily (voice, banjo & piano) is best known as an original songwriter and for her work with the acclaimed folk band The Furrow Collective. Rob (concertina, guitar, voice) tours with Leveret, Fay Hield, Jon Boden and many more, being in great demand as one the finest multi-instrumentalists in the UK.…
Find out more »If You Fall
Margaret is a nationally-revered academic. Norson is a brilliant cook. He loves cricket and fishing. She loves singing and her lavender plants. They’re both surrounded by loving families. Their lives are full… So what happens when you lose your independence, your voice, your mind – the essence of what makes you, you? If You Fall tells the deeply human stories of older people, their families and carers struggling to approach end of life care with dignity. Creative Associates Ad Infinitum…
Find out more »May 2023
Daoirí Farrell
Singer and bouzouki player Daoirí Farrell holds two prestigious BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards and has performed live at the awards ceremony at London’s Royal Albert Hall, as well as receiving three nominations in the RTÉ Folk Awards. He has toured and played festivals in the UK and Europe, as well as Canada and Australia. He has also toured with the all-star Transatlantic Sessions. Daoirí’s fourth album, The Wedding Above In Glencree, recorded with Trevor Hutchinson from Lúnasa/The Waterboys, is…
Find out more »Suzi Ruffell: Snappy
Suzi Ruffell likes things snappy: her stand up, her decisions and her suits. Suzi’s brand new show is all about settling down (but not settling), becoming a mother (without becoming mumsy) and still worrying about everything – of course she is – have you seen the news? Multi-award nominated comedian Suzi Ruffell’s last tour, Dance Like Everyone Is Watching received critical acclaim and was recorded as an Amazon special. Suzi has also appeared on numerous shows such as Live At…
Find out more »Jericho Comedy Live
The well-loved, award-winning Jericho Comedy club presents a new series of ever inventive and ‘very funny’ (Daily Telegraph) comedy gigs. Hosted by a Jericho Comedy MC, every night the line-up is different, with a wide range of performers, from award-nominated newcomers to surprise visits from big-name headliners. You never know who will perform at a Jericho Comedy show but you can always guarantee a great night. Recommended by the Sunday Times and featured on BBC Radio 4’s The Circuit celebrating…
Find out more »Family Tree by Mojisola Adebayo
Henrietta Lacks is one of most remarkable people in medical history. Her cells form the basis of the most important medical research and breakthroughs happening today, from cancer to HIV to COVID. But Henrietta never knew any of this. Her cells were taken without her or her family’s knowledge or permission. Denied her place in history, now is the time for Henrietta’s incredible legacy to undergo a transformation … to blossom and grow into something new and wonderful. Family Tree…
Find out more »The Young’uns
The Young’uns live shows are renowned. With heart-on-the-sleeve storytelling, beautiful lyrics, warm harmonies and relentless repartee, Sean Cooney, Michael Hughes and David Eagle (the award-winning stand-up comedian) sing life-affirming folk songs for today. Born from empathy, crafted with care, fired by hope, and shared with joy, The Young’uns’ songs have been described as “a heartfelt secular hymnary for these troubled times and a rallying call for humanity.” (The Scotsman). They have led the band to three BBC Radio 2 Folk…
Find out more »
