Riverside Theatre to Close After Nearly 50 Years Amid Mounting Costs & Public Outcry

The curtain will fall for the final time at the Riverside Theatre in Coleraine on Friday, following a determined but ultimately unsuccessful campaign to save one of Northern Ireland’s longest-standing community arts venues.

Locals have expressed frustration at how the closure has been managed, with some saying the process has left them feeling “disrespected and shut out”.

Located on the Coleraine campus of Ulster University (UU), the Riverside has been a fixture of the region’s cultural life since the 1970s. With a 350-seat capacity, it has held the distinction of being Northern Ireland’s oldest operating professional theatre outside Belfast.