Named after Michael Birley, Headmaster of Eastbourne College 1956–1970, the Birley Centre is a contemporary performing arts centre situated next to the Towner Gallery and close to the Congress and Devonshire Park Theatre.  

 

The Birley Centre provides the College and the town with a state-of-the-art facility complete with a recording studio. The versatile space is ideal for a variety of performing arts activities including concerts, plays, dance, master classes, residencies and workshops while the foyer also provides a wonderful exhibition and social space, making the Birley Centre the perfect venue for conferences.  With the acoustically balanced auditorium and sprung floors. The Birley Centre is an amazing performance space for any artist.

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Conveniently positioned in the heart of Eastbourne’s cultural quarter, the Birley Centre is the linchpin in a series of new partnerships the College is forming with leading cultural organisations throughout the South East. Foremost of these is a partnership with Glyndebourne, which will be staging a number of projects at the Birley Centre over the coming years as part of its New Generation Programme, providing, among other things, an outlet for young talent in Eastbourne and the surrounding area.

 

To date, the Birley Centre has hosted a series of different creative arts projects varying from professional development workshops for teachers and artistic professionals to rehearsal space for the Young Voices programme, the hosting of a summer school for gifted young singers from across Britain to name a few.