THERE will be "the opportunity to dance every weekend" the owner of Salisbury's biggest nightclub has promised, as The Chapel reveals its reopening dates and details about its transformation into a grassroots arts hub.

As well as the return of club nights, starting this weekend with two trial events, the venue, made up of the Courtyard, Chapel Room, The Vestry, and sister space 'Brown Street', will welcome an array of live entertainment through its doors.

This includes theatre, cabaret and comedy, in a bid to offer more variety and arts to the city and its night time economy.

The first official club night will be held in The Chapel's Courtyard on Saturday, August 28, before the Chapel Room and The Vestry reopen in September.

A new chapter for the site on Milford Street, managing director Amanda Newbery has assured the Journal there will be "the opportunity to dance every weekend", either through after parties, events or ticketed club nights.

“We promise we won’t be leaving the city without a place to dance the night away, we are just changing the way we work in line with a very different post-pandemic world," she said.

"Instead of opening every weekend as a nightclub we will be hosting an array of events and ticketed nightclub nights to appeal to a larger and more varied audience, giving the city and its night time economy the variety it craves.

"We are very lucky to have an array of rooms to host multiple events at a time be it community, arts, music or club events, hopefully some festivals in the future too. It’s an exciting time for us all.”

Trial events this weekend include the Salisbury Races Ladies Day after party tomorrow night, August 20, and Ibiza Sessions Saturday night.

Street food and arts venue Brown Street, connected to The Chapel building, opened earlier this year as a result of the pandemic, and will continue providing other events and entertainment, already having hosted viewing parties, open mic and acoustic sessions.

After publishing an extensive list of events under the 'Chapel Live' brand, Steph Shearing, events and partnerships manager, said: “After a year and a half of uncertainty for the arts we are excited to be working with a wide range of artists, performers, promoters and organisers to choreograph an exciting and ever growing calendar of events and club nights.

"These range from burlesque, theatre, cabaret, comedy, drag shows and a whole host of live music from a plethora of genres. We are also excited to be engaging with young and upcoming talent from the local area to showcase what we have right on our doorstep."

The pandemic has been no easy feat for the night time economy, especially The Chapel, which received its first financial boost in November, despite being closed since March.

The venue, which has been undergoing a makeover in preparation for reopening more areas, received an Arts Council Cultural Recovery Grant earlier this year, enabling it to extend its entertainment offering.

The team is currently in the process of applying for a top-up.

"We delayed our reopening as we wanted to make sure that when we do relaunch we won’t need to close again," Amanda added.

"Entering this space, we want to make sure everyone can feel as safe as possible, as people need to enjoy themselves and have fun - that's what it's all about."

For more information and to see what events are in store over the autumn visit chapellive.co.uk

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