The Atkinson

We've visited Southport many times, but had never heard of the Atkinson. On a friends recommendation we popped in. It's a wonderful mix of displays, from local history, Egyptian and beautiful art. The visit was enhanced by the excellent staff, particularly for us the lovely lady on the first floor who took the time to explain the history and show us around. The ground floor cafe is also well worth a visit for the excellent quality coffee and delightful food. In short it's a real gem

My wife and I visited The Atkinson last week (September 2021) and were pleasantly surprised at how much history and artefacts are crammed into such a small venue. Anyone who is a fan, for instance, of the famous racehorse, Red Rum, will be delighted to visit the Atkinson.
Well done, Atkinson Staff!

We booked tickets in February for T.REXTASY Greatest hits tour in March, a lovely lady called Helen helped us to book it as my husband is disabled. On the night of the Concert, we arrived early for the gig, the staff were brilliant and helped us all night, The Theatre is a lovely place great views of the stage and sound. When T.REXTASY took the stage it was a brilliant concert and we chair bopped all night long, some people were complaining about people standing up and blocking the view. On a personal point yes my husband is disabled but he still saw the concert, we were informed by the staff that our view may be restricted if folk got up dancing, apart from that the whole night was brilliant we had a fab time, the disabled facilities are catered well for people with mobility issues. So all in all this little theatre is worth a visit if your in town, Thank you to Helen & staff at the Atkinson Theatre.

The one downside of our visit to Southport was that the weather was wet, windy and decidedly autumnal throughout. But the Atkinson was a welcome warm, dry and friendly place to visit. There are free exhibitions for all tastes here. When we visited, there were several exhibitions in place including one on the history of the area and one on Egyptian artefacts. There were also smaller exhibitions on Red Rum, the Polish airmen's connection to the locality, landscapes, creations inspired by seascapes and the author of the Captain Pugwash books. The staff were friendly and welcoming, happy to chat and full of information about both the exhibitions and the area.

I have reviewed the Atkinson previously and gave it an above average rating as I am impressed with the place and the service of the staff. Today however I wish to comment on the library staff for on two occasions, the latter being this morning I have received poor service.

On the first occasion I needed a reminder of my PIN code and asked an assistant how I would go about this. His response was to "tut" and then walked towards a counter. I assumed I was to follow him and did so. On presenting my library card he told me my PIN was **** . What do I do now? I asked and in a couldn't care less attitude he replied "use it". Not "OH! you can use it as before without a problem" just "use it". Today when querying a small fine the assistant responded in an abrupt manner which was totally unnecessary causing us to have a disagreement.

No one I know enjoys every day at work, we all have bad days but these assistants are customer facing and one would have thought that part of the criteria for being employed in such a position was to be courteous to their clients.

A wonderful venue with some really great events. Have been there many times and will continue to go. Very comfortable theatre with a lovely bar and excellent service from the staff. Recently went there to see Northern Live which was one of the best shows I have seen with a really great atmosphere. Excellent value for money and very convenient one of my favourite venues

Paintings and sculptures were of most interest. The Flame (Study in Red) by Jacob Kramer from c. 1917 is a striking depiction of a woman with cascading red hair. Thomas Gotch’s A Golden Dream shows a young woman amongst a feast of apples still on the tree.

A fine sculpture of a big cat in bronze is by Tony Evans and shows a formidable crouching hunter. Laura Ford is identified with the New British Sculpture movement and is here to fine effect with a painted bronze figure of a Bedtime Boy.

Healthy Coast with the theme of attracting the unwell from the industrial towns and cities to the fresh sea air had its origins in the early 1800s. Southport Marine Lake is one enhancing feature awaiting them.

Interesting to see their Egyptian Collection. Numerous artefacts are on view.

We went to a performance on a Saturday night which was very well attended. However, the process from ticket collection, getting drinks at the bar and finding our seats was seamless. Helpful staff on hand at all times.

We had an enjoyable evening listening to the Sandy Denny Experience in the Studio at the Atkinson. The Studio provides a more intimate setting for smaller audiences than the main theatre. It’s comfortable, easily accessible and not far from the bar.

We visited this gallery after seeing an advert on the outside of Southport Theatre for an Egyptian Exhibition.
This exhibition was outstanding and well presented. I thought it was the best one I had seen and I've seen the one at the O2.
There are 3 floors of exhibits and all were marvelous.
Staff very helpful