The Corn Hall: Live and kicking

The long-awaited return to live events at The Corn Hall has been wholly embraced in the recent months by the people of Diss. If you visit The Corn Hall today, it’s a hive of activity, with a busy café and a programme rich with diversity and something for everyone.

Like all arts venues across the country, The Corn Hall experienced significant setbacks during the COVID-19 pandemic and had to close for a total of almost 12 months. No shows, and as a result no income, became reality as uncertainty threatened the Diss venue.

With the lifting of restrictions, theatre shows and gigs have been re-igniting people’s passion for the arts with a renewed sense of perspective - every live event now feels that bit more special. The pandemic has taught us to enjoy live experiences again. The team is working tirelessly to squeeze in 18 months of rescheduled events, into an already jam-packed schedule. Which means on average there are three to four shows a week. Alongside the impressive programme, The Corn Hall provides a welcoming community hub for Diss, which supports a wide range of community groups and workshops such as the Dementia Café, Meet Up Wednesdays and hosting the food bank. The Corn Hall is home to a brilliant selection of home grown talent, whose return to The Corn Hall has been warmly welcomed. There’s local poet Luke Wright, Chris Ingham’s jazz shows, the Bootleg Boss, Dave Thomas and Terence Blacker, and theatre companies like RoughCast, Open Space and Common Ground, as well as Garlic Theatre and Greasepaints Academy for families, to name but a few! Whether it’s popping in for a coffee (and one of those famous scones), coming along to the Wednesday films or an evening of live music, we would love to see you! And will the Christmas Panto will be back? Oh yes it will.

The incredible community support during the ups and downs of COVID-19 was truly heart-warming. And now, to judge from the sheer delight on the faces of our audiences and lots of sell-out shows, it’s clear that live entertainment at The Corn Hall is back!

Angela Sykes, Programme Manager ”

The Corn Hall Team