The Whale Theatre in Greystones marked a major milestone recently as friends, supporters and community members gathered to celebrate the first anniversary of its community-led management team.
The venue, which first opened in September 2017 following its purchase and redevelopment by Ross McParland, has become one of Wicklow’s best-known cultural hubs.
Since opening, the theatre has hosted thousands of events spanning music, drama, dance, comedy and film, while keeping community at its heart to provide educational workshops, free family events, small festivals and school programmes.
It has also served as home to a number of local groups, including Greystones Players Community Theatre Group, Making Waves Youth Theatre and Greystones Film Club.
A new chapter began for the venue last year. Following a call for proposals by Mr McParland in November 2024 seeking a new operator and management team, the successful bid from the Whale Theatre Company was announced last summer.
The non-profit organisation was established to preserve the theatre as a performance venue while expanding its role as an inclusive arts and community space.
The anniversary gathering highlighted what has been a busy, but hard-won victory for the new team in its first year. Friends, guests and management heard that over the past 12 months, the Whale Theatre has welcomed more than 12,500 guests and hosted 150 events.
These included 48 concerts, 18 nights of drama, 25 performances by major comedy acts, 23 family events and 17 days of community workshops. Not bad for its first year.
They are now looking forward to two free Culture Night events on Friday, September 18, which will be their first big moments of the autumn and winter schedule.
At 4pm, Making Waves Youth Theatre presents The End of the Line, an original play by young Greystones playwright Cara Harte, followed by Greystones Stories, a series of dramatised readings and short performances by Greystones Players.
The Greystones Gen Jazz Band then takes the stage from 7pm.
The following weekend both comedian Deirdre O’Kane and The Eurythmics & Annie Lennox Show are sold-out, and further big names, like comedy trio Foil Arms and Hog, are also fully booked later in the season, emphasising the popularity of the venue’s shows.
Community engagement remains a core principle of the organisation, with organisers outlining ambitions to keep developing opportunities for young people, local artists, musicians, businesses and the cultural groups of the town and beyond.
The theatre’s success has also been recognised nationally. Earlier this year, the Whale Theatre was confirmed as the only venue in County Wicklow to receive funding under the 2026 Grassroots Venues Support Scheme.
The initiative, announced by Culture Minister Patrick O’Donovan, allocated €1m to grassroots music and comedy venues across Ireland like The Whale, with grants of up to €20,000 available to successful applicants.
Looking ahead, the organisation is preparing for its annual fundraising gala night, which will take place at Powerscourt Hotel, on Saturday, October 10. Tables for the event are still available by contacting [email protected].