Albert Road: theatre, music and tapas

About Albert Road: theatre, music and tapas

By the ULTIMATE Brighton Editorial Team

Editor-in-Chief: Jai Michael

Albert Road is Southsea’s night-time street: the Edwardian Kings Theatre at one end, the Wedgewood Rooms halfway along, and bars, restaurants and independent shops in between.

Walk Albert Road on a Friday night and you see Southsea at its liveliest: a queue at the Kings for a musical, a band loading in at the Wedge, tapas and craft beer in between.

The Kings

The Kings Theatre opened in 1907 and has hosted everyone from Laurel and Hardy onwards. It stages major touring productions, comedy, music, dance and cabaret, and its pantomime is a Portsmouth tradition.

Check opening times and trains on the official sites before you travel.

The Wedge

The Wedgewood Rooms, known to everyone as the Wedge, is a 400-capacity venue that has been central to the local music scene for generations, hosting big touring bands before they made it and many of the country’s best-loved comedians.

Eating along the road

Nicholsons opened in 2005 as the first tapas bar in Southsea and still serves tapas and paella in a traditional pan. Nearby, the King Street Tavern, in an eighteenth-century pub, smokes its meats low and slow and pours craft beer.

And the Guildhall

For bigger shows, Portsmouth Guildhall in the city centre stages hundreds of concerts a year and keeps a gallery on its own musical history, from The Beatles to Pink Floyd’s first live performance of The Dark Side of the Moon.

Our advice: book the Kings well ahead for pantomime season, eat tapas first, and check the Wedge’s listings for the band you’ll be boasting about in five years.

Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with Albert Road: theatre, music and tapas before you go.