Welcome to Buxton International Festival

What to expect at Buxton International Festival 2022.

Getting here

Buxton is easy to reach from the A6, A515 and A53. The theatre is well signposted once you reach the town centre. If you are using Sat Nav, use the postcode SK17 6XN for Buxton Opera House and SK17 6BE for the Pavilion Arts Centre. The entrance to the Pavilion Arts Centre is on St John’s Road.

Please note: the A5004 Long Hill (between Buxton and Whaley Bridge) is now closed until September with a diversion in place. Please check your route and allow extra time for your journey if needed.

Parking

There is on-street pay and display parking around the theatre and a car park behind Pavilion Gardens. The car park is free after 6pm (please note: the covered area closes at 6pm). There is also free on-street car parking after 6pm close to the theatre, but make sure that you avoid the Residents Parking Scheme areas. Click here for details of all local car parks and charges.

Rail

A train service is available from Manchester Piccadilly Station to Buxton. For further information on all available services and connections visit National Rail.

Refreshments

Pre-show and interval drinks are available in the Opera House, Arts Centre and outside forecourt bars. The bars open 45 minutes before the start of the performance. If you would like interval drinks, please pre-order on arrival.

Pop-up bookshop

For all your reading needs, don’t forget the Waterstones pop-up bookshop, which is situated in the Octagon foyer in the Pavilion Gardens. Please do buy your books from here as the Festival receives a contribution from sales, which will go towards future events.

Festival programme

Priced at £15, a souvenir programme for Buxton International Festival will be on sale at the Box Office and on the forecourt before each performance.

When you arrive

The Box Office will be open if you need to collect your tickets. As you go into the auditorium we’ll ask for your seat number and direct you towards your seat. Please only sit in your allocated seat.

The show will start at the time stated on your tickets. The two foyer clocks will tell you the interval time and what time the performance is expected to finish. To avoid disturbing the audience, latecomers may not be admitted until there is a suitable break in the performance.

Please note that no photography or recording is permitted without prior arrangement.

Strobe Effect Lighting

Performances of Gypsy: A Musical Fable and Antonio e Cleopatra include strobe effect lighting.

Festival Walks

• Wildlife Walk with Mark Cocker: meet at the corner of Corbar Road and Lightwood Road
• Church Matters walk: meet at St John’s Church
• All Ale & Higher Buxton and Women of Note walks: meet outside the Old Hall Hotel
• Common People walk: meet outside Buxton Opera House
• Vera Brittain walk: meet at the Devonshire Dome reception

Events at the Palace Hotel

Free parking is available for events at the Palace Hotel. Make sure to insert your car registration number into the parking tablet at the end of the hotel reception desk. The automated system will issue a fine if your registration number is not in the system.

Events at the Assembly Rooms

The entrance is at the Cavendish Arcade end of the Crescent. Please do not try to access the Assembly Rooms via the Hotel reception foyer.

Customer Service
If you have any problems during a performance, please contact one of our Front of House team and they will do their best to resolve the issue. We value your feedback on our programme of events, customer service and the experience you had at Buxton Opera House & Pavilion Arts Centre. If you would like to get in touch, please contact: customerservice@boh.org.uk