Douglas Head Open Air Theatre is located on the cliff top at Douglas Head and makes use of the natural slope below the former Douglas Head Hotel, before the vertical drop of the cliffs on the other side of the Marine Drive which was once used as an electric tramway between Douglas and Port Soderick.
The amphitheatre has terraced concrete seating around a small covered stage. Wooden slats were once added to the bare concrete for greater comfort of the theatregoers.
At the turn of the 20th century when the Isle of Man was a very popular destination for large numbers of visitors from northern England, Douglas Head had many attractions, most of which have long since disappeared. Some of these attractions do remain however such as the Open Air Theatre and the Camera Obscura. (
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In its heyday many shows took place at the theatre including minstrels and pierrots. (
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Many of the attractions closed in 1939 with the outbreak of hostilities and never reopened. Amongst the attractions which closed permanently was the electric tramway. Tourism never really picked up after the war and the theatre fell out of use.
In 1993 an article appeared on the IoMToday web site stating that the Douglas Development Partnership may look to reopen the site for performances as the theatre was being renovated by the King's Tower Trust who wanted to set up a church and school activity centre combined with the Douglas Head Hotel which they had purchased for that purpose. Project failed due to lack of support.
It was reported on the derelictplaces website that:
‘The theatre has been out of use for around 30 years, though some attempt appears to have been made to tidy up the stage structure. The Theatre is overlooked by many of the apartments housed in the renovated and extended former Douglas Head Hotel.
Until 2015 the amphitheatre had lain disused since the last organised entertainment which had taken place on the site in 1993 as part of the island's Year Of Railways in celebration of the centenary of the Manx Electric Railway.
The use of the amphitheatre was revived as part of the 2015 Isle of Man Film Festival. Used as the venue for the opening night of the festival, the amphitheatre played host to a screening of the cult film The Goonies, with those in attendance including the film critic, Mark Kermode. Judged a success, it is hoped that the future screening of films under the stars during the summer months will lead to a new lease of life for the venue.’
Optimism of 2015 seems to have evaporated as the amphitheatre had not been used since the Festival.
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