Into Entertainment & Leisure

First­site is a pub­lic con­tem­po­rary art gallery in Colch­ester, mak­ing and show­ing great art and cul­ture that cel­e­brates the peo­ple, places and pri­or­i­ties of Colch­ester, Essex and East Anglia in order to empow­er all com­mu­ni­ties to be hap­pi­er and health­i­er togeth­er. First­site spec­tac­u­lar cres­cent-shaped build­ing, designed by award-win­ning Uruguayan archi­tect Rafael Viñoly, pro­vides a cre­ative and social space like no oth­er. Over the last eight years it has gained a strong, crit­i­cal rep­u­ta­tion, pre­sent­ing ambi­tious work to new audi­ences in the East of Eng­land and beyond. First­site is a part­ner of Plus Tate, which uses Tate’s resources to con­tribute to a net­work of arts organ­i­sa­tions across the coun­try, and to increase pub­lic access to the nation­al col­lec­tion of British and inter­na­tion­al mod­ern and con­tem­po­rary art. First­site exhi­bi­tions are free and open to any­one. Fol­low us on Twit­ter & Face­book @firstsite and Insta­gram @firstsitecolchester

This well-equipped ​“lit­tle gem of a the­atre” in Colch­ester Town Cen­tre has been wel­com­ing vis­it­ing ama­teur and pro­fes­sion­al groups onto our stage since 2002, and a vari­ety of users into our stu­dio rehearsal space. We have packed sea­son­al pro­grammes offer­ing gen­uine choice. From clas­sic and mod­ern dra­ma to musi­cal the­atre, stand-up com­e­dy nights to school hires, clas­si­cal music to magi­cians — we do our best to make the expe­ri­ence of all of our hir­ers and patrons enjoy­able. We also host a youth dra­ma skills group who per­form twice a year in the the­atre, and an over 55’s group, Act V.

The Headgate is a Grade 2 list­ed build­ing (for­mer­ly a Con­gre­ga­tion­al chapel), with a max­i­mum audi­to­ri­um capac­i­ty of 87 peo­ple, and a stu­dio capac­i­ty of 40. More infor­ma­tion about the cur­rent spaces and the spec­i­fi­ca­tion for our equip­ment can be found on the ​“Hir­ing Spaces” page. We are devel­op­ing an addi­tion­al rehearsal and meet­ing space in the adjoin­ing build­ing, which used to be the church hall and Sun­day School. You can find out more about our his­to­ry on the ​“Our His­to­ry” pages. 

Bar and restau­rant spe­cial­is­ing in steaks. Also avail­able for pri­vate functions.

Jeans Craft room is a small shop at 23 North Hill. Start­ed in Octo­ber 2023, we are con­cen­trat­ing on pot­tery paint­ing for the time being. Cus­tomers book a table (email, tele­phone or face­book mes­sage) for a 2 hour paint­ing slot. When they arrive they are shown to the table and intro­duced to the ceram­ic items we have for sale. There is no stu­dio fee, glaz­ing or fir­ing fee and prices, which are clear­ly marked on the shelves, start at £10 for a medi­um sized char­ac­ter or ani­mal. Dinosaurs, coin banks, foot­ball, pug, ele­phant to name a few start at £12. Oth­er key items include medi­um plate £15, stan­dard mug £15, large mug £20, Cup and saucer £25, Large teapot £25. Var­i­ous sized vas­es are from £20, Gruffa­lo cook­ie jar £32, large pig­gy bank £28. Clocks

Bet­ting and Gambling

Locat­ed in the cen­tre of Colch­ester, Essex and Suf­folk have enjoyed our icon­ic flumes for gen­er­a­tions. With wild water rapids, waves, tip­per buck­ets, inter­ac­tive beach area, ship­wreck water can­nons and more in our fam­i­ly fun Leisure Pool. Adults can also enjoy from unlim­it­ed access to a gym facil­i­ty , Func­tion­al Train­ing Area, exer­cise class­es, 25m swim­ming pool and free parking.

Your the­atre, your stories

The Mer­cury is an artis­tic pow­er­house in the East – a vital, vibrant, wel­com­ing cen­tre of cul­ture for the peo­ple of Colch­ester, Essex and beyond.

The the­atre takes its name from the Roman mes­sen­ger god, Mercury.

It was Mercury’s task to con­nect the peo­ple with the gods, and so, in keep­ing with our name, con­nec­tion is at the heart of every­thing we do.

Merkur Slots is a real­ly excit­ing place to play slot machines. You can go gam­ing with us online or on the high street. Plus using this web­site you can also keep up-to-date with every­thing that’s happening.

Merkur Slots rep­re­sents the very best in terms of ​‘slot gam­ing’ enter­tain­ment. Merkur Slots venues are well appoint­ed friend­ly venues with an empha­sis on low stake slot gam­ing with pay­outs that range from £5 to £500. All of them have well trained and pleas­ant staff who will help the unini­ti­at­ed (to get start­ed) and pam­per the reg­u­lar play­ers offer­ing what­ev­er (free) refresh­ments they desire. 

No-Name Bar and Games is the bar that’s all about the good times with mates, fam & dates…

A brand new con­cept in com­pet­i­tive social­is­ing, with the pur­pose of bring­ing peo­ple togeth­er, old friends and new. The place to meet, com­pete, drink & eat…

Enjoy a range of activ­i­ties including;

• Axe Throw­ing
• Karaōke
• Golf Sim­u­la­tor
• Shuf­fle­board
• Pool Tables
• Real­i­ty Darts
• Table Ten­nis
• Beer Pong

As well as spe­cial deals, such as the All Play Pass to access all of your favourite games for up to 2 hours.

Local cin­e­ma with friend­ly and help­ful staff in the heart of Colchester. 

Found­ed back in 1930, ODEON is the largest and best-known cin­e­ma chain in the UK and Ire­land. And, famous the world over, ODEON Luxe Leices­ter Square has host­ed over 700 of Europe’s biggest film pre­mieres since the 1930s and it’s now the first Dol­by Cin­e­ma™ in the UK.