Mac Rating: 5.00 | Votes: 1 | Date: 20/06/2026 18:27:00

Hidden in the brick arches beneath Bristol Temple Meads, The Loco Klub is an underground arts and events venue built into the former ash pits and railway workers' social club of Brunel's original station. Its Victorian tunnels make for an atmospheric, unconventional performance space. The venue is a joint venture between Artspace Lifespace and the Invisible Circus, sister organisations behind a string of Bristol arts projects. Developed from 2016, it reopened the long-disused arches as a cultural hub a few seconds' walk from the station. The space hosts a deliberately wide range of happenings, from immersive theatre, opera and orchestras to cabaret, club nights, gala dinners, markets and film and music-video shoots, building to a capacity of around 400 as the tunnels were developed. Its early programme set the tone, with promenade theatre productions leading audiences on foot through the chambers rather than seating them in a conventional auditorium, drawing on the eerie character of the spaces beneath the passenger shed. A long list of collaborators reflects its place in the city's creative ecosystem, including Bristol Old Vic, Tobacco Factory Theatres, the BBC, Aardman, Boomtown, Boiler Room and Bristol Beacon among many others. Marketed as a home for some of Bristol's most intimate and unusual live experiences, The Loco Klub trades on its hidden location and industrial heritage, offering a venue unlike the city's conventional theatres and clubs. Bristol has long had a reputation for turning forgotten industrial spaces into venues, and the Loco Klub is among the most striking examples, bringing audiences into chambers that lay unused for the better part of a century. Its programming deliberately resists easy categorisation, sitting somewhere between a theatre, a club and a gallery, and that ambiguity is central to its appeal. As part of the Artspace Lifespace network, it also functions as a workspace and proving ground for the city's artists, extending its role beyond ticketed events.