We are proud to perform at Stamford's Corn Exchange

Having first opened in 1859, the building quickly became a venue for local events and entertainment and, by 1900, was being used as a cinema.

SAMS – then the Stamford Operatic Society – staged its first production in the building in 1905, and has performed at the venue annually ever since, except for the years of the First World War when only corn trading was carried out.

In the late 1950s corn trading ceased and the building was taken over by a succession of antiques dealers, on condition they allowed theatrical productions to take place for two weeks of every year. SAMS continued to use the theatre during this time, with the second week taken up by the newly formed Stamford Pantomime Players, who, along with SAMS continues to stage an annual production to this day.

SAMS and other theatre groups teamed up in 2000 to form the Corn Exchange Theatre Company, a charitable organisation that spent 11 years refurbishing the building to provide a full time theatre for Stamford. The work was mostly carried out by volunteers and included refitting the auditorium with permanent seating, fitting a public lift, clearing the cellar (now the Theatre Lounge) and dressing rooms, creating a retail space, and replacing windows that had been bricked up decades previously.

Refurbishment work was completed in 2011, when doors reopened to reveal the beautiful theatre we know today. That said, the work to keep the theatre running smoothly is ongoing – something that SAMS is proud to continue to support and be associated with.

Please click here to go to the theatre's website.