Aberdeen Performing Arts

You can run a plenary for up to 1,491 seated, a gala dinner, a breakout programme and an after-party without leaving Aberdeen city centre, because one booking team hires out three neighbouring venues, the in-house chefs and the technical crew that stages the venues’ own shows. All three buildings are within 10 minutes’ walk of the railway and bus stations, the venue says. Aberdeen Performing Arts is the not-for-profit charity (Scottish charity SC033733) that runs His Majesty’s Theatre, the Music Hall and the Lemon Tree, so your hire fee goes back into its arts and community work.

Event spaces and capacities

You get 11 bookable spaces across the three buildings, from a 14-seat boardroom to two auditoria of about 1,500 people. His Majesty’s Theatre, a category A listed Frank Matcham theatre that opened in 1906, has 1,491 seats over four levels, and its 2005 extension adds The Terrace restaurant, which can be hired subject to the show schedule. The Music Hall on Union Street reopened in 2018 after a redevelopment; its auditorium takes 1,305 theatre style or 1,500 with a standing stalls floor, and its studios and café bar can serve as breakout, exhibition or reception space. The Lemon Tree on West North Street has a 550-capacity Lounge, a 166-seat Studio and Kate’s Bar. The venue does not publish a dedicated exhibition hall area.

Capacities as published by the venue on its venue hire page and in its conference and events brochure, checked 5 November 2026. Areas are our approximations from the published width and depth of each room. Boardroom layouts take 20 in Big Sky, Rondo and Tutti and 14 in Piccolo; U-shape takes 20 in Big Sky, Rondo and Tutti. The venue notes that sellable theatre capacity can fall once an orchestra pit or wheelchair spaces are set.

Getting there and parking

Your delegates can arrive by train or bus and walk, since the venue puts all three buildings within 10 minutes of the railway and bus stations and about 20 minutes’ drive from Aberdeen Airport. His Majesty’s Theatre is on Rosemount Viaduct beside the Central Library, with its stage door on Skene Street, and the venue asks visitors to come by public transport, bike or on foot. For the Music Hall it points drivers to Golden Square, the Bon Accord Centre and the Trinity Centre car parks. The Lemon Tree has a bus stop outside and car parks at Frederick Street, Marischal College and the Gallowgate. None of the three publishes its own car park.

Catering, AV and accommodation

You can keep food and production with one supplier. The venue says its chefs cook on site using local and independent producers, offer tastings, and cover everything from canapés to five-course dinners. Its technical team handles lighting, sound and AV in-house and sends full technical specifications on request; both Lemon Tree spaces come with staging, projector, screen and PA, and can be fully blacked out. For extra catering, furniture hire or styling it works with local partners. There are no bedrooms, but the team says it can recommend nearby hotels for different budgets.

For access, every venue has Sennheiser MobileConnect hearing assistance, and the venue can provide captioning, audio description and BSL with its own equipment. His Majesty’s Theatre has level access from Rosemount Viaduct and lifts to the stalls, dress circle, upper circle and The Terrace, but not the balcony. The Music Hall has a ramp, a platform lift to the foyer and a lift to the balcony. At the Lemon Tree, a ramp at the Shoe Lane side door replaces the front steps, and a lift serves the first-floor Studio. The venue’s Green Action Plan won a VIBES Scottish Environment Business Award in 2019, and it works with Creative Carbon Scotland.

What to ask before you book

• If you want His Majesty’s Theatre or The Terrace, which dates are clear of the touring programme, and how much get-in time is left around evening shows?
• How many of the 1,491 theatre seats can you sell once wheelchair spaces, the orchestra pit and any camera positions are set, and will delegates on the balcony, which has no lift, be seated elsewhere?
• For a Music Hall dinner, can more than 250 sit at tables if you take out the stalls staging, or do the other 482 guests watch from fixed balcony seats?
• Could Big Sky, Rondo and Tutti be held together as breakouts beside a Music Hall plenary, and can the Coda Café Bar close to the public on your day?
• Does the Lemon Tree’s Shoe Lane ramp and doorbell entrance work for your step-free guests, and who staffs it?
• Which lighting, sound and AV kit is in the hire fee, and what does the technical specification say about rigging and power for your stage set?

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Sources: Aberdeen Performing Arts venue hire, conference and events brochure, His Majesty’s Theatre, Music Hall, Lemon Tree and access pages, checked 5 November 2026.