The Award Winning The Playhouse is based in Artillery Street, Derry and was established by Pauline Ross in 1992 with a grant of just £300. Since then it has grown to become one of Ireland’s leading Award Winning multi-disciplinary Community Art Resource Centres based on a neutral site with the city centre. It is a self-help, grass roots, bottom-up community development project which is people centre with charitable status.

The Playhouse comprises two theatres (860 and 129 seats), an extensive Education and Outreach Department, a Dance Studio, the Source Arts Resource Centre, a gallery and is home to several cultural/art based groups and tenants. The Playhouse filled (and continues to fill) a large gap in the provision of the arts in the North West.  It also is one of only a handful of venues commissioning, producing and touring theatre in the island of Ireland