St John the Evangelist Church

SJE Arts is a warm and welcoming venue in the busy Cowley area of Oxford with good public transport links to the city centre and to London. The church is grade I listed and is renowned for its superb acoustic.

Performances generally take place in the east end of the church, although flexible seating allows for alternative arrangements.

Demountable staging is available (in various configurations to suit performances) and there is modern lighting above the east end of the performance space. The Steinway D concert grand piano is fixed to a 40cm-high platform, which can be incorporated into the staging.

Seating is on comfortable chairs rather than pews. Sight lines are good in the centre of the church, there are some unsighted seats in the side aisles.

The absolute maximum audience capacity, with a very minimal performance area and some unsighted seats, is 500. With staging 6m x 3m, capacity is reduced to 320. The standard set up, as used for church services, is 250 chairs with a central aisle.

For all public performances SJE Arts provides a front of house manager and volunteer stewards. A licensed bar is an option (profit to SJE Arts). Hirers are expected to run their own box office.

For SJE Arts own promotions, Tickets Oxford at Oxford Playhouse handles the ticket sales. The ticket blocks – up to five – are given the following designations: Centre Front, Centre Mid, Centre Rear, Side Aisles, unsighted. For outside hirers, an introduction to Tickets Oxford can be arranged.

Hire rates vary according to the day of the week, size of audience and length and complexities of the performance.