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Nightlife and Entertainment

Nocturnal diversions in Victoria are tame compared to Vancouver’s, but there’s more to the town than its tearooms and chintzy shops initially suggest. Highbrow tastes are surprisingly well catered for, and there’s a smattering of live music venues and discos to keep you happy for the limited time you’re likely to spend in the city. Jazz is particularly popular - for information on the city’s jazz underground, contact the Victoria Jazz Society, 250-727 Johnson St (tel 388-4423).

Listings appear in the main daily newspaper, the Times-Colonist and in a variety of free magazines you can pick up in shops, cafes and hotels. Tickets for most offerings are available from the city’s main performance space, the McPherson Playhouse, 3 Centennial Square, Pandora Avenue and Government Street (tel 386-6121).

Clubs, Discos and live Music

Bartholomew’s Bar and Rockefeller Grill , Executive House Hotel , 777 Douglas St (tel 388-5111). An upbeat pub with a steady diet of local rock and blues bands.

BJ’s Lounge , downstairs at 642 Johnson St (tel 388-0505). Popular gay dance club playing fairly mainstream Top 40 music.

Esquimalt Inn , 856 Esquimalt Rd (tel 382-7161). Long-established venue with country bands most nights and occasional jam sessions. Take the #23 bus.

Evolution , 502 Discovery St (tel 388-3000). One of Victoria’s more interesting clubs and discos, thanks to plenty of techno and other dance-floor sounds

Hermann’s Jazz Club , 753 View St (tel 360-9098). Dimly lit club thick with 1950s atmosphere which specializes in Dixieland but has occasional excursions into fusion and blues. Open Mon-Fri 11.30am-2am, Sat 3pm-2am.

Legends , 919 Douglas St (tel 383-7137). Biggest, best and noisiest of the hard-rock venues, this club occupies the garish, neon-lit basement of the Strathcona Hotel . Music and dancing nightly.

Millennium , 1605 Store St at Pandora Ave (tel 360-9098). You may well have to queue to join the slightly older crew who frequent the basement disco of Swan’s Pub . Classics from the 1960s and 1970s generally rule along with current Top 40 fodder. Open Tues-Sat.

Pagliacci’s, 1011 Broad St (tel 386-1662). Live music (jazz, blues, rock and R&B) starting at 9pm Tuesday to Saturday, in a packed and popular restaurant.

Steamers , 570 Yates St (tel 381-4340). You’ll catch enthusiastic local bands here most nights, playing anything from reggae to Celtic.

Victoria Blues House , 1417 Government St (tel 386-1717). Victoria’s “House of the Blues” at the Victoria Plaza Hotel has disco some nights and local blues and R&B bands most others.

Drama

Belfry Theatre , 1291 Gladstone St and Fernwood Rd (tel 385-6815). Foremost of Victoria’s companies, with a nationally renowned five-play season. Although it concentrates on contemporary Canadian dramatists, the repertoire runs the gamut of twentieth-century playwrights.

Kaleidoscope Theatre , 556 Herald St (tel 383-8124). Theatre troupe known particularly for its work with young audiences.

Victoria Theatre Guild , 805 Langham Court Rd (tel 384-2142). A good company performing lightweight musicals, dramas and comedies.

Classical Music and Opera

Pacific Opera Victoria , 1316b Government St (tel 385-0222). Highly acclaimed company which usually produces three operas yearly in February, April and September at the McPherson Playhouse, 3 Centennial Square (box office tel 386-6121).

Victoria Operatic Society , 798 Fairview Rd (tel 381-1021). Year-round performances of lightweight operatic fare.

Victoria Symphony Orchestra , 846 Broughton Rd (tel 385-9771). Numerous concerts annually, usually performed at the nearby Royal Theatre, 805 Broughton St (tel 386-61210).