Plymouth after 5pm: things to do that aren’t just going to the pub
Looking for something different to do after work, or when the weekend rolls around? From board games and hot yoga to life drawing, live comedy, independent cinema and learning to swing dance, Plymouth has plenty going on after 5pm this summer and autumn – and very little of it requires standing at a bar.
September always feels a little like a second New Year in Plymouth. Students arrive, evenings begin to draw in and suddenly staying at home every night feels far less appealing.
The good news is that Plymouth's evening scene is about much more than pubs and clubs.
Between now and the end of October there are loads of ways to get out of the house, meet people, learn something, watch something brilliant or simply do something you haven't tried before.
Here are some ideas to get you started.
Play your way through 600+ board games at Twist
Twist Board Game Café, Mayflower Street
You don't need to know your Dungeons & Dragons from your Dobble to spend an evening at Twist.
Plymouth's board game café has a library of more than 600 games, covering everything from quick party games to properly involved strategy games. Go as a couple, bring a group or persuade your new housemates that this is significantly better bonding than another night scrolling through Netflix trying to agree on something.
There is food, coffee, cocktails and craft beer if you want them – but the main event is definitely the games.
It's also genuinely an evening option: Twist currently opens until 11pm Tuesday to Thursday and midnight on Fridays and Saturdays.
Good for: friends, dates, new housemates and competitive people who insist they're not competitive.
Try an evening of hot yoga
If your idea of winding down involves considerably fewer board-game arguments, how about yoga?
Plymouth has a growing choice of evening yoga and Pilates classes, from traditional sessions to heated classes, sound baths and relaxation.
Yoga Blend offers yoga and Pilates in Plymouth including hot yoga, heated Pilates, beginners' yoga and sound sessions.
It is certainly one way of forgetting about your inbox for an hour.
Good for: clearing your head, stretching after sitting at a desk all day and anyone looking for something social without it being too social.
Learn to swing dance on a Tuesday night
This might be one of our favourite alternatives to a night out.
Mad About Swing's Plymouth classes return on Tuesday 8 September, with weekly Lindy Hop and Solo Jazz sessions.
Complete beginners are welcome, with beginner footwork starting at 6.50pm followed by the Level 1 class at 7pm. There's also time afterwards to practise and socialise.
And before you say it: no, you don't need to already know how to dance.
Good for: meeting people, learning a completely new skill and discovering whether you secretly belong in a 1940s dance hall.
Spend the evening at Plymouth Arts Cinema
Arts University Plymouth, Tavistock Place
If your default cinema trip involves a multiplex, popcorn the size of a toddler and whatever blockbuster has the biggest poster, try something different.
Plymouth Arts Cinema is the city's independent cinema and its programme includes independent films, international cinema, documentaries, classics, special screenings and films you might otherwise never get the chance to see on a big screen.
The cinema reopens after its summer break at 5pm on Thursday 3 September, with normal opening hours extending into the evening on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.
Keep an eye out for its special screenings too – these are often the nights where a cinema trip becomes much more of an event.
Good for: solo evenings, dates and film lovers wanting something beyond the mainstream.
Go to a comedy night at Barbican Theatre
Barbican Theatre, Castle Street
Comedy doesn't have to mean waiting for a huge arena tour to reach Plymouth.
Barbican Theatre runs a regular comedy night in its theatre bar on the first Wednesday of every month, from 8pm–10pm.
That means upcoming nights on:
Wednesday 2 September
Wednesday 7 October
There is also a Best of Edinburgh Fringe Comedy night on 18 September, giving Plymouth audiences the chance to catch specially selected performers coming out of the world's biggest arts festival.
Good for: an easy midweek night out and anyone who'd rather spend their money on comedy than another round.
See live music somewhere smaller
Plymouth's live music scene becomes much more interesting when you start looking beyond the huge gigs.
At Barbican Theatre alone, the autumn programme includes emerging indie folk artist Marianne Joyce's EP launch on 26 September and Plymouth band Moriarty on 3 October.
There are also regular gigs across grassroots venues including The Junction, The Underground, The Depo, Café Momus and venues around the Barbican, Mutley and Stonehouse.
Our advice? Pick an artist you've never heard of and go anyway.
You may discover your new favourite band for considerably less than the cost of seeing your old favourite band.
Good for: discovering Plymouth's grassroots music scene.
Make something at an evening craft workshop
If you spend most evenings tapping a screen, there is something surprisingly satisfying about spending a few hours actually making something.
Art Craft & Laughter CIC has evening workshops taking place around Plymouth this autumn, including a creative session at The Waterfront on Thursday 17 September from 6pm–9pm, with materials, guidance and a finished piece to take home. Further workshops continue into October.
These are exactly the sort of events that work well if you want to do something sociable but don't particularly fancy walking into a conventional night out.
Good for: crafty people, non-crafty people and people who haven't yet decided which they are.
Try fused glass
Here's one you probably haven't done after work before.
Small-group fused glass workshops in Plymouth are available on selected dates through September and October, with weekday workshops sometimes running from 6pm–9pm.
Current dates include 25 and 29 September and 9 October, with sessions costing around £38 at the time of writing.
You'll learn basic glass-cutting and design techniques before creating your own piece.
Much more satisfying than going home and doing the washing.
Good for: creative dates, gifts with an actual story attached and trying something completely new.
Give life drawing a go
You absolutely do not have to be "good at drawing" before going to a life-drawing session.
In fact, that's rather the point.
There are several opportunities around Plymouth, including ongoing Life Drawing with Ralph Nel sessions at The Box through December.
Elsewhere in the city, evening life-drawing sessions and independent classes regularly pop up, including sessions around St Judes and other creative spaces.
Take a sketchbook, stop worrying about producing something perfect and see what happens.
Good for: switching your brain into a completely different gear.
Learn ballroom and Latin dancing
Swing isn't your only option.
A new series of ballroom and Latin dance lessons starts in Plymouth on Monday 7 September at 7pm, with sessions suitable for beginners through to more experienced dancers.
You don't need to arrive with a partner either.
If you've spent years announcing that you have two left feet, perhaps autumn 2026 is the moment to finally investigate.
Good for: beginners, couples and anyone already mentally preparing for Strictly season.
Watch the fireworks from Tinside Lido
Now this really isn't your average evening swim.
Tinside Lido is hosting special evening events on 12 and 13 August during the British Firework Championships, offering the chance to watch the displays from one of Plymouth's most spectacular waterfront locations.
The outdoor swimming season itself continues until Sunday 13 September 2026, so there is still time to squeeze in an after-work dip before autumn properly arrives. Normal public sessions currently run until 6pm.
Good for: making the absolute most of the last summer evenings.
Catch one of Royal William Yard's final Yard Sessions
Make the most of the remaining lighter evenings with some free live music.
Royal William Yard's Yard Sessions run until 11 September, bringing live music into the Yard's Secret Garden throughout the summer.
They're free, outdoors and an easy option when you want to meet friends without necessarily organising an entire night out.
Good for: squeezing a little more out of summer.
Go big with a night at the theatre
Sometimes you want to learn to crochet. Sometimes you want sequins, big songs and an interval ice cream.
Theatre Royal Plymouth has a particularly strong run of musicals between August and October.
Moulin Rouge! The Musical takes over The Lyric from 19 August–19 September, followed by CATS from 6–17 October and another major musical opening from 20 October.
Don't forget The Drum either. The smaller theatre frequently hosts some of the most interesting, unusual and affordable work in the building.
Good for: a proper night out without going anywhere near a nightclub.
Have a completely ridiculous evening with 'Allo 'Allo
For something rather different, the Regiment of Rascals Comedy Theatre Company brings 'Allo 'Allo to Barbican Theatre at the beginning of October.
Performances run around 1–3 October, offering an evening of familiar characters and gloriously silly comedy.
Sometimes challenging contemporary theatre is exactly what you need.
Sometimes it's 'Allo 'Allo.
Make October a comedy month
If September is looking busy, October has plenty waiting too.
Among the autumn comedy programme is Maisie Adam: Whatsherface in Plymouth on 17 October, while Theatre Royal Plymouth hosts Bristol comedy favourite Andy Ford – Alright My Luvver?! on 24 October.
And that's before you start exploring the smaller regular comedy nights around the city.
Good for: replacing doomscrolling with laughing.
Take a life-drawing course at Mad Hatters Studio
For anyone who wants to move beyond a one-off creative session, Mad Hatters Studio has an autumn programme of workshops and masterclasses.
Its October programme includes Life Drawing on Thursday evenings – 1, 8 and 15 October from 7pm–9pm.
A three-week course is also a clever way of turning one brave "I'll try it once" decision into something you actually stick with.
Good for: meeting people while properly developing a skill.
