Teatro Jovellanos traces its origins to the Teatro Cómico, opened in the summer of 1883 on the initiative of Manuel Sánchez Dindurra. Enlarged to a design by architect Mariano Marín, it reopened in July 1899 as Teatro Dindurra. A bombing raid left it in ruins in 1937, during the Spanish Civil War; rebuilt to a design by José María Mendoza y Ussía, it reopened in 1942 under its current name, in honour of Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos. The eclectic-historicist building is arranged in three volumes: two side wings and a taller central block that houses the theatre.

Located on Paseo de Begoña, it closed in 1987 and reopened in 1995 after a refurbishment; a further renovation, by architect Sergio Barragán’s studio, was completed in January 2010, and today it has 1,112 seats. Its programme spans theatre, classical music, rock concerts, dance, opera, ballet and cinema, and it is one of the main venues of the Gijón International Film Festival, held in November.