New public funding plea to finish Edinburgh theatre revamp

The Herald Scotland

16 hours ago

And it not known if the King's will definitely be able to reopen as planned in 2026 – the 120th anniversary of the venue.
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Management of the venue, which has played host to stars like Noel Coward, Laurence Olivier, Maggie Smith, Simon Callow, Maria Callas, Ian McKellen, Rikki Fulton and Sean Connery, say they are unable to provide an update on either the funding or timeline of the project as ongoing discussions are 'commercially sensitive.'
The crucial behind-the-scenes negotiations have emerged despite the project - which is expected to improve facilities for staff, visiting performers and audiences - receiving a previous £9m bailout from the UK and Scottish governments, and the city council.
A ground-floor cafe-bar is being created as part of the project to overhaul the King's Theatre in Edinburgh. (Image: Anneleen Lindsay)
The King's, which has been known for decades as "The Old Lady of Leven Street," was said to be at risk of closing is doors for good before a deal was agreed following months of campaigning and lobbying at the start of 2023.
The cost of the project had already soared from £20m when detailed designs were revealed in 2018 to more than £35m by the time the previous rescue package was secured.
A new fly tower has been created at the King's Theatre in Edinburgh. (Image: John Robb)
However its costs have increased increasingly since then, with management at the King's blaming the scale and 'immense complexity' of the project.
Capital Theatres, the arts charity which runs the King's on behalf of the city council, which owns the building, has been planning a full-scale refurbishment project since 2017.
A full-scale refurbishment of the King's Theatre in Edinburgh has been ongoing since February 2023. (Image: Anneleen Lindsay)
Key elements include installing a new stage, backstage facilities, fly tower, lifts and stairwells, creating a new ground-floor café-bar and box office, refurbishing bar and foyer areas, and converting space in the top of the building into a studio space for workshops, classes and events.
However plans to reopen the building for summer, including a run of Edinburgh International Festival shows, were scrapped last October due to the programme of works taking much longer than planned. The announcement also meant that the annual King's pantomime would not be returning to the King's as planned this Christmas.
Key factors included the discovery of "bedrock" much closer to the surface of the area earmarked for one of the new lifts, the complexity of the demolition of previous staircases and the old fly tower, a number of design changes and the need to bring in a new sub-contractor.
An update posted on the Capital Theatres website earlier this month stated that 'significant strides' were being made on the King's project, including on the new café-bar, which will extend the footprint of the building and the top-floor 'creative engagement studio.'
However councillors met behind closed doors earlier this week to discuss a request for 'additional funding' for the King's project. The local authority has since refused to discuss whether it has agreed any new funding for the project or how much it is expected to cost to complete all the remaining work.
Around £10m in additional funding had to be found by the Scottish Government and Glasgow City Council to finish off a long-delayed overhaul for the Citizens Theatre, which has been closed since 2018 but is finally due to reopen in September of this year.
The King's has been closed since the end of the 2022 Edinburgh International Festival and was intended to reopen in the summer 2023. However the project was significantly delayed by the Covid pandemic and soaring construction industry costs.
Stars including Brian Cox, Alan Cumming and Gabriel Byrne launched a campaign to bridge the previous £8.9m funding gap, which was resolved in time to allow work to start in February 2023.
A spokeswoman for Capital Theatres told The Herald: 'Significant progress has been made to fulfil the key objectives of the project.
'The scaffolding on the east side of the building has been taken down, with the newly extended fly tower now visible in all its glory. In the heart of the theatre, all partition walls for the stage basement have now been constructed.
'The installation of the new stage floor is now underway. The auditorium and plant room are also steadily taking shape and, once completed, the internal scaffolding will be removed to reveal the full extent of these newly developed spaces.
'The project features a brand-new street-level café to support the role of the King's as a thriving community hub. The new internal café floor has been installed, and the external groundworks have been completed. The recently dug-out basement has now been re-enclosed following the installation of steel beams and metal decking.
'All of this enables the forthcoming construction of the external café structure, the enlarged basement-level toilets and the kitchen to support the new café and bars.
'The brand-new creative engagement studio is currently a hive of activity, with work underway to install partition walls, plumbing for new toilets, ventilation and electrical fittings.
' The feature window on a staircase to the north side of the building is now fully installed. This allows natural light to flood the stairwell on the north side of the building. The walls of the new stairwells have been dry lined, with tiling on the wall into the auditorium currently underway. The stairs themselves will be installed over the summer.
'Expert conservation work on John Byrne's iconic dome design has been completed, ensuring that this significant piece of public art is protected.'
When the most recent delays for the project were announced last October, Capital Theatres chief executive Fiona Gibson said it was being handled with 'the utmost care and dedication to ensure the long-term success of the theatre.'
She said at the time: 'The King's Theatre restoration project is not just a refurbishment.
'It is a once-in-a-lifetime transformation of one of Edinburgh's most beloved cultural landmarks. We are committed to achieving our vision to deliver a fully accessible, high-quality venue that will serve future generations.'
The Capital Theatres spokeswoman told The Herald: 'There are ongoing discussions with all of our funders to close our existing funding gap. We cannot give a more precise update at this stage because this is commercially sensitive.'
The city council said it was unable to discuss any details of the negotiations it has been having on the King's project.
However council leader Jane Meagher said: 'The King's Theatre is an Edinburgh institution and integral part of our cultural landscape, entertaining generations of residents and visitors for more than a century.
'As one of only a handful of surviving Edwardian theatres still operational in the UK, this painstaking and much-needed redevelopment will preserve its unique heritage while also modernising its spaces and improving accessibility for all.
'We continue to offer our full support to the project and, like many, I can't wait for 'The Old Lady' to reopen her doors and welcome audiences back for the next 100 years, and beyond.'