GLASGOW'S Citizens Theatre is set to receive an £8 million budget boost from the Scottish Government with plans to reopen next summer.
Finance Secretary Shona Robison announced extra funding for the revamp of the B-listed Gorbals theatre in her budget speech earlier this week.
It comes after a Glasgow City Council report in June said extra cash was needed to complete the renovation, which has been hit by delays and rising costs.
Councillors then pledged another £2m towards the project, which began before the Covid pandemic. The theatre has said the total cost is now anticipated to be in the region of £40m.
It has raised about £37m to date from a range of funders, and requires around £3.5m currently.
Kate Denby, executive director of the theatre, said: “We are incredibly grateful to the Scottish Government for contributing an additional £8m of funding towards the completion of the Citizens Theatre redevelopment in 2025/26.
“With main building works set to be complete by the end of the year, we look forward to welcoming audiences, artists and communities from across Scotland through our doors once again in 2025.
“The support and commitment of our funders will ensure we reopen a transformed historic building at the heart of the Gorbals community, that will deliver inspiring creative experiences for generations to come.”
The council-owned venue, which is leased to Citizens Theatre Ltd, was closed in 2018 and had been estimated to cost around £20m in 2019. But the scheme has been affected by the pandemic, inflation and issues with the building.
It is the theatre’s first refurbishment in 140 years and will preserve the original Victorian auditorium, deliver new rehearsal, participation and studio spaces and improve backstage facilities.
Bosses anticipate the venue will reopen in August next year, with the first productions on stage from autumn 2025.
The main construction works are due to be completed by the end of this year. Focus will then turn to fitting out the building ahead of the August reopening.
Glasgow City Council had already committed £6m to the project while the Scottish Government’s investment has now risen to £14m.
When councillors were asked to award more funding in June, a report by officials said the work would “secure the future of an ageing and vulnerable building as an essential, theatrical, creative and cultural hub”.
It added that “similar to a large number of construction projects, covid had a significant negative impact on this project in terms of delay and cost”, with many projects finding themselves in difficulty as “a result of global socio-economic factors which have led to unprecedented levels of inflation”.
The extra £2m from the council was conditional on other funders providing more cash.
