God (aka Edinburgh Council) Save the Kings

A £12m revamp of TollCross’ King’s Theatre looks set to save the ageing city centre venue. The campaign to save Kings Theatre began with concerns that the century-old theatre would not meet safety regulation unless renovation work was completed.

photo from http://flickr.com/photos/thisstage/1088429104/sizes/s/

Opinions differ on how much and when funding will be delivered. But it looks as if closure has been starved off for the near future.

Supporters of the Kings Theatre are concerned that renovations, even under this new development, will only begin in 2011. Costs may well rise in the meantime. However, the council has managed to buy some breathing time whilst seeming to rescue this Tollcross beauty from her fate.

Originally built in 1905 as a variety theatre, The Kings Theatre has seen AGMs, pantomime and amateur dramatic performances held in its ornate surroundings. Elegant Edwardian stained glass in the foyer doors welcome you to this stunning festival venue, which has a 1350 capacity – but is currently only open for 24 weeks of the year.

The Save the Kings campaign has several ideas for making the theatre a more feasible proposition. The options they put forward are: immediate spending to fix health and safety issues; further ‘bells and whistles’ renovation; and making it more widely used, for example as a training location for theatre and behind-the-scenes skills.

What do you think - should we be bothering to save The Kings? Or should it take its final bow?

• 29 Aug 2008
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