The King’s Theatre in Edinburgh could be forced to close
Alan Cumming, James Thieree, Gabriel Bryne and Brian Cox are among those appealing for help to save the King's Theatre in Edinburgh
A funding gap could force the King's Theatre in Edinburgh to close for good.
The venue is scheduled to undergo a transformational redevelopment, but the £25 Million project is set to cost 20-30% more than originally thought.
Inflation, global conflict and changing trading agreements are being blamed.
Capital Theatres had already fundraised the full £25 Million, but now they're asking for help from the UK Government to see the work over the line.
If this funding gap is not closed before December 2022 the King’s could close its doors forever.
Alan Cumming presented at the venue as part of the festival this year, he said:
“The King’s Theatre is integral to the cultural health and wellbeing of the people of Edinburgh, and indeed Scotland."
Continuing he said: "It brings us together in the Winter via the annual pantomime and it welcomes citizens of the World every August during the festival.
"This year, I was back at the King’s with BURN and it reminded me how much I love this old beauty. But, she could do with a facelift and a pretty thorough makeover. Please, urgent funding is needed to help preserve the magic of the King’s.”
Fiona Gibson is CEO of Capital Theatres, she explains that situation, saying:
"Nearly all the original capital cost estimate of £25 million to transform the King’s is in place thanks to grants from the Scottish Government, City of Edinburgh Council, the National Lottery Heritage Fund; generous donations from our patrons and donors, companies and trusts; as well as Capital Theatres’ own contribution and our recent Crowdfunder.
"We are incredibly proud of the collective effort to reach this figure.
"However, as with all construction projects in the UK currently, we are facing new challenges because of delays in supply chain caused by changing trading agreements, global conflict and increasing levels of inflation.
"Due to these factors, we estimate that the project costs will increase by between 20% and 30%. We’ve examined our options and we cannot reduce the project cost any further by value engineering and to delay the redevelopment could lead to even higher costs in the long-term, putting the entire project at risk. If this funding gap is not closed before December 2022, the last opportunity for us to give the go-head, the King’s could close its doors forever."