Historic Scottish theatre set for summer reopening after seven-year hiatus

One of Scotland's oldest theatres is due to reopen to the public by the summer after a seven-year hiatus to allow its biggest ever refurbishment to be carried out.

Bosses at the Citizens Theatre, in Glasgow's south side, have revealed that a multi-million pound revamp first announced in early 2013 is finally nearing completion.

Building work at the Gorbals venue, which dates back to 1878, is expected to be finished within weeks, despite uncertainty over the final cost of the project and how possible funding gap could be filled.

It is then expected to take around six months to fit out the new-look "Citz," which will have an expanded foyer, a new 150-seater studio theatre, a hugely expanded foyer, a new cafe-bar, improved backstage areas, new spaces for set-building, costume-making and rehearsing, and better sightlines in the auditorium.

The theatre's original Victorian auditorium, which has been undergoing a painstaking restoration, has also been "wrapped" in a new three-storey building, which has allowed a taller "fly tower" for moving sets and scenery to be installed.

Although the Citizens was last open to the public in June 2018, work did not get under way on the revamp until September 2019, when it had a price tag of £21.5m - more than double the original estimate - and a planned reopening in 2021.

Progress held up by the pandemic and there were then further delays when the programme of work in the main auditorium proved to be "more challenging than anticipated”.

A spokeswoman said: "We are in the final phase of the project. Large areas of the building are close to completion.

"This includes much of the new build areas including offices, back of house and the new ‘courtyard’ foyer spaces front of house. 

"The main auditorium has been a more complex area. Threading new services through historic elements of the building and upgrading a historic Victorian theatre has inevitably been challenging.

"Building works are expected to complete by the end of December 2024 and this will be followed by a six-month fit out.

"This will involve a wide range of work as we gear back up to being a fully functioning theatre, including installing technical equipment, building workshop spaces for set building, staff training and test events.

"We anticipate reopening to the public by the summer of 2025. A full season programme will begin from the autumn."

A planned reopening for this Christmas was announced last December, when the cost of the project was said to be "in the region of £30m."

However in June it emerged that the new-look Citizens would not be ready until 2025 and the city council, which had already committed £6.4m to the revamp, agreed to provide a further £2m on condition that other funders, who include the UK and Scottish Governments, stump up more support.

Although the Citizens has not secured any more significant backing since then, the theatre insists it is still in "constructive" conversations and has not had to drop any key elements of the project as a result of the delays.

The spokeswoman added: "We are in active and constructive conversations with the Scottish Government to bring together the financial package required to complete the project. We are also returning to conversations with the UK Government.

"In addition, we have our own fundraising campaign to help us secure the final amount needed.

"This is a complex building that has never had a comprehensive architectural overview in the 148 years it has been standing as a theatre in the Gorbals.

“This project is transforming an ageing and vulnerable building into a vibrant cultural hub while preserving its unique heritage."