Police escort as 4.5 tonne canopy arrives as finishing touch to King's Theatre renovation

Now the latest incarnation of the King’s Theatre canopy has arrived as one of the final pieces of the £40 million renovation project, arriving in the capital with a police escort due to its sheer scale.

The 4.5 tonne steel frame for the new canopy was delivered from Glasgow manufacturer Gray and Dick early on Tuesday morning.

The theatre is set to reopen on 1 August, with a line-up of launch events planned before the Edinburgh International Festival takes over in August.

The frame measures 11.1 metres long by 4.1 metres wide and weighs 4.5 tonnes. The installation of the new steel and glass canopy will take approximately three weeks. Upon completion, the pavement in front of the King’s Theatre will reopen to pedestrians for the first time since February 2023, marking another major milestone in the redevelopment process.

The theatre said the delivery of the new canopy is a “complex and costly undertaking” which has been supported by the Black Ivy, a restaurant and boutique hotel close to the theatre.

In May, it emerged that the theatre is still half a million pounds short of its final target and launched a “low level” drive to raise the last vital refurbishment funds through initiatives including post-show bucket collections to plug the gap.

Upgrades include extensive renovations to auditorium, bars and café, as well as new public spaces, a creative studio for community events, and a range of heritage displays and artefacts.

Fiona Gibson, chief executive of Capital Theatres, said: “Although it has taken on a few different guises over the years, there has always been a canopy over the front doors of King’s Theatre and we are delighted to see it back to embellish the theatre’s iconic façade yet again. This is yet another step bringing us closer to the finish line. We look forward to raising the curtain at the King’s Theatre in just a few weeks.

“We are grateful to the team behind the Black Ivy, a fellow local business which makes Tollcross such a great place to live, work and visit. Their contribution to the cost of moving the canopy through busy streets has meant we could do safely to meet our deadlines.”

The theatre closed in the summer of 2022. However, weeks before work was meant to get under way, it was announced that rising construction industry costs had created a funding gap. Work finally began in 2023 after the Scottish Government and Edinburgh City Council provided an additional £6.85m, with the UK government later approving a further £2m.

Earlier this year, the Scottish Government announced an extra £2.5m for the project, which Ms Gibson described as a “hugely significant moment” for the theatre.