The Stage

Edinburgh King’s refurb on hold as cost rises to £20m

Published Tuesday 9 January 2007 at 14:10 by Nuala Calvi

Edinburgh King’s Theatre will have to wait even longer for its much-needed refurbishment, after the city’s council said it could now not meet the cost of the scheme.

A report commissioned by Festival City Theatres Trust, which runs the King’s, said in 2002 that the theatre needed a major £14 million revamp to bring it up to the standards expected by modern audiences.

However, City of Edinburgh Council member for culture Donald Anderson this week told The Stage that figure was now likely to have risen to at least £20 million and the council could no longer afford it.

He said: “We’ll have to go back and see whether the works proposed at that time are all necessary. It’s not something the council can afford at this point - we have just committed £30 million to refurbish the Usher Hall, which is the principal venue for the Edinburgh International Festival and we have other work that needs to be done on the Assembly Rooms, which is the principal venue for the fringe festival.

“We’re now asking officials to come up with phased proposals to update the King’s and bring the building up to a reasonable standard. We’re keen to get the King’s back on the agenda but it’s not practical to proceed with what would now be a £20 million proposal.”

The 100-year-old venue, one of Edinburgh’s oldest, is in need of work on its stage and backstage with new dressing rooms, seats and lifts all needed, while more cosmetic work is also required.

John Stalker, chief executive of FCT, said: “We are in the process of putting together a plan looking at what the cost would be for one big programme or a phased programme. We’ve agreed to go back to the council with it next month.

“The building is in need of a significant overhaul, it’s not had significant money spent on it throughout its history and really everything needs to be renewed, from the roof to the basement.”

Theatres Trust director Mhora Samuel backed up Stalker’s assessment. She said: “There are works that desperately need to be done to the stage in terms of improving it for modern day shows, improving the get-in and the accessibility… The services need to be improved in terms of bringing them up to better operational standards.”