Sell theatre to council for minimal sum

I WAS saddened to read that the King’s Theatre building in Dundee had gone unsold at auction, leaving its future uncertain.

Mind you, a price tag of £400,000 seems quite high for a building (pictured below in its 1925 heyday) that would need a heck of a lot of work to restore it.

However, I do think to lose it would be a travesty. To have it reinstated to its former glory — and apparently most of the internal ornate plasterwork etc is still in place to make this building quite majestic — would be fantastic.

I think the building should be handed over to the council for a minimal sum.

As it stands, the administrators aren’t making any money as no one is prepared to buy it.

Once in the ownership of the city, the King’s Theatre Trust members could start a crowdfunding page and run events to gather cash for the refurbishment.

If the citizens gave their backing to the process then the theatre would feel like “theirs”.

All cities have old theatres that have been modernised to play host to concerts, markets and the like. And Dundee has seen too much of its history demolished.

It would definitely be a jewel in the crown of the European Capital of Culture bid — perhaps the focus could be put on having it ready to reopen in 2023?

Hopeful.