Countdown has started to theatre’s reopening panto
The countdown is on to the reopening of Perth’s restored theatre.
On Monday, Gwilym Gibbons, chief executive of Horsecross Arts, Perth Theatre artistic director, Lu Kemp, council leader Ian Campbell from project partners Perth and Kinross Council, plus other partners and supporters, pressed the button to launch the 75-day countdown to the first performance of Aladdin.
The countdown is being projected onto Perth Theatre’s Mill Street façade and will be visible after dark until the run of Aladdin starts on Saturday, December 9.
The £16.6m transformation of Perth’s historic theatre is nearing completion with the box office, café and bar in the restored and redeveloped venue due to reopen on Monday, November 13.
From that date, in the run up to panto time, there will be a series of opportunities for members of the public to test the restored and redeveloped theatre, peek backstage, explore the building and check out the performance spaces.
Gwilym Gibbons said: “It is incredibly exciting to reach this stage in the transformation process.”
Councillor Ian Campbell said: “It is an exciting time for Perth as so many major projects are progressing at different stages, and they all will provide a major boost to the city. With the reopening of the theatre and the first production getting ready for an audience, it’s a welcome step forward. Over the next few years we will see a number of positive changes happening across the city centre, and I think it is fitting that the first project to reach completion and kick things off is the renovation of one of Perth’s most iconic buildings.”
Lucy Casot, head of the Heritage Lottery Fund in Scotland, added: “Perth Theatre plays a hugely important role in the life of the local community so it will be wonderful to see its doors open again, welcoming visitors of all ages to the panto.”