CITZ LOOKS TO FUTURE WITH WORK RESTARTING
Artistic director Dominic Hill opens up on how post-lockdown life will affect beloved venue
FOR 75 years, the Citizens Theatre in Glasgow’s Gorbals has been the hub of accessible arts in the city – and now the venue is looking towards operating in a post-lockdown world.
The £20 million redevelopment works began on the venue in September 2019, marking the largest renovation of the 145-yearold building in its history.
Now, after lockdown halted work on the site for more than three months, the Citizens Theatre is again planning and looking forward to welcoming patrons back in the next few years.
“It’s so great that we can begin work again on the site”, said the theatre’s artistic director, Dominic Hill.
“We were actually in a lucky position, if that’s the best way to phrase it, because we didn’t have a running venue at the time of lockdown.
“We didn’t have any overheads that many other theatres and venues all over the country did have, so we haven’t been in as bad a situation as we could’ve been.”
While the coronavirus has hit many industries across the board, one of the most neglected during this time has been the arts.
Dominic said: “We have very much banded together as an industry during this crisis.
“We’ve been in touch with venues in Pitlochry, Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Inverness, and the message is the same – that the live theatres have been left in the dark.”
On July 3, the Scottish Government announced £10m in
“lifeline support for performing arts venues”, something which has been desperately needed by sites across the city.
Dominic said: “I can’t think of anything else that could’ve been created to damage live theatre more than the way coronavirus has hit the industry in the past three months.
“Not only that, but it ripples out. People’s jobs are at risk, the businesses nearby will be affected by the lack of footfall.
“Freelancers, which is a very common practice in the industry, are also very unprotected and their livelihoods are at stake.”
Before lockdown, shows had been taking place at the nearby Tramway Theatre while the Citizens site was under construction.
“At one point, we were told that we would be able to open the venue but couldn’t put on any live performances which would be pointless to us.”
The Citz has been host to megastars over the years such as Peter Capaldi, Celia Imrie, Rupert Everett and even James Bond himself, Pierce Brosnan – but with the threat to the live theatre sector very real, the logistics of welcoming more stars and up-andcoming talent to tread the boards is looking increasingly difficult.
Dominic explained: “There will be lots of challenges that will come when we are able to open and put performances on.
“If we have to socially distance, the logistics of putting a show on and making sure that the cast and crew are adhering to rules will be very difficult.
“We have looked at outside performances but obviously there will be limits to this.
“We are not defeatist, we will find a way to work but it is logistically a nightmare.”
While lockdown had temporarily halted work on the redevelopment of the site and paused live events, the theatre has continued work in the community – part of its ethos since opening in 1945.
The Citizens Theatre has been hosting online classes and workshops to keep connected to the community, including Friday Club, a creative skills and performance group for adults with learning disabilities, and Off The Page, a play-reading session for seniors.
“Being a part of the community has always been a part of who we are, and we will continue to do that any way we can,” Dominic said.
“We have participation groups going on during lockdown. We have a lot of people who are living