A THEATRE that is being given a new lease of life after being abandoned for nearly 20 years is in line for a £1 million boost.
The campaign to return Leith Theatre to a full-time working venue - which is backed by Trainspotting author Irvine Welsh and Spud actor Ewen Bremner - is to receive the money under Edinburgh City Council budget plans.
It will bolster the push to have the theatre, which is currently being used for on-off small-scale events, back in full use in about three to five years.
Above: Leith Theatre. Image: Gordon Terris
The plans that are still to be agreed include funding to reopen the cities galleries and museums seven days a week after a five-day week led do a huge drop in visitor numbers.
Richard Garven, Leith Theatre Trust treasurer, said the funding would represent "a big step forward".
Read more: Art deco cinema in demolition battle
The theatre attracted some of the biggest names in the music industry during its golden age in the 1960s and 1970s.
Bands such as AC/DC, Slade, Thin Lizzy and Kraftwerk graced the stage of the theatre in its heyday.
Welsh agreed to become patron of Leith Theatre and Spud the campaign ambassador.
The Leith Theatre Trust took control of the building from the council about two years ago, and now hope to restore the 1,500-capacity building to its former glory.
Read more: Art deco cinema in demolition battle
Welsh, who was born in the area in 1961, said he believed the restored building could help the city's music scene recover.
It was temporarily reopened in May for the Hidden Door Festival, which specialises in transforming run-down spaces.
Above: Preparatory work last May. Image Gordon Terris
The theatre complex, including the library, was a gift from the people of Edinburgh to the people of Leith following the decision in 1920 to incorporate the Burgh of Leith into Edinburgh.
Building work started in 1929 and it opened in 1932.
Read more: Art deco cinema in demolition battle
The main auditorium suffered bomb damage in 1941 and was closed until 1961.
The Leith Theatre auditorium was finally closed in 1988, and the Leith Theatre Trust was established in 2004 as a community trust to examine the options for the re-use of the theatre complex and its various spaces.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel