Byre Theatre in St Andrews announces sudden closure

Published: 10 February 2013
Reporter: David Chadderton

The Byre Theatre

The board of Fife venue the Byre Theatre, a former cow shed in St Andrews which has hosted theatre productions since the 1930s, has announced its sudden closure due to financial difficulties.

The theatre was reopened by Sir Sean Connery in 2001 after a £5.5M refurbishment, but has struggled to cover its costs since then. In 2011, the Scottish Arts Council ended its annual grant to the venue but, despite good ticket sales and lettings in recent times and cutting costs, the board reports that ticket sales were "never sufficient to cover all the overheads and staff costs".

The statement from the board added, "The board was hoping that these ongoing challenges could be resolved through the planned participation in the new Fife Cultural Trust from 1 April 2013 but, given the scale of the challenges being faced by the Byre, it became clear to us that this would no longer be a feasible option.

"The board has, of course, explored all other possibilities, including consultation with Creative Scotland and Fife Council, but there was no alternative to liquidation."

The announcement produced a storm of protest and pledges of support from the Scottish theatre community, resulting in a 6,000-signature petition demanding that Scottish politicians step in to save the venue. First minister Alex Salmond said, "I am sure that members from across the chamber hope that a good future can be found for the Byre Theatre and we admire the work that it has done in the past".

Sir Sean Connery has also lent his support, saying, "The Byre is a wonderful venue and it would be my hope that a way can be found to keep it open."

The building, but not the operating company that has gone into liquidation, is owned by Fife Council, which has now said that it hopes to reopen the theatre in August. Head of leisure and cultural services Grant Ward said last week, "We are in discussions with Creative Scotland and the administrators. I expect the building to be back under full council control by Friday."

The Council's deputy leader David Ross said, "It is clear that no-one expected this sudden closure of the Byre and that some time is needed to take stock of the situation.

"There is a lot of hard work already underway to ensure a positive future for the Byre and the good news is that everyone gave a fresh commitment to work together and with the Fife Cultural Trust to find a viable solution for the long term future of the Byre."

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