Note

Event ID 1014881

Category Descriptive Accounts

Type Note

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1014881

The Citizens’ Theatre was recorded in 2016 prior to a period of major demolition and alteration. The auditorium was originally part of the 1878 Her Majesty’s Theatre, later the Royal Princess’s Theatre, the building became the Citizens in the post war years when it became the official home of the Glasgow Citizens’ Theatre Company, which remains as one of the few producing theatres in Scotland. The earliest frontage, which reused the 1841 David Hamilton columns from his design for the Union Bank, Ingram Street was destroyed in 1977 as part of the clearance of the surrounding Gorbals tenements, a new frontage replaced this in 1989 with the surviving sculptural figures now on show in the current foyer space, as are elephants and caryatid relics from the Palace Theatre which once stood next door.

The current scheme will replace the frontage and foyer spaces, creating access to all the seating levels, it is intended to improve ventilation and safety in the stage house and access for scenery on to the stage. There will also be the opportunity to show some of the historic surviving stage machinery, such as the working paint frame where scenery flats (back sheets) are raised and lowered to paint using a counter weight system. Much of the surviving machinery, such as the drums and traps are not easily accessible as they are above and below stage level, but these are probably now unique survivors in Scotland. The theatre is intended to remain open during its restoration and areas of the stores will become circulation spaces for the duration.