Exclusive:First look inside King's Theatre amid £50,000 call for public donations matched by anonymous patron
The theatre has been closed for four years
A public call for donations to plug a final funding gap at Edinburgh’s King’s Theatre has raised £30,000 - to be matched by an anonymous patron - as the venue revealed a first glimpse inside the auditorium ahead of its August re-opening.
After £30,000 was raised through the appeal, the mysterious benefactor has now extended the deadline to next Monday in hope more could still be raised through public donations which he would then double.
The theatre, which has undergone a £40 million refurbishment, is due to reopen in August, in time for the Edinburgh International Festival.
A funding gap of nearly £200,000 is still remaining to put the final touches to the building after a four year refurbishment.
Capital Theatres chief executive Fiona Gibson said: “We launched the public appeal, which is also how we started [the capital appeal], so it’s nice to finish this way as well. We still have around £200,000 left to raise.
“We have a patron, who promised to double the first £50,000 that we receive and we have already had about £30,000 in, so he’ll be doubling that, which is great.
“The gap is closing and we’re pretty confident. People love that building and people want to support us, particularly on that last mile. We’re hoping people are keen to contribute and get us there.”
The first images of the theatre’s auditorium have been revealed, with new seats in place for the first time since the building was closed in 2022.
The restored King’s Theatre now holds 1,125 seats, including brand-new seating in the upper circle with higher backs for improved comfort, alongside the reinstallation of deep-cleaned and restored original seats in the dress circle and stalls.
Ms Gibson said it was a “heart warming moment” to walk into the finished theatre.
She said: “It was a good moment, a very good moment. It was a real heart warming moment when you just feel, ‘Wow this really is going to be a theatre again’.
“It’s incredible. You feel like there is going to be light at the end of the tunnel and that there will be a beautiful building filled with great people seeing shows again very soon.”
She added: “It looks amazing and we’re at that stage of cleaning it all down and doing all the snagging and final commissioning of all the news systems. You can definitely feel it’s coming together.”
On Tuesday, the 4.5 tonne structure for the new steel and glass front door canopy was delivered from Glasgow with a police escort.
Local hotel Black Ivy has sponsored the delivery of the new canopy which Ms Gibson admitted has cost “a large sum of money”.
She said: “The theatre is not just an amazing inspiring place for the arts, but it’s an economic engine for the area of Tollcross. For all of the businesses and restaurants that sit round about us, they’re looking forward to 1,000 people every night coming to see a show and having some dinner and a drink beforehand.
“I’m sure everyone around us is also excited to get rid of the construction site.”
Other improvements include a raised fly tower to accommodate larger, more ambitious productions, and the replacement of the old, raked stage with a new level stage able to accommodate a wider range of performances.
Meanwhile, three new lifts have been installed, as well as the creation of accessible toilets on every floor and a Changing Places toilet facility open to all. It will also offer new public spaces, including a street-level café, a studio for workshops, community projects and events and a range of heritage displays.
Earlier this year, the theatre asked members of the public to write their own "message in a bottle" for the historic theatre. Billed as a "unique storytelling project" celebrating the King’s past, present and future, the ”hope in a bottle” initiative is to collect stories about people’s memories of the theatre, by submitting their memories and thought online, or in a giant bottle located in the Festival Theatre.
The idea was inspired by a discovery in 2024 when an historian visiting the site uncovered a glass bottle hidden in plain sight above the stage. Sealed in October 1906, just before the King’s opened its doors for the first time, the bottle contained the names of the architects, plasterers and apprentices who built the theatre.
Elliot Robertson, chief executive of Robertson Group, which is delivering the construction, said: "As we approach completion of the King’s Theatre, it’s incredibly rewarding to see such an iconic building brought sensitively into the modern era.
“This project has been about more than construction, it’s about preserving a much loved cultural landmark, while creating a theatre that is fully accessible, future ready and capable of welcoming the next generation of performers and audiences. We’re proud to have played our part in delivering a high quality venue that will sit at the heart of Edinburgh’s cultural life for decades to come."
The theatre closed in the summer of 2022. However, weeks before work was meant to get under way, it was announced that rising construction industry costs had created a funding gap. Work finally began in 2023 after the Scottish Government and Edinburgh City Council provided an additional £6.85m, with the UK government later approving a further £2m.
Earlier this year, the Scottish Government announced an extra £2.5m for the project.
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