Fife’s theatres to remain closed until September
OnFife which runs four of the region’s main venues, confirmed it is looking at a September return for performances.
Its four major theatres - the Adam Smith Theatre in Kirkcaldy; Rothes Halls in Glenrothes; Dunfermline’s Carnegie Hall, and the Lochgelly Theatre have been closed since the start of the pandemic in 2020.
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Hide AdWhile April 26 marks a return to operation for a raft of business, including museums, galleries and libraries, the region’s theatres will remain dark for several more months.
OnFife said it did not anticipate any indoor events until September - but this would be reviewed again in June, in line with Scottish Government guidance and its impact on capacity.
Rothes Halls and Lochgelly Centre are currently being used as COVID vaccination centres while Adam Smith Theatre is undergoing a major £3m refurbishment and will only return to operation later this year to host its panto and some local shows before closing again to allow work to continue until 2023.
Michelle Sweeney, director of creative development, said: “When we made the decision to postpone last year we did so fully expecting the uncertainty about indoor performances to have ended by spring.
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Hide Ad“But, as this pandemic has shown us many times, there are factors that we can’t control, which is why we are planning for September but reviewing this again in June.”
She added: “The success of our recent virtual events – more than 200 people have laughed along with our Comedy Cafes Online and over 100 signed up for a fantastic live performance by singer Horse at our recent online Spring Festival – demonstrates very clearly that there is a real hunger for taking part in something that brings people together to be entertained.
“We are also taking this forward with our programme planning for September, when the focus will be ‘local’ – with a planned local return, by locals, for locals and with locals.“We are going to be working closely with all our amateur companies, who have been hit so badly during the pandemic, to try to achieve this.”