£500,000 lifeline funding for Fife's big theatres

Arts venues across Fife have received over £500,000 of emergency funding.

The region’s biggest theatres, all currently closed because of lockdown restrictions, got the financial lifeline from Creative Scotland.

They money came from Scottish Government’s Performing Arts Venues Relief Fund

Fife Culture Trust received £230,000.

It runs the Adam Smith Theatre, Kirkcaldy; Lochgelly Centre; Rothes Halls, Glenrothes and Carnegie Hall in Dunfermline.

The Alhambra Theatre in Dunfermline - the region’s biggest live venue - got £162,302 and the Byre Theatre in St Andrews £131,090.

All venues were forced to close in March at the start of lockdown, and have lost their entire summer and autumn schedule of shows as well as their Christmas pantos.

Entire programmes have been rescheduled for 2021.

Designed to support performing arts venues that cannot yet re-open due to the ongoing impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Fund is helping to:

The money aims to help the venues to stay afloat with no income coming through their doors.

It can allow specialist or core staff to return from furlough or avoid redundancy to work on future sustainable activity plans - and increase commissioning and employment opportunities for freelance artists and creative practitioners.

Iain Munro, CEO, Creative Scotland said: “Despite the ongoing, detrimental impact that the Covid-19 pandemic is having on Scotland’s performing arts venues, and on culture as a whole, it is positive that we can offer some funding to help venues navigate these extremely challenging times.

Staff to pupil COVID transmission confirmed at Fife school

“I’m also encouraged to see that this funding will help venues across many different parts of Scotland where they form such an important part of the cultural life of local communities.”

The Fife venues were among 59 across Scotland which shared a total of £4.74million from the relief fund’s £5million open call.

Michelle Sweeney, OnFife's Director of Creative Development, said: "The fund will provide much-needed financial support for staff retention as well as allowing us to engage with and maintain our audiences. It will also allow us to work with a range of local creatives who have been so badly hit by the impact of Covid.

"Finally, it gives us the opportunity to invest in digital expertise, which will put us in a better position for survival in what will be a highly digitised post-Covid world."

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