2023 relaunch for Kirkcaldy theatre's £3m transformation into cultural hub
Councillors in Fife have confirmed £2m of funding towards the £3m project which was unveiled last year.
With the theatre in lockdown and its 2020 programme wiped out by the pandemic, work behind the scenes has continued to re-shape parts of the blueprint.
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Hide AdPlans to move OnFife’s office staff from Iona House at John Smith Business Park into the Beveridge Suite have been halted after feedback from the community.
Instead, the hall will be transformed and continue as a space for live shows and community group use.
It will see new lighting and a sound system installed, and cladding the walls to improve the aesthetics of the space.
Plans to soundproof the lower function hall have also been changed because of the prohibitive costs involved.
It will be altered to make better use of the space.
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The main focus, however, remains the transformation of the 475-seat theatre which has hosted some of the biggest names in showbusiness across the generations.
By next summer it should have completed phase one which includes new seating and removable sections, new carpets and sound system and a complete re-decoration.
The entrance and foyer of the building will also get a completely new look with an additional performance space created where the cafe currently sits along with a new creative hub, and the reception brought into the heart of the space.
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Hide AdOnFife has been keeping user groups updated on its progress during lockdown, and plans a further online presentation before Christmas.
It has also built flexibility into its timescales with a full re-opening pencilled in for Spring 2023.
Work will be paused to allow the 2021 pantomime to take place - it is the theatre’s single biggest production - before the doors re-open to “a new “cultural and creative hub” which will become a key part of Kirkcaldy town centre’s own regeneration.
The aim is to make the Adam Smith as adaptable as possible - hosting live shows as well as smaller performance spaces, and areas where people and small creative enterprises can meet and collaborate to fully utilise the historic building.