More light shed on what's happening at Cumbernauld Theatre

Cumbernauld Theatre Trust has announced that it had picked up the sum from the Weston Culture Fund – to help meet the costs of running the all-new multi-media venue on the campus of Cumbernauld Academy.

This was intended to open last year but it is hoped that 2021 will be the year that the theatre will delight Cumbernauld audiences for the first time.

The facility will boast per formance spaces, a dance studio, cinema and cafe.

Karen Moore, Chair of Cumbernauld Theatre Trust said: “This award will bring opportunities and experiences for the communities of Cumbernauld and North Lanarkshire for whom the impact of Covid-19 has been particularly hard-hitting.

“The award will be used to engage theatre practitioners, Artistic Directors, actors and designers, maintaining their capacity to sustain their careers in the arts and supporting the theatre industry in Scotland and will also allow the company to invest in film production equipment to develop access to our productions.

“This funding will provide a powerful legacy for now and well into the future allowing us to provide digital access to our work in hospitals, care homes and schools in ways we would not have imagined feasible a few years ago.”

Philippa Charles, Director of Garfield Weston Foundation, said: “Our trustees were impressed by the entrepreneurial spirit shown across the arts in response to Covid-19 and it was a privilege to hear what organisations had been doing to not only survive but also to reinvent the way they reach audiences.

" What really stood out was the level of collaboration and support they had for each other and the determination to keep going, despite the increasingly difficult situation.”

Meanwhile it has emerged that the theatre is to launch a public engagement process which will the wider community in a collaborative forum. It will be co-ordinated by a so-called Artistic Programme Steering Group and more details will be featured in an upcoming edition.