Catherine Lockerbie, former director of Edinburgh International Book Festival, hopes to help halt the sale of a council-owned property in Hamilton Place which formerly housed the Theatre Workshop Scotland (TWS) until October when the drama company was forced to abandon its lease after losing the bulk of its funding.
Artists, local residents and creative personalities – including Andy Arnold, artistic director of Glasgow’s Tron Theatre – are also trying to stop its sale.
Campaigners say the 150-seat B-listed venue, with a 55-seat studio space, is one of the few intimate theatres left in the city and would be a “devastating loss” after more than three decades serving the arts.
They want a community lease, to share the space with other theatre groups and believe it would take a “minimal cost” to refurbish the building.
But council chiefs claim the premises require substantial renovation at a time of tight budgets and say they are obliged to sell off surplus assets.
The building, which has hosted international and European Festival Fringe productions, is expected to fetch around £800,000.
Backing the campaign, Ms Lockerbie said: “These smaller vibrant venues are vital to communities and emerging talent. If the building is sold off to developers, all of that is lost.
“This theatre has been here for years and has a vital role to play for the future.
“I am a founder member of Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature and there is so much potential for literary events as well as theatre, visual arts, and more, in one of the Capital’s most vibrant districts.”
Since 1974, TWS has paired theatre professionals with community volunteers to produce plays and films that gives a voice to marginalised groups. It helped launch the careers of directors including Andy Arnold, Adrian Harris, Bob Palmer and Gerry Mulgrew.
Mr Arnold, who in 1991 helped establish The Arches in Glasgow as an arts hotspot and nightclub, said: “Theatre Workshop is where I started my directing career and learnt about how to run an arts venue.
“I still refer to it as the best black box theatre space in Scotland.<!—
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