£10m development for Live Theatre
The Live Theatre has been awarded a European grant to help a ten million pound expansion of its venue.
The theatre on Newcastle’s Quayside, which regularly hosts stand-up comedy, comedy theatre and a successful stand-up comedy course, has used money from a European fund grant and a loan from Newcastle City Council to a purchase a plot of land adjacent to its location on Broad Chare.
The additional space will be used to develop a public park, outdoor stage and children and young person’s writing centre, and a riverside office complex, which will be rented out to generate additional income.
A £6m loan from Newcastle City Council and a grant of £1.73m from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) have enabled the Live Theatre to purchase the plot to become landlord of the remaining properties beside the theatre on Broad Chare and round the corner to the wine bar.
Live Theatre chief executive Jim Beirne said: “We are delighted that the support from ERDF and Newcastle City Council has allowed us to purchase the site for LiveWorks.”
Talking about the development, which could bring more than 100 new jobs to the area, Newcastle City Council leader Nick Forbes said he was pleased that the council was able to help develop the venue.
Cllr Forbes said: “It demonstrates our continuing commitment to Newcastle’s cultural scene despite the ravages of austerity and underlines our shared belief that culture creates investment and jobs as well as a great quality of life.”
The council’s long-term loan to the theatre reflects the council’s commitment to grassroots investment in arts and culture, which its chief executive, Pat Ritchie, asserted when launching the Newcastle Culture Investment Fund last year.
The Live Theatre’s commitment to comedy is well known.
Lee Hall’s plays The Pitmen Painters and Cooking with Elvis both premiered at the theatre, and last year’s new comedy drama Wet House was included in The Guardian‘s best theatre list of 2013.
Its stand-up comedy course, tutored by comedians John Scott and Vladimir McTavish, has produced Lauren Pattison and Katherine Tanney, who have since become regulars on the local comedy circuit.
Scott said that Katherine Tanney did the adults course at the theatre, “and is obviously one of our best successes.”
The planning application will be submitted this week, and, if granted, work should begin in the summer, with the project set for completion by June 2015.
Responding to the announcement of Live Theatre’s ambitious expansion plans, Labour’s North East MEP candidate Jude Kirton-Darling told Giggle Beats: “European funding has been crucial to helping regenerate Newcastle over the years and develop the North East’s cultural landscape.
“I’m delighted that the Live Theatre’s expansion plans are getting the go-ahead and are also being supported by Newcastle City Council”.
