News

Long-held plans for Soho Theatre to take-over a former cinema in north east London have moved a step closer, after Waltham Forest Council bought the £2.6m building. Renovation of the site as a 1,000-seat comedy venue is expected to take three years.

The Susie Sainsbury Theatre has been expanded to 309 seats, and a new 100-seat rooftop Recital Hall has been unveiled, as well as new and refurbished practice and dressing rooms, percussion studios, a jazz room and new audio-visual recording facilities.

After an unsuccessful application to Creative Scotland for regular funding for 2018-21, Scottish Youth Theatre (SYT) has announced it will close in July after 40 years of operation.

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has pledged to explore all options for saving the organisation, although stressed that the Government could not tell Creative Scotland which organisations to fund. Creative Scotland also turned down SYT’s bid for funding in 2015, but the organisation was propped up by a £400k grant from the Scottish Government in a controversial move that the funder said undermined its arms-length status.

Creative Scotland said it had been in discussions with the SYT about alternative support and was “disappointed” by the closure.

The conservatoire has announced that it will abolish all-male composer concerts and that music made by women will make up at least half of its concert programme in 2018/19. It will also create a database of works by female composers.

New research by the North East Culture Partnership finds arts and heritage organisations in the region consider collaboration with European Union partners easier and more preferable to partnerships with organisations further afield.