Our very best wishes to Scottish Youth Theatre (SYT) and its plans to create “the first custom-built arts centre for young people... in the UK” (ArtsProfessional, issue 74, May 17, p11), for any investment into the creation of cultural opportunity for young people is to be championed wholeheartedly.
And the outlined development campaign seems to combine the heady mix of ambition and excitement so very necessary to gain both support and funds.
But the first in the UK? I lay down a challenge to the claim. Pegasus Theatre was built over 30 years ago, to give a permanent home to the various and diverse (even then) activities for the young people of the city of Oxford. The breezeblock theatre building was specifically designed to cater for the needs of young people, with direct input from them along the way. Both the physical environment and artistic output reflected this.
The irony lies in the fact that Pegasus is embarking upon a £6m scheme to rebuild and redevelop an expanded complex, with the help of £2.7m Arts Council England capital funding, local authority investment and a £1m fundraising target – which involves the demolition of the original building. Input from young people is the cornerstone upon which our plans rest. Granted, the new Pegasus won’t beat SYT’s April 2005 opening, but the old one certainly did.