Playhouse owners in vow to bring West End shows to city

Published on Wednesday 4 November 2009 08:54

THE new owners of Edinburgh's historic Playhouse theatre today vowed to bring more major West End productions to the Capital and assured staff their jobs were safe.

The Ambassador Theatre Group yesterday confirmed the purchase of the Playhouse and 16 other venues around the UK at a cost of 90 million. The deal for the 3,000-seat Playhouse had first been revealed by the Evening News last month.

Co-founder and chief executive of ATG, Rosemary Squire, confirmed today that there would be no job losses as a result of the sale – and that it was possible more positions would be created.

She said: "A large space like Edinburgh Playhouse needs big productions. We will be focusing on developing as well as airing large-scale productions here, especially musicals such as The Rocky Horror Show and West Side Story. We are looking to give people more opportunity and choice.

"There are absolutely no plans for any job losses. In fact we will be offering further specialist training for employees and there may well be extra opportunities as seasonal and casual work comes up."

Ms Squire also hinted that ATG, which already runs Glasgow's King's Theatre and Theatre Royal, may in future host a large-scale pantomime to rival the Christmas production at the King's.

The Playhouse has already attracted a string of top West End shows, including Les Miserables and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and big-name music stars such as Bob Dylan and Neil Young, and there will now be excitement that bigger London hits will follow.

Before the takeover, the Ambassador Theatre Group was the UK's second largest theatre operator, but the acquisition of Live Nation's 17 venues for 90m make it the biggest.

The amount of money that will be pumped into improvements or developments to the Playhouse is unknown at present.

The venue has had a string of owners since it was reopened as a theatre in 1980, having lain empty for seven years.

The theatre was forced to cut up to nine jobs at the beginning of the year, but it is understood to have been one of the most profitable theatres in Live Nation's portfolio.

Other venues that have recently been added to ATG's books include The Lyceum and Apollo Victoria Theatre, London, Liverpool's Empire Theatre and the Bristol Hippodrome.