A recent history of the King's Theatre, Edinburgh

WHEN a major study was carried out into the future of the King's in 1997, it was thought at least £8 million would be needed to bring it up to scratch.

But by the time a new chief executive of the theatre had settled into the role in 2002, the estimated bill had almost doubled.

Ambitious plans drawn up by acclaimed Edinburgh architect Colin Ross were put forward, but a bid to have a grand overhaul finished in time for the theatre's 100th anniversary in 2006 collapsed when the arts council turned down a lottery bid and a bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund was later withdrawn.

When a new council administration came into office in 2007, a revamp of the King's was seen as a major priority. But it lost its place in the queue to a project to restore the A-listed Assembly Rooms.