arts & culture Newcastle theatre firm selected PeTe hAymAN


Newcastle-based Surgo Construction has been appointed to deliver a £4.75m restoration of the city’s Teatre Royal ahead of its 175th anni- versary in 2012. Work will be undertaken


between March and September in order to restore the audi- torium to Frank Matcham’s original 1901 design. The scheme will also


include selective demolition of post-Matcham interior fea- tures; repairs to the roof; and the restoration of screens, partitions and barriers. Surgo Construction will also manage the


Teatre Royal’s interior finishings, as well as the installation of new seating and the refur- bishment of toilet facilities. Teatre Royal chief executive Philip Bernays said: “Te success of this project is of critical


Bernays (centre leſt) says the work is ‘critical’ to the region and beyond


importance not only to us, but also to the the- atre-going public in the region and beyond.” Surgo will work with architects Sansome


Hall; theatre consultants Charcoalblue and conservation expert Dr David Wilmore of Teatresearch. Te Teatre Royal will reopen its new auditorium on 12 September.


New 3D cinema facilities for St Albans venue PeTe hAymAN


Digital and 3D cinema facilities will be installed at Te Maltings Arts Teatre in St Albans as part of a major overhaul of the venue. St Albans City and District Council (SACDC) subsidises the venue at a rate of


AStudio Architecture is behind TOKKO’s design


£100,000-£150,000 each year and hopes the revamp will safeguard the theatre’s future. Te addition of digital cinema facilities could


help Te Maltings Arts Teatre to become a self-financing venue, with 3D cinema projec- tion also set to enhance its offer.


Fourth Plinth commissions announced PeTe hAymAN


London mayor Boris Johnson has revealed that works by Elmgreen and Dragset and Katharina Fritsch have been chosen to occupy Trafalgar Square’s Fourth Plinth. Elmgreen and Dragset’s


Powerless Structures, Fig.101 will take up residence in 2012, replacing Yinka Shonibare’s Nelson’s Ship in a Bottle. Katharina Fritsch’s Hahn/Cock is to be unveiled in 2013. Both were among a shortlist of six works for the Fourth Plinth. Johnson said: “All of the


Government funding for Luton youth centre plans


PeTe hAymAN


Plans for a new £4.7m youth centre in Luton, Bedfordshire, are to move forward aſter the government confirmed capital funding towards the scheme. TOKKO – designed by Max Rengifo of


AStudio Architecture – will feature a climb- ing wall; performance spaces; a games and IT area; and multi-use studios. Training and counselling rooms; a roof-


top zen garden and a beauty and fashion studio are also proposed, along with a café that will be open to the public.


US to play host to major Irish arts programme


PeTe hAymAN Elmgreen and Dragset’s proposal will occupy the Fourth Plinth in 2012


shortlisted artists show what an extraordinary crucible the Fourth Plinth is for contemporary art. It continues to spark the imagination and there has been a tremendous response from the public.”


© CYBERTREK 2011 Fourth Plinth Commissioning Group chair


Ekow Eshun added: “Both have created imagi- native and arresting artworks that fully respond to the uniqueness of their location.”


Twitter: @leisureopps


More than 40 US states are to host a major arts programme – Imagine Ireland – being organised by Culture Ireland. The Irish government is investing EUR4m (£3.4m, US$5.4m) in the project, which will see more than 1,000 artists and producers create in excess of 400 events. Irish culture minister Mary Hanafin


said: “We have invested in Imagine Ireland because the arts and culture are so vital to Ireland’s recovery and it will bring Irish cul- ture to new audiences and generations.”


Read Leisure Opportunities online: www.leisureopportunities.co.uk/digital 9


County Council to cease Fishguard theatre support


PeTe hAymAN


Pembrokeshire County Council (PCC) is to cease operation of Fishguard’s Teatr Gwaun on 31 March after deciding the venue was no longer sustainable. According to a report put before PCC’s


cabinet, this financial year has seen the cin- ema and theatre complex attract an average of 42 customers per performance. Te figure is well below Teatr Gwaun’s


186-seat capacity and the council said that losses of £82,203 in 2009-10 mean that it cannot sustain the venue’s operation.


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