Edinburgh's King's Theatre is an institution and we must save it – Angus Robertson

The King’s Theatre is an Edinburgh institution. From 1905 onwards, when Scots-American philanthropist Andrew Carnegie laid the foundation stone, the King’s has been at the heart of the capital’s cultural life.

The actor Brian Cox and a host of other stars are rallying round the King's Theatre in Edinburgh as the Covid crisis threatens its survival (Picture: Lisa Ferguson)

For 115 years, its stage has been graced by some of Scotland’s best national performers like: Stanley Baxter, Rikki Fulton, Jimmy Logan, Brian Cox and Elaine C Smith, while visiting stars have included: Sir Laurence Olivier, Maria Callas, Lesley Neilsen, Sir Patrick Stewart, Sir Ian McKellen, Penelope Keith and Simon Callow. Sir Sean Connery, who grew up in neighbouring Fountainbridge, even worked backstage at the King’s Theatre for a time.

Generations of Edinburgh kids (myself included) have grown up with an annual pilgrimage to the Gang Show or the pantomime.

Now, however, the coronavirus pandemic is seriously threatening the future of Scotland’s largest theatre charity, Capital Theatres which operates three Edinburgh Council venues: the King’s Theatre, Festival Theatre and Potterrow Studio.

Hard to believe that the venues, which employ 230 staff, have a turnover of £12.9 million, normally sell half a million tickets a year and do so much valuable community outreach, are at risk.

Because of the coronavirus pandemic, Capital Theatres has an extremely serious challenge with both their trading and capital position, a situation which is complicated by their funding status which has left them without the kind of emergency support received by regularly funded organisations.

This has led to an appeal by Scottish actor Brian Cox, who says closures would be "tragic for the international community, but more tragic for the people of Edinburgh”.

He has asked First Minister Nicola Sturgeon for support: "The theatre has slipped through a crack for emergency funding and it doesn't receive any public funding. We desperately need the theatre to be given some kind of funding so that we can continue operating.”

Meanwhile, thousands of jobs are set to go at the Cineworld Cinemas, which has announced the closure of 127 movie theatres. The chain made the decision after the delay of the new James Bond film and it will impact on the Edinburgh Cameo and Cineworld Fountainpark. In total 5,500 jobs will go in the UK, and concerns will grow that the viability of adjacent hospitality outlets which depend on cinema footfall will also be in question.

With the end of the UK Government furlough scheme, it is widely feared that we will see a large-scale wave of redundancies just as we endure a second wave of coronavirus cases. This will put added pressure on the Scottish Government, which has been denied borrowing powers by Westminster.

Nicola Sturgeon has already signalled she would want to do significantly more than the UK Government, but is being refused the ability to do so.

Much has already been done with the Scottish Government’s launch of a special Culture Organisations and Venues Recovery Fund. The fund totals £15 million and forms almost half of a culture package worth £31.5m, with Creative Scotland asking for applications.

If, however, the likes of the King’s Theatre can’t receive funding because of its accounting status, that needs to be resolved. The King’s Theatre has survived two World Wars and the Spanish Flu epidemic which had a disastrous impact on theatres and cinemas. It must be saved for current and future generations.

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