Cap Theatres new £800K Covid funds
Capital Theatres gets share of extra £3m Scot Gov funding
Capital Theatres is one of three Scottish performing arts organisations to benefit from their share of £3 million additional emergency Covid-19 support.
The Edinburgh charity which runs the Festival, King’s and Studio theatres will get £800,000 – intended to help secure its future, protect jobs and address some of the financial pressures it is facing, according to Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop.
Fiona Gibson
Eden Court in Inverness is also to get £800,000 while Aberdeen Performing Arts will get £1.4million. The funding is part of the £185 million package of targeted Covid-19 funding announced by the Scottish Government last month.
Hyslop said: “These venues all receive UK and international touring work of major scale, make a significant contribution to the economy and support a network of arts organisations, artists and creatives at the heart of our cities and regions.”
The new money takes Capital Theatres financial support from the Scottish Government to £1.55 million.
truly staggering experience
Fiona Gibson, the CEO at Capital Theatres said: “Losing over 90% of our turnover as a result of the pandemic has been a truly staggering experience.”
She thanked the Scottish government for both its continued support “through these challenging times,” and for engaging with the charity to understand the various impacts of the pandemic, which goes beyond effecting its business operation.
It has affected, she said, “the benefits the charity brings to the communities we serve, the creatives and freelancers we work with – who form such an important part of our network – and the role we will continue to play in supporting Edinburgh’s cultural recovery and beyond.”
Hyslop added: “These venues all receive UK and international touring work of major scale, make a significant contribution to the economy and support a network of arts organisations, artists and creatives at the heart of our cities and regions.
“The Scottish Government has allocated more than £120 million of additional funding to support culture and heritage since the start of the pandemic and we will continue to listen to the needs of the sectors.”
As previously reported, Capital Theatres is facing a “double jeopardy” situation because it has saved funds, earmarked for a major refurbishment and upgrade of the King’s theatre. It is being forced to spend them on sustaining itself through the pandemic, which in turn jeopardises previously promised match funding.
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