Front-of-house and backstage accessibility has been improved, the historic venue’s technical infrastructure has been upgraded and there is now dedicated space for education and workshops.
Two new lifts serve the auditorium, which now contains 10 wheelchair spaces, while another lift reaches a backstairs accessible dressing room. The number of toilets has been increased across the venue, which also includes accessible toilets on every public level and a new Changing Places facility.
Newly-created flexibility – such as levelling the raked (sloping) stage – means the King’s Theatre can host an expanded range of performance genres.
The project’s creative activity programme evolved over time, shaped by community feedback and a new digital archive of the theatre’s collection. Pilot events built successful partnerships with local organisations including youth groups.
Free activities during the theatre's four-year closure kept local people engaged, such as:
- heritage coffee mornings where the public got hands-on with items from the theatre’s archive
- heritage talks, which evolved from focusing on shows on the stage to exploring the people and developments at the King’s Theatre over its 100-year history
- volunteer-led heritage tours sharing behind-the-scenes secrets
- family drop-in activities adapted from feedback to the needs of local parents and children
- heritage preservation workshops to upskill staff, volunteers and the public in handling and caring for items from the theatre’s archive
Fiona Gibson, Chief Executive of Capital Theatres, the charity that manages the King’s Theatre, said: “We’ve carefully preserved everything people love about this extraordinary building while transforming it for the future.”
