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Citizens Theatre, Glasgow
Address: 119 Gorbals St., Glasgow, G5 9DS,
Scotland
Box Office: 0141 429 0022
URL: http://www.citz.co.uk
Box office opening hours: Mon to Sat (10am
- 6pm)
or (10am - 9pm) on days when there is a performance.
Located at the site of the former Royal Princess Theatre (built in 1878)
in Glasgow’s Gorbals district, The Citizens Theatre Company relocated
from the Athenaeum in Buchanan Street in 1945 to this Victorian Glasgow
Theatre and leased the building for 10 years. Following extensive renovations
to the Royal Princess, the theatre company re-branded the theatre to The
Citizens and opened the venue with a fresh new look on the 11 September
1945 with JB Priestley’s Johnson Over Jordan as the debut stage
performance.
The Citizens Theatre Company was originally founded in 1943 by three Scottish
playwrights led by James Bridie. They modelled their values on the old Repertory
Theatre, which was dubbed as Glasgow’s own Theatre, a theatre for
its citizens. Their core aims and objectives was to make theatre accessible
to all members of the community and to produce stage productions that Glaswegians
would otherwise have to travel to London’s West End to see.
The Citizen’s Theatre changed hands in July 1969 as Giles Havergal
was appointed as Artistic Director of the theatre and Philip Prowse and
Robert David MacDonald as his successors. All three men have been involved
in directing this leading theatre until 2003 when Havergal and MacDonald
retired and Prowse who remained collaborator until 2004. From the outset
of they reduced ticket prices and introduced a programme of free previews
to every performance staged at the Citizens. This policy was enforced for
over thirty years.
As part of urban renewal to the Gorbals Street area in Glasgow’s Southside,
The Citizens Theatre underwent an extensive refurbishment programme in 1989
with a new glass panel front, giving a contemporary look and feel and a
new atrium foyer which features some of the old fixtures and fittings such
as the elephants’ head from the neighbouring Palace Theatre which
was demolished in 1977. Subsequently, the Stalls and Circle Studio were
reconstructed in 1992 to provide an intimate atmosphere for less renowned
and experimental stage productions. Ultimately, The Citizens refurbishment
has proved very successful and is a mush loved theatre venue for touring
productions. An example of this was Irvine Welsh’s productions of
Trainspotting and Filth, which was initially a small studio production prior
to its evolvement to the main stage.
The resident Citizens Theatre Production Company peform an extensive repertoire
of British and Foreign classics which included translated works by Alegria,
Balzac, Cocteau, Goethe, Goldoni, Henkel, Ibsen, Kraus, Racine, Sartre,
Strauss and Tolstoy amongst others as well as new plays produced by Robert
David MacDonald; Dracula (1972), Camille (1974), Summit Conference (1978),
No Orchids for Miss Blandish (1978), A Waste of Time (1980), In Quest of
Conscience (1994), Persons Unknown (1995), The Ice House (1998). Since their
formation, they have progressed into one of Europe’s leading theatre
production companies with 24 world premiers, 22 British premieres and 27
Christmas shows under their belt.
Since the theatre’s overhaul in 1992, The Citizens Theatre houses
three auditoriums, the 600 seat Citizens’ Theatre, the Circle Studio
seating 120 and the Stalls Studio with a capacity of 60. Today the theatre
receives funding from the Scottish Arts Council National Lottery Fund, Glasgow
City Council and also receives smaller subsidies from the other local authorities
in West Central Scotland. All tickets are reasonably priced for each performance
and concessions are given to children, students, registered disabled people
and Senior Citizens. There is now a new preview policy – Pay What
You Can preview for each stage performance.
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in Glasgow Index]
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