Press Release 26 March 2010

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Liverpool City Council have today granted a 30 year lease to the Royal Court Liverpool Trust, a registered charity set up in 2008 to renovate the magnificent Grade ll listed building that houses the Royal Court Theatre.

The theatre has had a series of operators on short term leases since the 1970’s. This new agreement will give the Royal Court Liverpool Trust the opportunity to seek funding to carry out essential renovation and restoration work to the building thus ensuring the theatre’s future for the first time in over four decades.

Chairman of the Royal Court Trust says ‘This really is fantastic news for the Trust. We thank all of the Council members and officers who have supported our aims and helped us to get to this stage. We are determined to succeed in our fundraising efforts and ensure the future of this wonderful building which has been at the heart of Liverpool’s cultural offer for such a long time. The best thing is that our architects have developed a scheme that can be achieved without closing the theatre for any great length of time so that audiences can continue to enjoy the wealth of entertainment that the theatre produces with minimal interruption’.

The Trust ran an international architecture competition to find a clear vision for the building that would address the key issues of access to basement, circle and balcony levels, public facilities including toilets and bars, improving the entrance and public realm outside the theatre and restoring the magnificent art deco auditorium to its former glory.

Allford Hall Monaghan Morris won the competition in March 2009 from a long-list of 53 architect practices from all over the world. They have been working ever since with the Trust to develop their plans ready for fundraising to begin as soon as a long lease was agreed. The scheme for the theatre is the work of Paul Monaghan, an ex-pupil of St Edward’s College.

Paul Monaghan says ‘Allford Hall Monaghan Morris are extremely proud to have won this competition. Liverpool and the Royal Court Theatre in particular are very special to me. I spent many evenings in my youth at rock concert in the Court. My Mum still lives in Liverpool so I am up here all the time and I can’t wait to get started on the project. We have kept the scheme very realistic in terms of cost and feasibility. It is great value for money and can be done in four separate and complete phases’.

The Trust now needs to raise over £10.6 million to realise the scheme by AHMM. The capital campaign will begin today and is led by Chief Executive, Gillian Miller who says ‘this is a massive challenge especially in this economic climate but the scheme represents real value for money. We need to raise £10.6 million, the theatre seats over 1250 people so that’s just over £8000 per seat. We will be applying for funding from all sources including Heritage Lottery, trust funds and foundations and private companies. We are hopeful that the Regional Development Agency, who have already supported the competition will be able to contribute in some way. The public will also have the opportunity to give to the campaign both by purchasing tickets to the shows in the theatre and by making donations online, by phone and in person. The great thing about the whole project is that the theatre will continue to produce high quality entertainment during and after the scheme without any public subsidy so there will be no ongoing costs to the ratepayers of Liverpool and Merseyside’.

There will be a £1 ticket levy added to all ticket prices to help raise funds for the work. With 200,000 people buying tickets each year, this will make a huge contribution to the campaign. In addition to the £1 levy, the public will be able to contribute to the campaign via the website, by phone and in person at the box office.

Ends

Notes to editors

Dame Judi Dench is a Patron of the Royal Court Trust having made her stage debut in the theatre as Ophelia in 1957. Louise Ellman MP is Honorary Vice President of the Trust and Thelma Holt is Honorary Theatre Consultant. Trustees include Mark Featherstone-Witty, founder and Chief Executive of LIPA and Jonathan Falkingham, founder and Chief Executive of Urban Splash.

The Royal Court Trust is independent of the operating company who produce, run and manage all artistic activity within the theatre. Liverpool Theatre Company is led by Chief Executive, Kevin Fearon. The operating company have been producing theatre continually since 2006. It also runs Rawhide Comedy Club now in its 15th year.

The Royal Court also houses The Comedy Trust, a registered charity that runs the annual Liverpool Comedy Festival and has developed a wide programme of comedy-based community and education programmes. Stand Out, the ground breaking confidence building course for 14 – 18 year olds is nationally recognised and acclaimed. John Bishop and Les Dennis are patrons of The Comedy Trust.

For more details of the capital campaign and plans for the building, contact Gillian Miller. Phone: 0151 702 5892, email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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