Pitlochry Festival Theatre have announced that they are bringing forward plans for a second theatre space, which it hopes to open in May next year, just in time for the venue’s 70th birthday.

The theatre has submitted planning applications to Perth and Kinross Council for a brand new 175-seater studio space, along with an extension of its front-of-house area, in the hope that these will facilitate Covid-secure performances and safe circulation of audiences throughout the building.

Executive Director of Pitlochry Festival Theatre, Kris Bryce, said that the theatre is accelerating part of its major renovation plans, which first started in 2014 as “Visions 2021” and was then incorporated into the Tay Cities Region Deal. The theatre is able to start this part of the large £20 million project due to the theatre being dark due to the ongoing shutdown.

It is hoped that the new accessible studio space will provide a flexible additional space to showcase new writing and touring productions from across Scotland and the UK, allowing for a broader artistic programme. The new front-of-house area will wrap around the front of the building, allowing for a one-way system of doors in and out of the building.

Bryce said: “We are focussing on responding with agility and nimbleness as things come along and present challenges to us. We knew that focussing on the arrival point was key, in terms of renovating our building. What we are able to do now is ensure that any decisions are right for Covid as well.”

The theatre is celebrating Christmas by staging a promenade festive experience in its 14-acre grounds and plans to reopen with a production of hit musical Gypsy on 21 May 2021.

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