Minister for Arts, Heritage and Tourism, Michael Ellis gave a speech to the Theatres Trust’s: Theatres at Risk 2019 launch at Alexandria Palace which the Alliance was delighted to attend.
Three theatres were added to the register in 2019: Theatre Ardudwy in Harlech, Tottenham Palace Theatre London and the Intimate Theatre London. Seven theatres were removed from the 2019 register, both for positive but also negative reasons.
The Trust is calling for more collaborative creative partnerships between local authorities, theatre owners and operators and community groups to protect the theatres on the list, and there should also be more sustainable funding to prevent further theatres becoming ‘at risk’ in the future.
The Minister noted that culture ‘has a significant role to play in place-shaping, as it has important social benefits in terms of health, education, community cohesion and wellbeing. Opportunities to engage in culture – be it arts, heritage, museums or film – can have a significant impact on our lives and create places where people want to live, work and do business.
This is where the theatre, as a physical building, can play a central role in making places better areas to live, and instill a sense of community. And it may be that placemaking that can help to protect some of these cultural assets’.