Newcastle theatre to re-open after £2.4m refurbishment

Gosforth Civic Theatre will be hosting a grand re-opening weekend, following an extensive £2.4 million refurbishment.

The grand re-opening will be taking place over the August Bank Holiday weekend and will include a programme of activities for all of the family.

The much-loved cultural venue which is located on Regents Farm Road, will celebrate their re-opening on Friday, August 25, after being closed for eight months.

Alongside the refurbishment, Gosforth Civic Theatre will also be unveiling a brand-new menu within their newly improved Cafe Bar.

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Activities and events will take place over the full weekend, which includes performances from BBC regular poet, Kate Fox, Virtue Gospel Choir, Liberdade and DJ Paula Penman. Family-friendly activities include GCT Gaming Social and Bubbleologist Jesse.

Rob Huggins, GCT’s Chief Executive, said: “Gosforth Civic Theatre is an amazing social enterprise; when you buy tickets to a performance, hire us to host your beautiful events, or visit us to enjoy our hospitality, we use the money you spend to provide opportunities for young people with and without learning disabilities and Autism.

“From our experience, if we told you the truth about why Gosforth Civic Theatre exists, you probably wouldn’t believe us; there is a group of people with learning disabilities who set up and run a theatre company called Liberdade. In 2012 they decided they wanted to open a theatre at which everyone was welcome. They wanted to have jobs in their theatre and to provide the opportunities they’d had for other young people, so that is what we did, and that’s how Gosforth Civic Theatre came to be.

“This journey to get to where we are makes GCT unique. Add to that a governance structure that empowers and gives a voice to both people with learning disabilities and young people, and you have a cultural building that can create real social change in a community. We think people can sense that when they come and visit us.”

Gosforth Civic Centre is one of 43 organisations in England to receive a Youth Investment Fund Grant, which has helped towards building, renovating and extending the youth service facility.  The remaining investment for the project came from Arts Council England, The Clothworkers Foundation, The Wolfson Foundation, The Foyle Foundation and The National Lottery Community Fund.