Iconic Newcastle venue to undergo restoration with huge cash injection

One of Newcastle's most iconic and historic venues is celebrating a huge cash injection.

The Tyne Theatre & Opera House has been awarded £242,000 by The National Lottery Heritage Fund to help develop parts of the Grade I listed building.

The money comes from a fund raised by National Lottery players and works will include restoring Victorian stage machinery and developing a calendar database by researching performances that took place between 1867 and 1919 - the years between the venue's first opening and being converted into a cinema.

The potential to restore the original 'Grand Salon' will also be looked at.

The full project is set to take 12 months and will use workers from the local community.

Michael Wilmot, Chairman of the Tyne Theatre & Opera House Preservation Trust said: “This grant is the beginning of an incredibly exciting journey to restore the theatre back to its former glory and in doing so creating a building unlike any other the theatre in the British Isles.

"For many years we have not been unable to operate the historic stage machinery and we have also been desperate for new front of house spaces – The National Heritage Lottery Fund have placed their confidence in us to deliver a unique project and that is precisely what we intend to do.”