Byre Theatre Shuts

I can still remember my time at St Andrews University: bleak midwinters, cheap alcohol at the union and a whole bunch of other stereotypical nonsense that hardly makes it worth mentioning. Yes, it was a conservative place to study. Yes, I did an old fashioned subject. And I saw about four theatre productions in my time, including Macbeth with Crispin Bonham-Carter in the ruins. The Byre Theatre wasn't on my cultural map.

As Mark Fisher remembers, the Byre got its big opening in 1997, when lottery money rebuilt its rather humble auditorium. Now, in 2013, the board has sadly announced its closure. Rather than go insolvent, they have ceased trading. 

The official statement notes that it has struggled since the rebuilding and that the grant from the Scottish Arts Council ended in 2011, making its survival unlikely. An experiment in cost-cutting had them bringing in a franchise to run the cafe-bar, but this went bust and while donations ensured that they could keep nipping into schools to fight the good fight, they were not coping with the basic upkeep of the building.

No doubt there will be a juicy row about who is to blame: Fife has been making an effort lately to become part of the Scottish cultural scene in a more systematic way (there's the On project and a new Cultural Trust, coming soon) and the Byre is one of those venues that helps maintain theatre in more rural areas. It's become part of the network that allows companies to tour around Scotland, and not just do a turn in the central belt and has played a part in St Andrews Jazz Festival.