CusickGallery.net: Henry Ian Cusick

Strathclyde University is planning to sell all its city-centre premises, including the Ramshorn Theatre, a Grade A-listed converted church in the Merchant City.

It has been home to the Strathclyde Theatre Group (STG) since 1992 and stages several productions every year, as well as providing training for acting students.

Along with hosting early performances by Steele, who starred in Monarch of the Glen, and Redmond, the STG also provided a launchpad for the careers of the Glasgow-born Cusick, star of the American drama series Lost, the actor Peter Capaldi and directors John Tiffany, of the National Theatre of Scotland, and Mark Thomson, of the Royal Lyceum in Edinburgh.

The group may have to disband if it loses its base and has launched a campaign to save the building.

Cusick, who plays Desmond Hume in Lost, has promised to do all he can to save the building from being sold off.

“The Ramshorn is a place where anybody can go, regardless of financial status, qualifications or age, where you can learn all aspects of theatre in a professional setting, a place that motivates and inspires,” he said. “Without it, I certainly would not be where I am today. The Ramshorn is quite simply unique.”

Capaldi, the star of the political satire The Thick of It, has also been asked to get involved.

A Facebook group called Save the Ramshorn Theatre from Closure has already attracted more than 1,000 members and supporters have been urged to write letters of protest to Jim McDonald, the university’s principal.

The university has supported the STG for more than 40 years, but it plans to spend £350m turning itself into a leading international technological university over the next decade. Under the plans, the STG may be forced to share facilities with other departments outside the city centre.

Susan Triesman, director of drama at Strathclyde university and the STG’s artistic director, said this would wreck a unique cultural hub.

“There is no way Strathclyde Theatre Group could survive this,” she said. “A mixed-use classroom is not exactly what our audiences are used to.

“The city-centre location is crucial to the accessibility to the community and the safety and ease of access of members who are travelling from far afield, and to the theatre’s ability to earn a large proportion of its income.

“These kinds of onslaughts on the arts are going to have a detrimental effect on the creative industries in Scotland. The theatre group is really a huge learning environment, even for people who have been in the business. If you don’t have an appropriate home of your own, you can’t prepare for the productions in the same way and talent is undermined.”

McDonald has said that the university needs to reduce the size of its estate and to dispose of buildings that are either in poor condition or would be too costly to retain.

He insisted that no timescale had been set for “relinquishing the Ramshorn”, but the STG fears that it may face closure within two years.

A review panel has been set up by the university to consult on the plans and will hold its first meeting this week.

Strathclyde University confirmed that the Ramshorn had been identified as being costly to maintain and in poor condition during a recent review. However, it insisted that the theatre would not be closed without consultation or attempting to provide an alternative space.

“We are engaged in a review of cultural activities across the university, with a view to looking at ways of further enhancing the profile and value of our provision for staff, students and the community,” said a spokeswoman.

Source

Campaign to save Ramshorn Theatre in Glasgow