Liverpool’s Playhouse set for cash boost
Liverpool City Council is set to discuss a mayoral recommendation that an investment of £550,000 be made to renovate one of the city’s main theatres.
The Playhouse is a 677-capacity theatre in Williamson Square originally built as a music hall in 1866, and in 1911 developed into a theatre. A modernist extension was made in 1968, adding to the grade two-listed building.
The theatre is owned by Liverpool City Council and run by Liverpool & Merseyside Theatres Trust. The LMTT also recently undertook the rebuilding of The Everyman, a £28m Stirling prize-winning project.
A report submitted to the council suggests essential works are required to the Playhouse to remove asbestos, improve some of the internal areas and make repairs to the outside of the building.
The investment would be recouped from a £11,000 reduction in yearly funding for the theatre, which normally comes from the Liverpool City Council’s Culture Liverpool Investment Programme.
The decision on whether to invest the £550,000 will be made at Liverpool’s cabinet meeting on Friday 21 April.