Theatres at Risk

The Opera House in Blackpool and Derby Hippodrome are among the theatres most at risk through abandonment or neglect, identified by the Theatres Trust in its 2009 Theatre Buildings at Risk Register. The list comprises 82 buildings, of which 46 “face an immediate threat to their future and are at high risk”, including the Theatr Gwynedd in Bangor and Aberdeen’s Tivoli Theatre. Thirteen theatres have been added this year, but eleven have been removed from the list and two – Wilton’s Music Hall and the Gardner Arts Centre (pictured) – have been downgraded from last year’s top ten. Theatres Trust Director Mhora Samuel said that many disused venues could come back to life as theatres or become local cultural centres, and added, “We must do everything we can to make local authorities and owners aware of their responsibilities.”