Scottish Youth Theatre set to remain open

As we reported on 8 March, Scottish Youth Theatre – whose former performers include Kate Dickie and Karen Gillan – had announced its intention to close its doors after 40 years when it failed to secure a regular funding award from Creative Scotland.

However, the institution looks to have found a financial lifeline at the eleventh hour. It’s been announced today that the threat of closure been lifted thanks to an offer from the Scottish Government to match investment from the private sector to the tune of £150,000, with a significant proportion of the private cash coming from investment management firm (and Edinburgh International Book Festival sponsor) Baillie Gifford. In the announcement, Scottish Youth Theatre’s stated that “with this joint backing, the organisation has a foundation on which to achieve a long-term sustainable business model.”

Jacky Hardacre, Scottish Youth Theatre’s Chief Executive said: “With a future now secured for Scottish Youth Theatre, our focus is firmly on ensuring the nation’s young people have their own thriving national theatre company to engage with, be inspired by and to aspire to be a part of.”

In a statement, the Scottish Government say that "a short-term funding agreement has been reached to enable the Scottish Youth Theatre to remain open beyond July 2018, allowing young people across the whole of Scotland to benefit from their programmes."