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Shows are not cancelled

Brunton Theatre Trust is bouncing back thanks to the support of performers, audiences, East Lothian Council and local partners.

The Trust was hit by devastating news that its performance spaces had to shut with immediate effect for structural surveys.

However, the programme of events has NOT been cancelled. The Trust is working hard to source and set up alternative venues for events, within Musselburgh and close by.

This weekend sees much loved Rob Kingsley return to Musselburgh with A Vision of Elvis. This sold out concert will now be performed at Musselburgh Grammar School on Saturday 25 March at 2.30pm and 7.30pm. The Bistro at The Brunton will be open for pre-concert dining with complimentary transport taking diners to the concert afterwards, if required.

The Trust’s very popular Bite-sized Concerts at Lunchtime series will be housed at the beautiful North Esk Church, across the road from The Brunton.

Several local dance company shows are now taking place at Loretto School Theatre. Other venues will be announced as soon as they are confirmed.

Michael Stitt Chair of Brunton Theatre Trust said:

“The Brunton’s programme of events is happening. We are asking audiences to please bear with us as we make arrangements for our events. We are working as quickly as we can. As this situation came about without any warning, some of our events this week have had to be rescheduled to new dates and we will update our customers as soon as we can confirm where and when they will be.

“We are so grateful for the support and understanding shown by the performers booked to come to The Brunton. Brunton Theatre Trust has a long history of staging professional arts and entertainment events out and about around East Lothian and we are now working with our partners to ensure that the shows will go on. Whilst we are devastated at the temporary loss of our space at The Brunton, we are feeling very upbeat about sourcing alternative venues for our programme.”

The Brunton’s performance spaces are within the larger Brunton Hall which is still open for Council services and the Trust’s box office. The Bistro at The Brunton is also still open for business and is a popular spot for lunch and snacks.

Rob Kingsley said:

“I have been performing sold out A Vision of Elvis concerts at The Brunton in Musselburgh for a number of years now. I’m from East Lothian, and I love coming back home. There was no way I was going to disappoint my fans and I’ve been working behind the scenes with the staff of Brunton Theatre Trust to make this happen. We are going to have an amazing show this Saturday at Musselburgh Grammar School, and are asking people support us to make this happen, we don’t want to cancel shows!”

Brunton Theatre Trust will continue to provide updates to bookers of their venue changes, as soon as they are confirmed.

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Update from Brunton Theatre Trust

“East Lothian Council have informed us that further survey work needs to take place across all performance area roof spaces at The Brunton. Therefore we are currently unable to go ahead with planned events within The Brunton.

We are determined not to disappoint our customers or performers, therefore we will not be cancelling any of our programme at this stage. We ask you to please bear with us as we work to find alternative venues and dates for the events you are booked for, between now and June.

We will get back to you as soon as possible with more information.

Brunton Theatre Trust has a long history of staging professional arts and entertainment events out and about around East Lothian and we are now working with our partners to ensure that the shows will go on!”

Michael Stitt, Chair of Brunton Theatre Trust

Further to our recent update, structural issues have now been identified within the roof areas covering the Theatre and Venues 1 and 2 at the Brunton. From a safety perspective these areas now require to be closed to enable further survey work to be carried out. The offices and the Bistro are not affected and so remain open for use.

Until this survey work is completed, The Brunton Theatre Trust is committed to continuing with its programme. We are working hard to find alternative venues for our programme and we ask that you bear with us while we investigate all possible venues and dates with our partners and artists.

We will provide updates as they become available and will keep you informed of any changes to our programme, venues or dates.

For further information please contact our box office on 0131 653 5245 or email boxoffice@eastlothian.gov.uk

Thank you for support and understanding at this very difficult time.

Best Wishes

The team at The Brunton

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Roofing inspection causes temporary closure of Theatre space

“Brunton Theatre Trust has been advised by East Lothian Council that during planned roofing inspection work, structural issues have been identified within our Theatre space. This means that the Theatre space has been closed temporarily with immediate effect, whilst more detailed inspections are carried out. Audience members and groups with existing bookings are being contacted to discuss the options available.

Further inspection is being carried out in Venues 1 and 2, and the Council will let us know as soon as they can, whether this will have any impact on upcoming planned events in these areas.
The Bistro at The Brunton is unaffected by this and remains open as usual.

We will provide updates as soon as we have them, meanwhile we ask our customers to bear with us, as we work through this complicated situation.
Brunton Theatre Trust is committed to providing a diverse, high quality arts and entertainment programme of events and participatory projects within East Lothian. We will continue to work with our partners in the coming days to explore all options available for our programme, our audiences and our venue bookers to make sure that we continue to do this.”
Michael Stitt, Chair of Brunton Theatre Trust

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Lothian kids to make a splash with deep-sea pantomime competition

The Brunton in Musselburgh has teamed up with the town’s East Coast Restaurant for the first time to launch a new festive pantomime competition with a nautical twist.

Children from across Edinburgh and the Lothians are being encouraged to make a creative splash by drawing or painting a colourful picture of their favourite deep-sea creature as part of The Brunton’s new festive show for 2022, Sinbad the Pantomime, which runs from 23 November until 31 December.

L-R Carlo Crolla (East Coast Restaurant), Betty Brunton (Graham Crammond), Cllr Andy Forrest (Brunton Theatre Trust) at East Coast Restaurant, Musselburgh

Families can look forward to seeing Sinbad’s voyages from Fisherrow Habour and over the sea, searching for fortune and finding romance with a runaway Princess-in-disguise. Along the way there will be nail-biting drama, dastardly pirates, riding on the back of a giant whale and ferocious deep-sea creatures guarding hidden treasure.

Taking inspiration from the story of Sinbad, children are now being encouraged to create an eye-catching picture of any sea creature they like, from whales and dolphins, to lobsters, crabs, starfish, seahorses or even a giant octopus by Monday 14 November.

A selection of competition entries will be displayed to the public at The Brunton. The overall winner will receive a complimentary VIP family ticket to see Sinbad the Pantomime at The Brunton, as well as a complimentary pre-theatre family meal at East Coast Restaurant on North High Street (*Terms & Conditions apply).

Sinbad the Pantomime is a new production, produced by The Brunton, written and directed by award-winning, professional writer and theatre maker, John Binnie. John’s writing and directing is hugely popular with Brunton audiences following Jack and the Beanstalk in 2018, Cinderella in 2019, Rapunzel the Pantomime family film in 2020 and back on stage with Hansel and Gretel the Pantomime in 2021.

The pantomime creative team includes set and costume designer Robin Mitchell, musical director Tommie Travers and Amy Robinson as choreographer. The costumes will be made by students of BA (Hons) Costume Design and Construction at Queen Margaret University.

“We’re really excited to be teaming up with East Coast to launch our ‘Sinbad the Pantomime’ picture competition for children across East Lothian, Edinburgh and beyond. We’re looking for fun, bold and bright pictures of deep-sea creatures to display to the public and help tell the story of Sinbad, so it’s a great opportunity for children to show off their creative flair.

The Brunton’s brand new production, Sinbad the Pantomime, is a festive treat, full of fun and laughter with oodles of gags, local references, much loved songs, outrageous costumes and shouting out! The Brunton specialise in producing fun and interactive pantomimes that are suitable for all the family, from ages 4 to 104 – the perfect place to escape to this winter.”

Michael Stitt, Chair of Brunton Theatre Trust

Owned by Carlo and Katia Crolla, East Coast is the next chapter for the Crolla family, who have been serving the honest folk of Musselburgh from its venue on North High Street for nearly 50 years.  East Coast, which is located just two minutes’ walk from Fisherrow Harbour and Musselburgh Beach, was crowned the ‘Best Seafood Establishment’ in Scotland at the Food Awards Scotland 2022.

“As an independent, family-run restaurant, we jumped at the chance to support our local community theatre and work together to launch a fun picture competition for children across the Lothians in the run up to the festive pantomime season. We wish everyone taking part in the competition the very best of luck and look forward to welcoming the winner and their family to East Coast as our special VIP guests.”

Carlo Crolla

To enter the Sinbad the Pantomime competition, children aged 7 to 12 years should send or drop in their deep-sea creature picture to: Marketing, The Brunton, Ladywell Way, Musselburgh EH21 6AF, marking their name and contact email and phone number by Monday 14 November. The winner will be notified soon after the closing date.

The Brunton and East Coast Restaurant visit date for the competition winner and their family of up to two adults and two children is subject to availability. All drinks and extras to be paid for as taken.

Tickets for Sinbad the Pantomime are available to purchase from The Brunton by calling 0131 653 5245 or online at www.thebrunton.co.uk

For more information on East Coast, visit https://eastcoastrestaurant.co.uk