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Musselburgh rallies to support Brunton Theatre Trust

Following the shock news of the temporary closure of performance spaces at The Brunton, the Theatre Trust reached out to venues in Musselburgh, East Lothian and beyond to source alternative spaces for their packed programme of community and professional events.

The Trust has been heartened by the response from venues from Musselburgh, into Edinburgh and across East Lothian offering support and space.

“This is not a scenario we could have imagined, just two weeks ago, but we now have performances taking place at Loretto School Theatre, North Esk Church, Musselburgh Grammar School and Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh. Where possible we are keeping our events in Musselburgh, as that is the home of The Brunton. It is no small task liaising with venues and companies to make sure their needs can be met and the staff at The Brunton have all pulled together with incredible versatility and creativity to overcome obstacles and forge new partnerships.

The Brunton is at the heart of cultural and community life in Musselburgh and is of vital importance to the town. It is recognised that attendance at and participation in the arts has a positive impact on wellbeing.”

Michael Stitt, Chair of Brunton Theatre Trust

Loretto School have linked with Brunton Theatre Trust. Their Theatre is situated off Millhill and is an ideal space for a lot of the community dance school bookings due to take place at The Brunton this spring. Musselburgh Amateur Musical Association’s show will also take place at Loretto School Theatre.

“When we heard the news about Brunton Theatre, our first concern was for the dance school families and community performers. We were very concerned at the thought of disappointing these families, so are absolutely delighted that Loretto School have come to our rescue. Their theatre set up is also ideal for some of Brunton Theatre Trust’s professional programme.”

Councillor Andy Forrest, Trustee of Brunton Theatre Trust

Brunton Theatre Trust has programmed a Christmas candlelit concert into North Esk Church for many years and this relationship is being further developed with the Bite-sized Concerts at Lunchtime series taking place there. Soup and a sandwich will now be served in the Church Hall with the concerts taking place in the Church.

“North Esk Church has a lovely, special atmosphere. The acoustics work really well for solo recitals, chamber music and larger ensembles, as well as other music styles. It is just over the road from The Brunton, so easily accessible for our audiences.”

James Waters, classical music programmer at The Brunton

Finding a venue to fit the large capacity of Venue 1 has been trickier, but thanks to the quick responsiveness of FES and staff at Musselburgh Grammar School, the Trust can now start to move some concerts into that school. Feedback from audience members who went to the A Vision of Elvis concert was very positive. The hall has flat seating with a raised stage, so good sightlines. For future concerts interval refreshments will also be available.

A night at The Brunton, for many people, also includes pre theatre supper at The Bistro. The Bistro remains open for business and is very much welcoming pre theatre diners as well as daytime customers for snacks and lunches.

“This situation was certainly a shock to our system but we are delighted that Brunton Theatre Trust have managed to keep so much of their programme in Musselburgh, so that our customers can still enjoy pre theatre suppers at The Bistro. We will make sure bookers get to their event on time and if needed will arrange transport to get them from The Brunton to their new venue in Musselburgh.”

Norma Buchan, owner of The Bistro at The Brunton

Rescheduling so many shows is a massive task, but the staff at The Brunton remain upbeat.

“We are grateful for the support and understanding shown to our staff from our customers, as they patiently await updates about events they have booked for. We appreciate that these changes are coming at short notice, however we will not cancel shows unless there is absolutely no other alternative. We are exploring all options possible and do not want to disappoint our customers.”

Lesley Smith, General Manager of The Brunton

Customers can keep up to date with what is happening by following The Brunton on Facebook and twitter, signing up for email bulletins and visiting the website www.thebrunton.co.uk .

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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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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