Although you may not be totally aware of it, behind the Festival Theatre, the King’s and the Studio at Potterrow is a charitable trust. Until now it has had the clunky name of Festival City Theatres Trust and from 1 March 2018 it is to be renamed Capital Theatres. The thought is that this will be an identifiable home brand for the three venues and for the learning and participation that takes place there.
Ahead of their new financial year they have undertaken a rebranding exercise.
The new logo is very simple and elegant, representing the three theatres under its wing and also a spotlight in the middle. It will be used across all social media platforms and websites from tomorrow. The whole idea is to put the name Capital Theatres first rather than hiding it in the background. This overarching brand will now be the prominent name and logo for any of the theatres’ promotions. All of the staff were sporting new name badges and the press pack showed off the new corporate colours.
The trust is a charity and the organisation depends on funding from The City of Edinburgh Council and Creative Scotland as well as grants and donations to keep the theatres going.
With the King’s about to close for 20 months during its redevelopment whenever that gets funded, there is a need for a single entity to lead the way. The Trust has been very proud of its work to bring an accessible, dementia friendly environment into the theatre.
The Festival King’s and Studio at Potterrow will be run by Capital Theatres in a rebranding move by Festival City Theatres Trust pic.twitter.com/rKgax74dne
— Edinburgh Reporter (@EdinReporter) February 28, 2018
Chief Executive Duncan Hendry announced the news about the future of the trust at a press conference earlier. He gave a little of the history of the Festival Theatre where it was held first of all, explaining that in the Sixties the hot topic of the day was whether there should be an opera house for Edinburgh. He said : “The hole in the ground saga went on for many years and I moved away from Edinburgh to go to university. The next thing I knew the Empire Theatre was being turned into an opera house and was being transformed. About 1991 the Empire Theatre Trust was set up and then it was turned into the Festival Theatre we know today which reopened in 1994. The Trust name was then changed to the Edinburgh Festival Theatre Trust.
“Somewhat controversially the theatre reopened with a variety show headlined by the Krankies. It was a talking point as the theatre had been badged as an opera house.
“An eclectic programme followed until 1998 when the King’s and the Festival Theatre were merged into one organisation under the Festival City Theatres Trust to minimise competition between the two. Since then the two theatres have developed their own identities and programmes have developed across the two venues. The Studio Theatre was added in 2013.
“At the Festival Theatre there is opera, ballet, contemporary theatre, dance, large-scale musicals and event theatre. The National Theatre of Great Britain come here regularly and Les Miserables has just been secured for next year.
“We present over 500 performances here and employ about 200 staff. We cater for 460,000 customers or more and have a turnover of over £13 million. We are one of the largest performing arts organisations in Scotland and one of the most successful.
“Another major project is to redevelop the King’s Theatre and we are partway there as we have secured £4 million from the council as well as £5 million from our own funds. It is a £25 million project so we have a way to go.
“We found there was little recognition of the trust among the public so we started to discuss with our board and managers that we should look at the name of the trust. To get the message across we have looked at the identity and name of the trust. It was decided that we should change the name and refresh the brands for the three venues.
“As of this week we are changing the name to Capital Theatres and there will be a refresh of the brands for all three individual theatres.
“There are three main reasons for this. The name was not a memorable one. It did not trip off the tongue. We think Capital Theatres is much simpler and clearer. We want a coherent unifying brand across the organisation that our customers can recognise and relate to. We think this new brand will help us get across our charitable and educational ambitions and in our fundraising effort for the King’s Theatre.
“This signifies a new era for the Trust.”
The panto is of course a mainstay at the King’s with Allan Stewart, Andy Gray and Grant Stott who entertain the masses of children (and adults!) who go along each year so well that panto tickets are like gold dust.
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