StAnza, Fife Jazz Festival and other events to continue in wake of Byre Theatre's closure

• Giulia Mattei
• 28 January 2013

The St Andrews theatre is set to close on Thu 31 Jan; scheduled shows will go on in new venues

The Byre Theatre, St Andrews, is being forced to shut down because of its financial difficulties. The theatre has struggled to cover its costs in recent years, with problems exacerbated with the withdrawal of funding by the former Scottish Arts Council in 2011. The announcement comes hot on the heels of the news that the Brunton Theatre, Musselburgh, is also having its funding cut by East Lothian Council.

The final events to take place at the theatre will be the charity performances by Jenny King Dance Academy, on Wed 30 & Thu 31 Jan. Scheduled events as part of the Fife Jazz Festival and the StAnza poetry festival will be relocated to other venues, and tickets originally purchased for this venue will still be valid.

A petition to save the Byre Theatre has been started, requesting Fife MP Sir Menzies Campbell 'to do everything in your power to help raise the awareness and funds necessary to restore the theatre to St Andrews, Fife and Scotland.' At the time of writing, a Save the Byre Facebook page had 4400 likes.