Tron Theatre Announces Innovative, New Program With Scottish Government Grant Aid

The Scottish Government today announced the list of venues receiving support through their Performing Arts Venues Relief Fund and the Tron Theatre is one of the recipients sharing a specifically designated funding pot worth a total of £7.5m created to help stave off the threat of insolvency, bring staff out of furlough and provide work for freelancers within the sector. For the Tron, this financial lifeline is welcome news, with the majority of staff furloughed and income streams from our live performance programme arrested indefinitely, the venue's ability to deliver any creative activity over the next few months would have been severely compromised and it faced an uncertain future.

Now an exciting programme of new work can be delivered alongside regular Tron CREATIVE and PARTICIPATION strands of activity, bringing sixteen of the core staff team out of furlough, allowing us to reinstate regular freelance tutors who deliver initiatives like Write Tron and our Community Choir, and significantly, providing opportunities to engage a substantial number of new freelancers, including lead artists and directors, writers, performers, stage managers, designers, technicians, access staff, digital artists and sound designers.

Scottish-based writer Joe McCann who specializes in telling black and working class stories will be commissioned to create the performance and participation project Things My White Friends Say and we'll also be offering three new commissions to non-regularly funded Scotland-based artists or companies to make performance for non-theatre settings. Existing community engagement projects for children and families will be enhanced with Walking Tall Tales and Suitcase Stories, and links with primary and secondary schools will be extended through these and the virtual performance Petrichor, delivered in partnership with ThickSkin Theatre Company.

Freelancers within the sector have been amongst the hardest hit during lockdown so the Tron's commitment to building an innovative programme of activity over the forthcoming months that will see over 125 new opportunities created, as well as the expansion of the existing BUILD programme to see the number of freelance engagements increase to 100 will hopefully be welcomed by those whose scheduled work has been negatively impacted by the pandemic.

As Artistic Director Andy Arnold said:

'It's difficult to convey just how excited we are to be able to get back to developing and creating work - it's our raison d'être and these last few months have been tremendously challenging for everyone at the Tron and in the sector. Being able to kick-start and expand our regular Tron Creative and Tron Participation programmes over the next few months, and significantly, to have the opportunity to engage a substantial number of freelance creatives on innovative new projects that seek to connect with audiences old and new alike, gives us hope for a more positive and stable future for the Tron and for the arts across Scotland.'

Photo Credit: Mihaela Bodlovic

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