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Brunton Theatre

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Coordinates: 55°56′38″N 3°03′25″W / 55.9439°N 3.0570°W / 55.9439; -3.0570
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Brunton Theatre, Musselburgh

The Brunton Theatre is a mid-scale performing arts venue in Musselburgh, East Lothian, Scotland. It is part of a wider complex, incorporating council offices, and called Brunton Memorial Hall.

The building is textured concrete and glass, and was designed by William Kininmonth, with a gilded relief sculpture by Tom Whalen, a Scottish sculptor, on the facade (not to be confused with Tom Whalen the American writer and scholar). Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother opened it in 1971. The name derives from John D. Brunton, son of John Brunton, the founder of the Brunton Wireworks. He died in 1951 and left a bequest of £700,000 to the people of Musselburgh for the purpose of creating a community hall. The Town Council supplemented this and created a larger scheme which incorporated their offices.[1]

There are two performance spaces in the building: a 300 capacity theatre, with notably clear sightlines, and a main hall upstairs, which seats 500.[2] The main hall (also known as "Venue 1") hosts classical music concerts, comedy and contemporary dance performances, as well as regular cinema screenings and live screenings from the National Theatre and Royal Opera House.[2]

In the early years, the theatre was used mainly for pantomime and productions by local amateur groups, with occasional performances by touring companies. In 1979, East Lothian District Council asked Sandy Neilson to form a company to present an eight-week season of drama. The three plays produced during the first season were Frederick Knott's thriller Wait Until Dark, Alexander Reid's Scots comedy The Lass wi' the Muckle Mou, and Peter Nichols' A Day in the Death of Joe Egg, with John Bett in the title role.

Charles Nowosielski was appointed Artistic Director at the Brunton Theatre in 1986, bringing Richard Cherns with him as Musical Director/composer.[3] Notable productions directed by Nowosielski include Sydney Goodsir Smith's The Wallace (1986), Jay Presson Allen's adaptation of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1987), David Purves's The Knicht o the Riddills (1987), Edward Stiven's The Cauldron (1988), and an Edinburgh International Festival production of Robert S. Silver's The Bruce (1991).[4][5]

The theatre underwent refurbishment in the late 1990s,[6] while the entire building was refurbished in 2010-11 for £3.2 million.[1] There is also a curved bar area, and artwork around the theatre complex by Glasgow-based glass artist Deborah Campbell.[2] Venue hire is managed by East Lothian Council, while artistic programming is organised by the Brunton Theatre Trust, established in 1994.[7]

Children's theatre company, Catherine Wheels, are the resident company,[2] and the theatre also acts as venue 191 at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b "Brunton Theatre (Brunton Memorial Hall)". Scottish Places. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d "Brunton Theatre". The List. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  3. ^ Obituary: Charles Nowosielski, visionary director behind Theatre Alba, The Scotsman, 3rd June 2020
  4. ^ Brunton Theatre Company programme, 1987/88, Musselburgh
  5. ^ The Bruce theatre programme, Brunton Theatre Company, Musselburgh, August 1991
  6. ^ a b "Brunton Theatre". Edinburgh Guide. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  7. ^ "About Us". Brunton Theatre. Archived from the original on 27 March 2016. Retrieved 24 March 2016.

55°56′38″N 3°03′25″W / 55.9439°N 3.0570°W / 55.9439; -3.0570

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