Top Ten Kings Theatre Facts! - January 2007

1. The Kings Theatre Southsea has been operated and managed by the Kings Theatre Trust Ltd since 2003 and is providing a wide range of professional and community productions to suit all tastes, including the traditional Christmas Pantomime.
   
2. Since Portsmouth City Council bought the Kings in 2001 over 650,000 tickets have been sold. The "half million" milestone was reached during the magical 2006 pantomime "Jack and the Beanstalk". The Kings Theatre employs 11 full time staff, 7 part time staff and up to 60 casual employees providing bar staff, ushers and stage crew, and also benefits from the help of over 100 stalwart volunteers.
   
3. The local community is wholeheartedly supporting the Kings as a live theatre, and is attending the Kings in record numbers and enjoying the high quality productions being staged.
   
4. The Restoration Fundraising Campaign now stands at over £350,000. All the money donated has been invested in improvements or repairs to the theatre. The Trust has appointed a fund raiser to continue this important work.
   
5. Portsmouth City Council is supporting the regenerated Kings Theatre, and has provided revenue and capital funding as a clear sign of its commitment. In May 2004, the City Council congratulated the Trust on its management of the Kings, and agreed to continue the revenue funding on a long term basis. In April 2005, the Council awarded the Trust a grant of £600,000 towards a 5 year programme of repairs and restoration.
   
6. Businesses in the Albert Road area are very happy with the upturn in business for them, due to the increasing numbers of people attending the Kings Theatre. Audience members are using the bars, restaurants and shops, as well as taxis, buses, and trains. Visiting professional theatre companies are very pleased to be able to return to the Kings Theatre. They are also using local businesses and hotels.
   
7. The two long-standing amateur companies who perform at the Kings, The Portsmouth Players and The South Downe Musical Society, are both delighted to see a secure future at the theatre, so they can continue to perform high quality musical productions for the community.
   
8. In partnership with Portsmouth City Council, the Kings Theatre Trust is also responsible for the building and its restoration. Over £1.6M has already been spent on vital repairs and improvements, including work on the Theatre's external fabric, the foyer, the stage, the dressing rooms, a new powered flying system for hoisting scenery above the stage and the £500,000 project in 2007 to restore and redecorate the auditorium plasterwork and paintings.
   
9. Further restoration work is being planned in conjunction with architect Mr Tim Ronalds, responsible for the award winning Empire Theatre in Hackney. In 2008, this will include the repair and restoration of the landmark tower on Albert Road, as well as the Dress Circle Bar.
   
10. 2007 was a very special Centenary year for the Kings Theatre, with the theatre's 100th birthday on 30 September 2007 celebrated by a joyous Gala Variety Concert.