Arches Announces Two Month Relocation For Rail Improvements
Multi-award
winning subterranean arts venue The Arches on Glasgow’s Argyle Street will close in January and February 2010 while improvement works are
carried out in the city’s Central Station. The venue plans to host a range
of off-site events titled Arches Off-site at unusual venues including
a garden shed, a car, a flat and a disused shop in Govan.
Re-opening
in March 2010, the venue will play host to the 30th Anniversary
of major international festival the National Review of Live Art,
RSAMD showcase Into the New, Magners Comedy Festival performances,
a new programme of gigs and visual art exhibitions and will see the
return of all of the major clubs including Death Disco, Octopussy,
Pressure, Inside Out and Colours.
The Central
Station works will see the creation of two new platforms in what is
the biggest capacity enhancement at the station in more than a century.
Part of a £180m investment in rail routes into Central, the platforms
will provide additional space at Scotland’s busiest station and enable
the introduction of new, longer trains on the Ayrshire and Inverclyde
routes in 2010.
Staff from
the venue will move to temporary offices in Albion Street, Merchant
City during the works and business will operate as normal for most departments
throughout the January and February closure period.
Although
there will be no events taking place in the building during
this period, the Arches Off-Site
will take theatrical
performances out of the venue and into a series of unusual spaces.
Birds and Other Things I Am Afraid Of by Lynda Radley,
which runs 2 to 21 February 2010, will see the audience
meet at Kelvinbridge underground station to go on an adventure trail
to a garden shed somewhere in the city. The show is a lyrical, humorous
look at the task of freeing yourself from family mythology. The show
will feature original music from Michael John McCarthy of Glasgow based
band Zoey Van Goey.
The National Theatre of Scotland in
conjunction with The Arches will also host Allotment on
Friday 19 February
at Govan Cross Shopping Centre. The night will fuse live performance,
new art and music in a deserted shop. Join the online community at www.allotment-glasgow.co.uk.
Glas(s)
Performance also present their show Life Long at The Glasgow
Art Club 18 to 20 February 2010. The performance invites
us to the wedding anniversary celebration of Tillie and Ronnie Jeffrey
and looks at what it means to shared a lifetime with one person.
Andy
Field from Edinburgh venue The Forest Fringe, recent winners of the
Peter Brook Empty Space Award in London, will present Motor Vehicle
Sundown 9 to 13 February. The show is based around
the car, the venue is a car and it’s a journey that doesn’t go anywhere
which is part installation, part participatory performance and audio
show.
Molly Taylor presents A La Carte
which requests the pleasure of the audience’s company for dinner in
a cozy flat. Join her for good food, decent chat, bring a friend and
bring a bottle. RSVP to jill@thearches.co.uk for more information.
Whilst the
building will be closed for events, the Arches are in discussion with
Network Rail to keep the box office function open at 253 Argyle Street
throughout January and February.
It will also be business as usual for the corporate events team who
will be contactable on their normal Arches numbers during the closure
but will offer a unique virtual tour of the building for those wishing
to hire the venue from
March 2010 onwards.
