Glasgow's Citizens theatre to close for two years during major redevelopment

Glasgow's Citizens Theatre will close in May 2018 for a major two-year redevelopment.

The venue has announced two alternative locations that it will perform in during the renovations – Tramway and Scotland Street School Museum. The theatre will open its first show at Tramway in September 2018. It also intends to collaborate with other venues and tour across Scotland, with plans to be announced.

Artistic director Dominic Hill said: "The Citizens Theatre building is about to embark on the biggest changes to its physical structure in its 139-year history. This latest stage in our £19.4 million redevelopment project presents an exciting opportunity for a number of key landmark cultural organisations to work together in Glasgow. Our shared history of innovation and creativity makes it a great opportunity to collaborate with them."

The newly refurbished theatre will open in autumn 2020, with repairs and renovations made to the Victorian auditorium and its rare collection of 19th-century stage machinery as well as a paint frame.

Before the venue closes, it will present a variety of new shows, including the previously announced co-production of Long Day's Journey Into Night with HOME Manchester from 13 April to 5 May. There will also be a revival of Rona Munro's Bold Girls from 24 January to 10 February, and a week-long run of Stephen Greenhorn's Passing Places from 8 to 12 May.

The venue's final production before closing will be a Citizens Theatre community production of A Night to Remember, directed by Guy Hollands and Neil Packham, from 23 to 26 May.