SheffieldTheatres' Lyceum closes for £1.9 million redevelopment

The Lyceum at Sheffield Theatres closes this week for refurbishment.

The works will see the installation of an auditorium ventilation and cooling system, the refurbishment of balcony seating, and re-carpeting and redecoration of public areas, improving the theatre going experience greatly for audiences, with an aim to increasing attendance by 15% in 5 years. The cloakroom will also be moved to the ground floor, allowing space for additional ladies’ toilets, baby changing facilities and a buggy park, key to improving facilities for families.

The work also includes crucial improvements to backstage areas, focusing on the upgrade and enhancement of specialist theatre equipment to allow the company to programme larger scale productions, to improve their in-house capacity for producing their own work, and deliver more performances each year. These vital changes will make the running of the Lyceum more efficient, and enable the company to originate and accommodate more large scale touring work.

Key to the refurbishments is the impact on the building’s environmental performance including the addition of LED lighting, a new building management system and photovoltaic installations. These combined changes will lead to a reduction in overhead costs for the theatre.

This £1.9m redevelopment work has been made possible through a £1m grant from Arts Council England, £500,000 from Sheffield City Council, with the remaining funds raised through Trusts and Foundations, individuals, an exclusive dinner and auction hosted by associate director Richard Wilson, a business club, point of sale donations and text fundraising. Further fundraising will now take place to look after the ongoing maintenance of the building and secure its long term future.

The theatre due to reopen with the return of artistic director Daniel Evans‘ production of Tim Firth‘s musical This is My Family in October ahead of a national tour.