Over the weekend came the awful news that the Byre Theatre in St Andrews is facing closure due to lack of funds (its funding had been cut by Creative Scotland in 2010, and a refurbishment in 2001 left it struggling financially). The Byre is a cultural hub for not only St Andrews but the surrounding areas of Fife and to see it go would be tragic and a total waste – not only of talent but of a very beautiful building that stands out among the old buildings of south street.
My friend the artist and photographer Gillian Gamble (who else?) has started an incredibly successful grassroots community movement to save the Byre, which has gone from nothing to 4000 supporters on facebook and national news coverage overnight. Have a look and click ‘like’ here:
http://www.facebook.com/SaveTheByreTheatre
There’s also a petition on change.org here:
https://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/save-the-byre-theatre#share
News coverage of the campaign:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-21211928
http://www.scotsman.com/news/arts/byre-theatre-rescue-bid-underway-1-2763241
http://www.thecourier.co.uk/news/local/fife/thousands-join-bid-to-save-the-byre-theatre-1.66067
http://news.stv.tv/tayside/211738-battle-to-save-closure-threatened-byre-theatre-in-st-andrews/
A viola player writes... 
Dear Pais and Jess, We were very saddened to hear of the possible closure of The Byre Theatre and have many happy memories both of the excellent meal we had there last June – and particularly the wonderful perfomance of Eugene Onegin afterwards. Good luck to the campaigners! With much love, George
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