A Dumbarton theatre group has cancelled its upcoming show because they said the refurbed Denny Civic Theatre was like “a building site”.
The St Mary’s Way theatre, which hosted events from local theatre groups, dance shows and live music, is set to reopen this week.
One of the shows planned to take the stage was Dumbarton People’s Theatre (DPT) The Memory of Water on December 2 and 3 which would have been the first show in the theatre since lockdown following renovation works to upgrade sound, lighting and audience facilities.
However, the production was cancelled after DPT visited last week and judged the theatre not ready to host the show.
Volunteer Janette Barnes said: “The foyer resembled a building site – full of building materials, ceiling tiles down, and the bar area fenced off.
“The passage between the theatre and the foyer had the carpet removed and the floor covered by a protective material. The toilets were undergoing repair and were unusable.
“There were no theatre lights – backstage or onstage - and the backstage area where the scenery would be stored was full of more building materials.”
The council insist however, that the venue will be ready to reopen this week.
But Janette hit out West Dunbartonshire Leisure Trust.
She said: “It wouldn’t have been right to bring an audience in.
“There is no way that an audience who have waited nearly three years to come to the theatre would have been happy.
“We spent a lot of money on the performance, from tickets and programmes to adverts. It cost us money like every performance, only this time we won’t make that back because we have to offer refunds.
“We rent it from the Leisure Trust, and I find it crazy that they felt that the theatre was suitable.
“They let us go along with no one there to meet us to apologise for the mess. We have waited so long for it to open, only for it to disappoint us.
“The last time I was there was in September, and the workers told us it would be ready come time for our show. We have had no explanation in writing from the Leisure Trust.
“It was supposed to be a nice, family night at Christmas. But we cannot take people into a theatre that isn’t fit for purpose. We have a responsibility to the public.
“They must’ve known how bad it was, and for no one to be there when we arrived to tell us and apologise is not right.
“We are due back next year, and hopefully, we will be back by then.”
West Dunbartonshire Council noted that other shows scheduled ahead of Christmas are proceeding as planned.
Alongside this, they notified the Lennox that the second phase of works to install new toilets has been impacted by supply chain delays, and this, along with redecoration, will be undertaken in January and February.
In the interim, visitors can access the Concord toilets, which are accessible from the foyer of the theatre.
A spokesperson for West Dunbartonshire Council said: “We’re sorry to hear DPT has made the decision to cancel their show.
“We’ve worked really hard to get the theatre ready for the first audiences next week, and the new AV equipment to enhance the lighting and sound experience within the auditorium is operational.
“Unfortunately, when the group arrived to load in equipment to the theatre on Tuesday evening, there were materials in the foyer area which were being moved yesterday in advance of the group’s rehearsals.
“We explained this to the group when they called yesterday afternoon and offered to meet on-site to provide further reassurance, but they advised they wished to cancel next week’s shows.”
