A year at the new Citz

Our  Homecoming Festival set the tone for the year ahead, as more than 2,000 people joined us for a weekend of free performances, creative activities and community celebrations throughout the building.

After seven years away, it was a chance to welcome old and new audiences, neighbours, artists and communities  and invite everyone to explore the transformed Citz for the first time. At the heart of the weekend was our Homecoming Procession, created with local people and community groups who led the procession through the Gorbals, and marked our official reopening with energy, colour, and pride.

Over our reopening year, audiences have taken their seats for 377 performances across our Main Theatre and Studio Theatre, with almost 83,700 tickets booked.

From the deeply moving Small Acts of Love, which marked the first major production on our Main Stage in seven years, to the return of the much-loved Citz Christmas show with Beauty and the Beast, our stages have once again been home to ambitious, entertaining and thought-provoking theatre.

Small Acts of Love was hailed as “Scottish theatre at its finest” by Must See Theatre and as “a compassionate, well-crafted piece that speaks to the strength of community and the endurance of love” by Corr Blimey.

Christmas at the Citz returned in style with Beauty and the Beast, earning a string of five-star reviews and winning Best Production for Children and Young People at this year’s CATS Awards. Critics celebrated its imaginative and deliciously dark take on the much-loved fairytale, praising its mix of theatrical magic, humour, heart and just the right amount of menace.

In the spring, life-long friends Matthew Kelly and George Costigan reunited on our stage in Waiting for Godot, directed by Dominic Hill, who won the CATS Award for Best Director for the production. The Herald awarded it five stars, describing it as “a deeply humane yet absolutely clear-eyed Godot”, while The Glasgow Reporter named it the city’s “hot ticket”.

Our co-production of Lynn Nottage’s Sweat with the Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh also received five stars from The Herald, which praised the company and described Joanna Bowman’s production as a powerful rendering of the Pulitzer Prize-winning play.

But the Citz has always been more than just a building that puts on shows.

Across the year, more than 5,000 people have taken part in activities with us, from workshops and creative projects to opportunities for young people, communities and artists.

Hundreds more have discovered the extraordinary history of our 148-year-old building, including almost 600 people who have joined one of our heritage tours.

And thousands have signed up to become part of the Citz in other ways. More than 5,300 people are now members of our different membership and Pass schemes, including 1231 neighbours from our local community who have signed up for a Gorbals Pass, giving G5 residents access to £5 tickets.

Whether you came to see a show, joined a workshop, explored backstage, stopped in for a coffee or simply came through the doors for a look around, you’ve helped bring the Citz back to life.

Our audiences have told us just how much being home has meant to them.

Our first year back has been about so much more than reopening a building.

It has been about bringing the Citz back to life – filling our stages with stories, our spaces with creativity and our building with people, ideas, conversation and connection.

It has been about welcoming back familiar faces and making new friends with those visiting for the very first time. We’ve loved reconnecting with our Gorbals community, creating opportunities for people to take part and make work, supporting artists and theatre-makers of all kinds, and being a place where people can come together.

Most importantly, it has been about reigniting the Citz spirit to be a theatre that welcomes everyone. A place to see extraordinary work, to participate, to learn,  to create, to meet, to belong.

None of what we have achieved in this remarkable first year would have been possible without the people who have filled the building and supported us along the way. To every audience member, participant, artist, community partner, member, visitor, supporter and volunteer who has played a part in our first year back – thank you. To those who have cheered from the sidelines even when they can’t visit – thank you.

If you haven’t been yet – ‘mon in!