Vibrant artwork by an up-and-coming illustrator is setting the tone for the new Design Suite launched to inspire creative professionals.
The bright colours and bold designs of Lauren Morsley are energising those using the state-of-the-art facilities.
Graphic designers, film makers, animators and web developers are among those already inspired by Lauren’s dazzling depictions of the town and its many distinguishing features.
We commissioned local designer Lauren to produce a striking, large-scale mural in the suite to give it an immediate wow factor.
Lauren loves the venue’s new look and the way its interior has been reconfigured to include the Design Suite and other spaces.
The illustrator – whose client list includes Warner Music, the British Council and V&A Dundee – specialises in bold and colourful designs.
As well completing commissions for clients, Lauren makes and sells her own prints and products, full of wiggly-armed and long-legged characters.
The work is often inspired by intriguing stories, places and people – that create ‘other worlds’ for the viewer to explore.
Lauren says the Design Suite is a significant cultural development, giving creative practitioners better access to creative tools – a key development for those seeking a foothold in the sector.
“People from all backgrounds now have access to a space where they can network locally and come together and create – something that hasn’t been done before in this area.”
Lauren says working as a freelance Illustrator can feel isolating at times – particularly when working solo on a big project for days on end.
The Design Suite will allow Lauren and others in similar positions to work alongside each other without having to commit to a full-time studio.
“It’s amazing to see funding going to the arts in this way as initiatives like this are so important to the town. I feel honoured that my work is part of it.”
OnFife’s Creative Instigator Ross Christie is thrilled with the outcome: “It’s very clear how much the Adam Smith means to Lauren – and that has helped to give the work an added energy.
“The mural is everything we hoped it would be – it grabs your attention as soon as you enter the room and conveys a real sense that this is a space with creativity at its heart.”
The Lights On shows on 23 September that marked completion of our much-loved venue’s transformation are just the beginning of a bright new era.
More than 1200 people were at the venue for the Lights On Grand Opening and the feedback is they can’t wait to return.
Heather Stuart, Chief Executive of OnFife, said it had been a day to savour: “So many people who hold this theatre close to their hearts were eagerly anticipating its return and those expectations were surpassed.
“Customer feedback about the show, the atmosphere, the sense of occasion – indeed the whole transformation that has taken place – has been overwhelmingly positive.
“Audiences and performers have been quick to tell us how good it was to have been a part of it – and people are thrilled that Saturday was just the beginning.”
Venue Manager Ayesha Nickson added: “For everyone who has put their heart and soul into this project over the past three years, it was a massive milestone.
“Seeing more than 1200 people come through the doors was an emotional and exhilarating experience – after so long out of the spotlight this magnificent theatre is back with a resounding bang.”
Cllr Linda Erskine, Fife Council’s spokesperson for Communities and Leisure Services, said: “It was a pleasure to witness this historical theatre reopen its doors with such a fitting celebration showcasing the diversity of the groups who use the Adam Smith as a venue.
“The investment in this transformation, which has been a mix of restoration and creating new and exciting creative spaces, means it’s once again a proper cultural heart for Kirkcaldy’s town centre.”
Look out for more news to come about inside the venue!
Tickets are on sale for LIGHTS ON Grand Opening, the first show to take place in the newly refurbished Adam Smith Theatre. A rousing mix of music, drama and dance, LIGHTS ON will thrill audiences when the red carpet is rolled out on 23 September.
Entertainment will be provided by some of the many amateur groups to have graced the Adam Smith stage over the years. Showcasing the very best of the local performing arts is a clear marker that the revitalised cultural hub will have the community at its heart.
The venue will be revealed in all its glory following a three-year project to turn what was a traditional civic theatre into a modern creative hub. Audiences will be able to marvel at the refurbished foyer, new-look café/bar and revamped auditorium. They can also glimpse fully equipped spaces for community use, a design suite for creative professionals and new spaces for business and corporate events.
OnFife’s Director of Creative Development, Michelle Sweeney, said: “We are so excited to have the doors open once again, with the red carpet out in your honour. So, get your glad rags out and join us for what promises to be a true experience to remember.”
While there’s still a lot of work to come over the summer as we build up to our grand re-opening in September, there’s no denying the buzz around welcoming people back into the building for the first time in three years for the Adam Smith Global Foundation’s Festival of Ideas over the weekend of 9-11 June.
However, while we’re pulling out all the stops to host these events in this special Adam Smith Tercentenary year, they come just days after we get access to what is an empty building, so the excitement has to be balanced with what people will find when they step inside.
While the majority of the capital works will be complete, there is still work ongoing in the lower function room and lower ground floor. Having all the works completed is when the next important stage can begin – the snagging and the interior fittings which will bring our venue to life again over the next three months. This will include fitting out the new design suite, café/bar and new multi-purpose meeting room, and ensuring they are all furnished and equipped to the standard required.
We’re delighted at the prospect of welcoming people into the building for the Festival of Ideas in the auditorium and Beveridge Suite, as well as being able to offer a limited bar service in the new bar, but we are keen to make sure there is an understanding the Adam Smith will not be seen in all its final refurbished glory until the grand reopening on 23 September.
We also need to explain that almost half of the spend on the project has been for critical refurbishments and repairs that can’t be seen, including the roof, electrical upgrades, heating upgrades, structural improvements and asbestos removal. They may be out of sight but they are making sure this wonderful venue is now ready to take on its next century.While the doors will close again after the Festival of Ideas, there will be a number of ‘sneaky peek’ taster / trial events from mid-August onwards – watch this space for more details!
We recently asked the local community for feedback on a proposal to amend the name of the Adam Smith Theatre ahead of its reopening this autumn…and the response prompted a rethink.
“We undertook a consultation exercise on a proposal to reopen as The Adam Smith with a supporting tagline that would express how the building was coming back as more than a theatre – with a new design space, refurbished function suites, fantastic café/bar and a new multi-purpose meeting room” explained Michelle Sweeney, Director of Creative Development.
“We were delighted with the engagement that took place, which also showed there was a great local loyalty to having theatre remain in the name. So, having asked the question, we’ve listened.
“It’s people who are at the heart of this much-loved space so, having heard what people had to say, we’ve opted to keep ‘theatre’ in the name. We’d like to thank everyone who took part and put forward their thoughts with such great enthusiasm.
“As we only needed a tagline if we dropped ‘theatre’ from the name, the work of expressing that this is more than a theatre will now come out through our different channels of communication and targeted promotion to specific user groups.
“We are now looking forward to building up to a grand reopening in September, following the Adam Smith Tricentenary events in June and a series of ‘taster’ sessions in the summer.”
Councillor Linda Erskine, Fife Council Spokesperson for Communities, said: “Following a consultation with the community, it became clear that they were keen to keep ‘theatre’ in the name so it will continue to be fondly known as The Adam Smith Theatre.
“I’d like to thank everyone who had their say and we look forward to welcoming everyone back once it fully reopens in September.”
OnFife and Fife Council are delighted to be able to share that there will be a summer of celebratory and community taster events as we build up to the official grand reopening of the Adam Smith Theatre in September.
The first of these events will put the venue on the international stage when, as a key partner in the Adam Smith Global Foundation Tricentennial Celebrations, it will host the events in June.
Following on from the Tricentenary, staff will move back into the building full-time and there will be a period of snagging, training and inductions. The functionality of all interior spaces will be put to test, as comprehensive run-throughs of its spaces and functions take place inclusive of the refurbished Beveridge Suite, the Café/Bar, the brand-new Design Suite and a new multi-purpose function room.
More details will follow as dates are confirmed but you can look forward to venue tours and showcase and taster events throughout the summer as we work with our local, business and creative communities. This will give people the opportunity to get involved in the Adam Smith again and to find out more about how this much-loved venue is being transformed into a cultural hub in the heart of Kirkcaldy.
The redevelopment of the Adam Smith has been a major capital investment by Fife Council and there has been an excellent working relationship with OnFife throughout this project. While the pandemic disrupted the original timings for the project, a reworking of the proposals in 2020/21 allowed the scope of the work to be expanded to take in work that was scheduled to take place later, minimising future disruption at the theatre.
A robust marketing campaign will be in place from early next year to promote the variety of uses and opportunities the new facilities will offer.
Announcing the reopening timing now enables us to progress Autumn Theatre programming inclusive of working closely with our local amateur musical and drama groups, with an exciting return to a full programme for audiences for 2023/24.
Behind the closed doors of our much-loved theatre, something remarkable is beginning to emerge and you’ll love what you see when those doors re-open in 2023.
We’ve been privileged to talk to a variety of community groups and theatre users and to listen to their thoughts and concerns, along with their desires and aspirations for the theatre.
The Adam Smith Theatre was created as a memorial to the great economist and philosopher Adam Smith, who was born in Kirkcaldy, and, in partnership with Fife Council, we’ve agreed a refurbishment schedule that seeks to complete the building work for Smith’s tri-centenary celebrations in 2023.
You can read more about the history of the building here or, for a more in-depth study, we recommend an excellent feature produced by Kirkcaldy Civic Society.
See the latest video from behind the scenes showing the working taking place.
In 2019 we were awarded £2 million of capital funding from Fife Council to help bring the wow factor back to one of Fife’s great theatres – with the prospect of a combined new creative hub to support the kingdom’s creative community and bring people to the town centre. We then received £400,000 from Kirkcaldy’s Town Centre Regeneration Fund to reinvigorate the theatre’s auditorium, which had served the community well but was showing its age in its fittings since the theatre’s last refurbishment 50 years ago.
Unfortunately, the pandemic disrupted the original timings and we had to rework proposals in 2020/21. However, this also allowed the scope of the work to be expanded to take in work that was scheduled to take place later, minimising future disruption at the theatre. The budget was increased and then, in February 2022, Fife Council, as a result of spiralling material costs caused by the pandemic and exit from the EU, agreed to increase funding to just under £7million.
The transformation is taking place in two phases. The first was focused on the auditorium; the second, from February 2022 to May 2023, will create a design suite and bring a fresh lease of life to the café/bar, lower function suite and Beveridge Suite. A main feature of the new layout in the foyer will be the design suite, which offers space for start-up creative businesses to work and opportunities to network.
The first phase brought a wonderful fresh look for the auditorium – replacing seats and carpets, painting walls and woodwork and installing a new sound system.
The greatest transformation in the second phase will be on the ground floor. We’ve been working with Fife Council to ensure the design meets the architectural vision, but also that each space is practical and functional too.
There will be a foyer that’s pure box office – busy, buzzy and welcoming. Good signposting will play a vital role in managing traffic flows and the box office itself will be relocated to the centre of the foyer so that it makes an immediate impression on visitors.
The café/bar will be an important part of the venue – a social hub for daytime catch-ups over coffee; the place to meet in the evening on theatre nights.
The bar will be relocated to the rear of the room, preventing a crush at the entrance that had previously deterred customers from visiting and staying in this space.
Renovation of the lower function suite will create a more refined space for everything from dance to an evening event. The vision is for a full black-out curtain and wall mirrors which will create a flexible studio space, and a stair lift will make it fully accessible.
The upper foyer will become a new social space for theatregoers and design suite users to enjoy, encouraging people to meet before, and after, performances and create a great spot for café/bar customers.
The redesign and refurbishment of the Beveridge Suite are a result of community engagement – we listened and are retaining this much-loved community space. It will be able to accommodate a range of different performances, and, with an improved kitchen and permanent bar, it will also be perfect for conferences and social events.
The area to the rear of the Beveridge Suite that hosts a manager’s office, storage space and a small green room/meeting area will become a creative meeting space.
When it reopens, the Adam Smith will again be fulfilling its purpose of serving the community and will provide the town with a wonderful place to work, rest and play.