Cast, Doncaster’s new performance venue, officially opens its doors tomorrow, offering a weekend of performance and free events.The new £22 million arts venue was designed by RHWL Arts Team for Doncaster Council and Muse Developments.
Cast adds to the already completed new public square, multi-storey car park and civic offices for Doncaster Council, which form the first phase of the £300m programme to create a civic and cultural quarter for Doncaster.
The 80,730 sq ft arts building, located on Sir Nigel Gresley Square in the Waterdale area, includes a main space, drama space, dance space, as well as bars/cafés and supporting public and back of house facilities.
Graham Whitehead, head of marketing and communications, said: “The architecture of the building very much complements and signifies what we’re trying to do as a new organisation. Its aim of being an iconic symbol within the town and something that Doncaster can be proud of very much reflects our own ethos.”
Tomorrow evening sees a breathtaking explosion of performance and creativity in A Cast of Thousands, the opening ceremony. Created by the critically renowned Yorkshire-based company Slung Low, the event features live music acts, dance, song and performance.
The weekend also sees the debut performance of Cast’s first ever in-house produced production: The Glee Club.
It will be the first time the celebrated play has ever been professionally produced in the town. This song-filled comedy charts the lives and heartaches of a group of miners from Edlington in the 1960s.
This new production, directed by Esther Richardson, will bring the production home to its native Doncaster.
There are also opportunities for visitors to have backstage tours of the new venue and see parts of the building not usually open to the public.
Local artists also feature greatly. Rachel Horne, Ryan Harston and Ryan Cerenko will be presenting some newly created work.
Right Up Our Street Arts Supporters – a group of artists tasked with making the arts accessible to more people over the next three years – will present some unusual pop-up performances.
There are also events from Doncaster College and Doncaster Youth Dance Company.
Whitehead added, “When we decided what we wanted to do to open Cast, we all immediately knew we had to create a weekend full of surprises. We’re encouraging people to come down and have a look, whether you want to watch a performance, take part in something creative or just soak up the atmosphere from our café – we promise there’s an exciting weekend ahead.”
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