‘Last week, when it finally opened its doors to the public for the first time since the first spade went into the ground, it gave me goosebumps,’ says Professor Dame Joan Stringer. ‘To see it was quite an emotional experience, and I think that will remain with me for many years to come.’
It is a precious moment of sentimentality from an administrator whose 13-year tenure at the helm of Capital Theatres has been defined by cold-eyed strategy and administrative persistence. Stringer is stepping down as Chair of Scotland’s largest theatre charity just as its crowning project—the exhaustive redevelopment of Edinburgh’s King’s Theatre—reaches completion.
Her departure marks the end of an era that began in 2013. Across those 13 years, Capital Theatres managed three venues—the Festival, the Studio, and the King’s—welcoming nearly 400,000 patrons annually.
Yet the shadow of the King’s, a beloved 1,125-seat Edwardian theatre on Tarvit Street, dominated much of her mandate. It was a venue in desperate need of more than cosmetic repairs.
King’s Theatre Redevelopment: A Diagnosis for Survival
When Stringer took over the board, the theatre was functioning, but barely holding its ground against time.
‘When I took over, there had been some work done to the King’s to keep it basically wind and watertight,’ Stringer recalls. ‘But there had also been the wonderful John Byrne dome executed, and I think the opening of that was just before I took over in 2013. The King’s wasn’t falling down or anything at that point, and there had been some work done, but I think it was always known that was a bit of a holding operation, really.’
Temporary fixes were insufficient for a modern touring venue. By 2015, Stringer and then-Chief Executive Duncan Hendry decided to face the structural reality head-on.
‘Last week, when it finally opened its doors to the public for the first time since the first spade went into the ground, it gave me goosebumps,’ says Professor Dame Joan Stringer.
‘We did have a proper look at it and a proper analysis of the building and how it was going to fare into the future,’ Stringer says. ‘So, in 2015, myself and the then chief exec, Duncan Hendry, commissioned an options appraisal to look at the future, really—whether the King’s would be viable and how long it would be viable for. The outcome of that suggested that if we didn’t do something fairly soon, then it probably wouldn’t have a great future going forward.’
The appraisal presented a simple choice: watch the building slowly degrade, or undertake a massive and eyewateringly expensive structural overhaul to secure its future.
‘In the end, we took the decision that it was going to be the major redevelopment required if we were going to save this wonderful heritage building for future generations,’ she says. ‘So, we embarked on that around 2015.’
From Higher Education to Governance: The Mechanics of Leadership
Stringer did not enter the theatre world as an artistic programmer. Her career was built in higher education, most notably as Principal and Vice-Chancellor of Edinburgh Napier University, where she managed substantial capital projects. That background provided the operational discipline needed to steer a complex charity through major construction.
‘Although I didn’t know the theatre business intimately—though I had been on the board of the National Theatre of Scotland—you do bring those skills,’ she explains. ‘You can bring an objective eye and ask the difficult questions sometimes that people immersed in the business don’t always see.’
At Napier, Stringer managed capital redevelopments exceeding £100 million across the Craiglockhart and Sighthill campuses.
‘When I was at Edinburgh Napier University, we went through significant redevelopment of our campuses—over a £100 million redevelopment at Craiglockhart and at Sighthill,’ she says. ‘Sighthill was on the market when I took over as principal, which seemed to me not to be the right choice, so we took the decision to redevelop that and dispose of one of our campuses that was historically very costly and not contributing significantly to the educational experience of our students. So, those capital development and project development skills certainly helped with the King’s redevelopment project.’
She views the role of non-executive leadership with characteristic clarity.
‘There are the normal responsibilities of heading the board, chairing the board, making sure that the organisation is well governed,’ Stringer says. ‘A chair of an organisation likes to feel that they leave it in a better state than they inherited it, and I’m certainly hoping that when I demit office, that is what people will feel.’
Scaling Ambition: Commercial Partnerships and Capital Theatres
Saving the King’s required more than construction plans; it demanded a fundamental shift in how Capital Theatres operated commercially. Hendry and Stringer set about securing high-profile co-productions and major commercial tours, building the charity’s financial resilience.
‘When I took over, the King’s was problematic. We had moved into a situation where we had to grow finances and become more resilient, and Duncan Hendry did a great deal in that,’ Stringer says. ‘He brought in key producers—Cameron Mackintosh, National Theatre… War Horse is one of the first productions I remember going to as chair that was really a bit of a game changer, I have to say.’
That commercial growth expanded the charity’s footprint within Scotland and beyond. Crucially, Stringer insists the organisation’s internal standards had to match its commercial ambitions. During her tenure, Capital Theatres has strengthened workplace practices, securing accreditation as a Real Living Wage Employer, a Young Person’s Guarantee Employer, and recognition among the top ten companies to work for in Scotland.
‘It’s just grown from that: this ambition to move into partnership working and co-production, and enhance and increase our creative engagement work and activity,’ she says. ‘That has produced an organisation that is so much more part of both Edinburgh and the Scottish arts scene, and indeed beyond.’
Pandemic Challenges: Navigating COVID-19 and Financial Risk
Planning a major capital project is complex under normal conditions. Doing so while a global pandemic halts live performance entirely tests the limits of any cultural charity. In 2020, as venues shut nationwide, Duncan Hendry retired, leaving incoming Chief Executive Fiona Gibson to step straight into the storm.
‘Duncan—his vision was basically the initial options appraisal and the decision to embark on this,’ Stringer says. ‘But Fiona, when she took over… She took over a very difficult brief, right in the middle of COVID. That had an impact on the King’s itself and on the work going forward.’
Faced with enforced venue closures, the charity shifted focus to digital outreach. Its dementia-friendly programme expanded globally to support isolated individuals during lockdown, work that later earned Capital Theatres the 2023 UK Theatre Award for Excellence in Inclusivity.
Yet the sheer scale of the King’s fundraising campaign remained a constant weight on the board.
‘Finally, we are, after all, a charity. I’m so proud of the fact that we have been able to raise the funds,’ Stringer says. ‘As a charity, that’s a bit scary as a proposition, and securing the funding has been one of our biggest risks as a board. It’s taken a lot of hard work, resilience, persistence, perseverance, and faith, all of which the team have had in spades.’
The risk paid off. ‘Fiona has taken over and has just driven this project, and she has been absolutely amazing and fantastic,’ Stringer adds. ‘It’s due to the sheer commitment and dedication of both Fiona and the whole team—lots of people—that we’re now reopening this wonderful building.’
Modernising Heritage: Engineering and Accessibility at the King’s Theatre
To casual theatregoers, the most obvious change inside the King’s is the restored auditorium. But for Stringer, the fundamental achievements of the renovation lie behind the scenes, buried in the mechanics of modern stagecraft and equality of access.
‘The auditorium is just gorgeous now,’ she notes. ‘But, of course, some of the real changes are things that you don’t necessarily see on stage – the fly tower and the stage reconfiguration. All of those things are going to make a massive difference to what we’re able to put on at the King’s going forward.’
‘You must have seen the old system to get in and get out on Tarvit Street, and that was just a nightmare,’ Stringer says. ‘But it’s more than that: it’s the access. We’re going to be able to have performers sharing the same experience, whether they have access issues or not. We’re really proud of that ability to do that.’
Before the closure, loading scenery off Tarvit Street was notoriously difficult for touring productions. The reconfigured stage and modernised fly tower resolve those logistical bottlenecks. Equally important is the overhaul of access: level entry now runs directly from the pavement to the stalls, while cast members with access requirements share the same backstage facilities as their colleagues.
The manifest benefit of these structural and accessibility improvements is reflected in the venue’s upcoming autumn lineup. Among the landmark bookings is an Accident / a Life, a dance memoir by paraplegic dancer Marc Brew and acclaimed choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui. Centred on the car crash that reshaped Brew’s life—and staged complete with a vehicle on stage—the show demands both advanced technical staging and total backstage accessibility for disabled artists.
‘We’re going to be able to put on an Accident / a Life later this autumn,’ Stringer adds, ‘and to be able to do that and share experiences like that is something that we could only dream of 10 or 13 years ago.’
Tollcross Tradition: The Return of the Edinburgh Pantomime
For all the talk of balance sheets and structural engineering, the cultural heart of the King’s Theatre – at least for this critic – remains its annual pantomime. When Stringer assumed the chair in 2013, the festive tradition was an unfamiliar obligation.
‘When I took over in 2013, Duncan said to me, “There’ll be three panto nights in November that you’ll need to be at: press night, opening night, and so on.” I said, “Three? Really?”‘ Stringer smiles. ‘I hadn’t been to a panto since I was about nine years old, so I wasn’t exactly looking forward to it. But we went the first night, and I could not believe what a joy it was! Both my husband and I became real panto fans.’
While the pantomime temporarily shifted to the Festival Theatre during the closure, its return to Tollcross with Pinocchio later this year marks a major homecoming for regulars Allan Stewart, Jordan Young, and Grant Stott.
‘This year, with the reopening, tickets were flying out of the door when the box office opened,’ Stringer says. ‘The Pinocchio panto is going to be a real comeback for the King’s. And the cast—Allan, Jordan, and Grant—are such a joy to work with too. They’ve enjoyed being at the Festival Theatre, but they can’t wait to get back to the King’s.’
‘You must have seen the old system to get in and get out on Tarvit Street, and that was just a nightmare,’ Stringer says. ‘But it’s more than that: it’s the access. We’re going to be able to have performers sharing the same experience, whether they have access issues or not. We’re really proud of that ability to do that.’
The building will also function throughout the day, operating a street-level café, level access, and a community engagement space in the upper studio.
‘It’s a very intimate theatre; it wraps itself around you, whatever generation you are,’ Stringer notes. ‘Our ambition to make it part of the community will now happen—we will be open all day, which is new, with a community engagement space up in the studio, wonderful bars, and a lovely street-level café with level access from pavement to seat.’
Looking Ahead: Dame Joan Stringer’s Legacy at Capital Theatres
With recruitment for her successor underway, Stringer departs as the King’s begins its next era. For a charity reliant on a parlous mix of public support and ticket sales, steering an Edwardian icon through a decade of financial risk and pandemic turbulence is a major administrative feat.
Yet for Stringer, the ultimate reward comes not in board meetings or fundraising targets, but in taking her seat among the audience.
‘We will remain patrons of Capital Theatres because I’ll never stop supporting the work that we do,’ Stringer says. ‘I’ve made many friends there. It will be nice to walk through the door, feel part-ownership of it, but just be a normal member of the public having this wonderful experience that both the Festival Theatre and the King’s will give us.’
Featured Image: Dame Joan Stringer – photo by Capital Theatres
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