The Prince Edward building on Scarth St. and 11th Ave., while charming, has its challenges.
As long time residents of the historic building, the Globe Theatre has made the most of the space they have, on the third and fourth floor of the building.
"Every piece of plywood, every piece of steel, every piano, everything big needs to be carried up the stairs by our team because there is no freight elevator.” Ruth Smillie, Art Director with Globe Theatre said.
Smillie said the building lacks some important theatrical elements, like a catwalk for lighting, or a proper trap room below the stage.
"The theatre is deficient, and the building is at the end of its life span,” Smillie said. “That's not an exaggeration and it needs to be completely refurbished."
The price tag for that project is nearly $30 million.
The Globe Theatre plans to fundraise at least $5 million, while it’s expected that the rest of the money will come from all three levels of government. The City of Regina would be responsible for an important $6.6 million.
In order to qualify for provincial and federal support, the theatre must be declared a priority by the city.
"This is really important for our downtown, having Globe Theatre re-invested in and having it safer, better and more modern is important for our downtown,” Michael Fougere, Mayor of Regina said.”The Globe Theatre is the cultural centre of our city in many ways and we need to support that."
If all goes to plan, it would take about three years before the new theatre would be ready for use.
Based on a report by CTV Regina's Joey Slattery.
