The Mayflower is to take over as operator of the NST City playhouse after the former operator went into administration earlier this year.
The NST City theatre, located in the Studio 144 building in Guildhall Square, is to be operated by the same company as The Mayflower, another theatre located near the train station. This change is to approved later this month at a city council meeting.
In May, Nuffield Southampton Theatre (NST) announced they had gone into administration. This former operator ran NST City and the Nuffield Theatre at the University of Southampton. However, councilors are said to be backing plans for The Mayflower to sign a 35-year lease after NST went into administration.
Official documents, that were published before the city councils meeting, state the length of the lease and that The Mayflower Theatre Trust was seen as ‘the only viable and commercially sustainable option’, describing them as a ‘strong application’. These documents also state that with this takeover, there will come the creation of a new company, Mayflower Academy Limited, which will run the theatre in Guildhall Square. This new company will be supported by the wider company of The Mayflower Theatre.
With the takeover occurring, this venue in the centre of the city’s cultural quarter is assumed to receive a renovation and makeover. Although, it is unsure how many jobs will be made.
