The hopes and fears of a 232-year-old theatre

The Theatre Royal in Dumfries first opened to the public in 1792

The Theatre Royal in Dumfries has had its trials and tribulations since it opened in 1792.

Proudly described as Scotland's oldest working theatre, it is not immune to the double-whammy of rising running costs and reduced funding hitting the sector.

Director Mark Alexander has been running the site for the Guild of Players for about a decade.

He is an optimist by nature but admits this has been a concerning time for the 232-year-old venue.

Mark Alexander has been director of the Theatre Royal for nearly a decade

"I'd say everybody in the arts in the region is worried," he admitted.

"We do actually get two-thirds of our income from the box office, although most of that goes on the acts we're booking.

"But we still rely on grants for a third and they're becoming increasingly difficult to get."

He said that created an "awful lot of uncertainty" as they wait to hear the result of applications for support which he has a "horrible suspicion" might not provide as much as they hope.

The Moat Brae children's literature centre had to close recently due to poor footfall and rising costs

Dumfries lost its main cinema in the summer of 2018 due to "ongoing issues" with its site close to the Theatre Royal.

More recently, the Moat Brae children's literature centre shut due to rising costs and low visitor numbers.

Mr Alexander said any reduction in funding would be a blow.

"I hope we'd survive it but it would make life difficult," he said.

"But there are other organisations here I think would definitely go under."

Ticket sales are said to be "generally very good" at the theatre

He said that was an issue for Dumfries because "the more tourist attractions and cultural things there are to do, the more the town can regenerate".

He said ticket sales at the theatre were "generally very good" and he hoped it still had a good future ahead having survived previous threats to its existence.

"The Guild of Players saved this place from being a car park in the 1960s," he said.

"Dumfries and Galloway is not heavily populated, so we are about the right size with our 200-seat main house and 60-seat studio."

He said keeping ticket prices relatively low meant it was cheaper than travelling to the central belt to see a performance.

They have also done what they can to keep costs down.

"At the peak, we were paying about four times more for electricity and gas," said Mr Alexander.

"It's come down again - a bit."

They are also "quite green" in terms of recycling materials but their acts still have to pay for transport, accommodation and fuel which, in turn, makes it harder for the theatre to make a profit.

The director said they were constantly working to ensure more people attended the events they put on.

"We've got a very loyal base with about 15,000 people through the door last year," he said.

However, he admitted there were still people who did not realised they had reopened after refurbishment a decade ago.

They are always working to address that and have a busy programme of events coming up which they hope will provide "something for everyone" in the run up to Christmas and beyond.

Because people buying tickets is one way the historic building can hope to avoid the fate met by the cinema and Moat Brae.