External works on Garrison should be finished in coming weeks
EXTERNAL maintenance works on the Garrison Theatre in Lerwick should be completed by the end of March.
A meeting of Shetland Charitable Trust – which owns the historic C-listed building – heard last week that some internal works and electrics would then follow.
Figures showed that in the nine months to 31 December 2025 the trust had spent around £270,460 in total on building maintenance.
Maintenance work has been ongoing for a number of months on the Garrison, which ultimately caused the cancellation of the annual pantomime.
The work includes a new slate roof and guttering.
The charitable trust said in September when the panto was cancelled that strict safety standards meant a new scaffolding framework would need to be designed by consultants and erected.
The trust had said it hoped that scaffolding could be cleared from around the fire exits temporarily to allow safe access for the panto, but this did not come to fruition.
Islesburgh Drama Group instead hosted a shorter ‘pop-up panto’ in the Mareel auditorium.
The annual Shetland Drama Festival, due to take place next month, has also been moved from its usual venue at the Garrison to Mareel.
The Garrison was built in 1903 as a drill hall and gym for the local volunteer soldiers of the Gordon Highlanders before converting into a theatre in the 1940s.
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