Interview: artistic director Lu Kemp on what’s in store at the newly renovated Perth Theatre

Come out of the main entrance of Perth Concert Hall, turn right along Mill Street, walk a couple of hundred yards; and there, in less than a fortnight now – at the heart of what’s becoming Perth’s “cultural quarter” – you’ll find a welcoming new entrance to Perth Theatre, set to reopen after almost four years of loving and imaginative redevelopment. The beautiful, jewel-like Edwardian auditorium is still there, carefully restored to all its 1901 glory with the help of craftsmen from the Perth area, as is its lovely canopied entrance from the High Street; and in December, the theatre will play host in time-honoured style to the annual Perth Christmas pantomime, a no-holds-barred version of Aladdin starring inimitable dame Barrie Hunter.