Nightingale Court deal comes to the aid of Lowry Theatre
Some theatre audiences are quicker to judge than others and the Government will hope that rubs off after revealing it is setting up a temporary court at the Lowry Theatre in Salford.
It is the first of three so-called Nightingale Courts that will open in the North West in the coming weeks amid mounting concern about the backlog of cases.
Venues in Liverpool and Chester will be announced shortly and become operational next month. The former magistrates’ court in Fleetwood was one of 10 temporary courts set up in the summer, although one in Hertfordshire has already closed.
Although the pandemic has worsened problems in the running of the criminal justice system, the case backlog predated the March lockdown.
The Lord Chancellor, Robert Buckland QC MP said: “We are beginning to see positive signs thanks to the hard work of everyone working in our system – with the number of outstanding cases in magistrates’ courts now falling as a result of the measures we have introduced.”
Judges based at The Lowry will hear civil, family and tribunal work as well as criminal cases starting from next Monday.
The deal will provide a much needed source of income for the art gallery and theatre.
Julia Fawcett, chief executive of The Lowry, said: “Like arts venues up and down the country, we simply cannot operate our building as normal in the current climate. And with no regular source of income since March, this partnership provides vital funds to enable us to relaunch our programme.”
The Ministry of Justice partnership supports the venue’s plans for Christmas with performances of the musical SIX and family production The Gruffalo set to go ahead in the venue’s Lyric Theatre. The galleries will also re-open at weekends in November, when the court will not be sitting.
