THEATRE managers say their venue is set to become a major cultural hub for the community.

Work on a £7.4m revamp of East Oxford’s Pegasus Theatre has now been completed, with the Magdalen Road venue looking to re-open on September 4.

And today the Oxford Mail was given an exclusive preview of what the new building has to offer.

New facilities include a state of the art dance studio, complete with sprung floor, floor to ceiling mirrors and a ballet barre, a large workshop which links directly to the stage, dressing rooms, café, new foyer and box office area, and offices above.

Project director Simon Daykin said: “Pegasus has been an iconic organisation for a long time. Its reputation has been very high and it has been doing fabulous work.

“With the help of our community – which raised £750,000 on top of the big grants – we have given it an iconic building to match its iconic status.

“This is what Pegasus deserves as an organisation that is well and truly at the forefront of the cultural map in the city and, indeed, the country.”

Mr Daykin said alongside rehearsals, performances and youth activities, parts of the building could be hired out to other groups for activities such as yoga, tai chi and toddlers’ sessions.

Theatre Marketing manager Gill Jaggers said: “We would like to see it become East Oxford’s cultural hub. We have tried to make the spaces as flexible as possible so they can be used for anything.

“If a knitting circle wanted to come here, why not?”

On June 3, the theatre will stage an event for thousands of people in Florence Park, Cowley, to launch the new season and tell people what they can expect from the new theatre.

It is hoped 500 people will sign up to events and activities at the Pegasus At The Park event.

And, during the week beginning June 17, families will have a chance to register their children for the first Oxford Youth Theatre activities scheduled for the new theatre.

The theatre plans to reopen on September 4 with a specially commissioned piece called Water’s Flight, which has been created by theatre professional and former youth theatre member Amantha Edmead.

Mr Daykin said: “Although this is a lovely clean, fresh building, we are not precious about it.

“It has to be functional, to evolve, and to be durable.

“We are not going to be wiping fingerprints off everything.”

fbardsley@oxfordmail.co.uk