You can name new Arts Guild

The showpiece facility is currently being built on Greenock’s waterfront and will replace the town’s historic Arts Guild Theatre.

It will boast a 500-seat main auditorium together with a 130-capacity studio theatre, plus rehearsal rooms and a riverside café/bar.

First Minister Alex Salmond, above, and actress-comedienne Dorothy Paul were in town recently to kick off construction work, right, - and now you can get involved in the naming of the spectacular venue.

Helen Doherty, a director of the Arts Guild, said: “We are looking for people to give us names and ideas to consider and I’m sure they will come up with a few gems to inspire us.

“The Arts Guild Theatre was founded in 1946 by a group of local enthusiasts who wanted to provide a place where the arts could flourish with professional and amateur visiting groups.

“Since the beginning it has been serving the local community and now, many years later, it remains at the heart of the arts in Inverclyde.

“With this history, we feel it is essential to reach out to our current patrons and those we hope to attract with our new programme at this exciting new venue for Inverclyde.” All the names submitted will be sifted through and will help give Guild bosses some ideas as they take the naming process forward.

Marketing experts will be involved too and it is hoped the name for the facility will be announced in November.

Helen said: “We’d like as many people as possible to contact us with their thoughts or suggestions.

“Nothing is ruled out and it’s still possible that the name for the centre could be the Arts Guild.” There are a number of ways to suggest a name for the new centre.

A suggestion box has been set up at the Arts Guild where you can put your idea forward and you can join in via their Facebook page or by email.

Simply visit www.artsguildtheatre.co.uk and follow the appropriate link.

The deadline for suggestions is Wednesday 29 September.