One of Aberdeen’s most recognisable signs has been placed back on the facade of His Majesty’s Theatre after being restored over lockdown.
The Rosemount Viaduct landmark had been looking a bit worse for wear over the past few years, with some letters missing and the remaining ones losing their brassy shine.
But the closure of the theatre over the past year and a half provided the perfect opportunity to spruce it up – and the newly reinstated sign even has a smaller carbon footprint than its predecessor.
The old neon light strips behind the letters have been replaced with more modern LED versions, which are more eco-friendly, easier to control, and longer-lasting.
Greig Dempster, the chief electrician at HMT, said: “Our iconic His Majesty’s Theatre sign needed a bit of TLC, so our technical team here at the theatre carefully took down each letter, replaced all the light fittings, installed a new control system and polished each one to a beautiful shine.
“Not only are the new LED lights brighter, they are more energy efficient and the new controller means the sign can be switched off late at night to help save power too.”
The revamp was completed just in time for the reopening of the theatre for the first time since March last year, earlier this month.
Students from Aberdeen University were the first people to tread the historic boards at HMT in 18 months, when their show Freezin opened on September 14.
The performance was made even more special by the fact it was the 100th anniversary of the Aberdeen Student Show, and P&J reviewer Scott Begbie described it as “bright, boisterous and fun“.
Coming up next at the category A-listed theatre, which will turn 115 years old in December, is Gene Kelly’s ballet Starstruck.
People can catch the Scottish Ballet production between October 7 and 9.