NEWS: Nuffield Southampton Theatres to reopen after Mayflower Theatre Trust take venues over.

Nuffield Southampton Theatres venue to reopen following takeover by Mayflower Theatre Trust

Southampton's Nuffield Southampton Theatres' city venue will reopen under new management and with a new name, it has been revealed.

The Studio 144 building, which housed a variety of spaces, will look at welcoming visitors from next Spring after a takeover was approved this week.

Following arrangements by the Southampton City Council, plans for a new 35-year lease and a grant of £511,250, paid over two years to new company Mayflower Academy Limited, have been announced. The Mayflower Theatre Trust (of which Mayflower Academy is now a part) will oversee the space, which will include a 450-seat theatre. The venue will be renamed MAST (Mayflower Studios).

Former operators of the building, the Nuffield Southampton Theatres Trust, had permanently closed after falling into administration earlier this year. Eighty-six people lost their jobs as a result of the closure.

Mayflower Theatre Trust already oversees the city's landmark Mayflower Theatre, a much larger space than the former venues owned by NST.