The Arches Opens its Doors: 1990-1994

The Arches officially opened for business as an arts venue in May 1991. The building had originally been converted as a temporary exhibition centre for European City of Culture celebrations in 1990 and some theatre was performed as part of the exhibition’s events. The exhibition, Glasgow's Glasgow, ended in November 1990 and the building was returned to a bare, empty space. In early 1991, theatre director, Andy Arnold, took on the lease in his own name and produced two theatre shows for Mayfest, the now defunct Glasgow arts festival. The shows were Noise and Smoky Breath - a devised piece based on a book of Glasgow poems and songs - and the Scottish premiere of Sexual Perversity in Chicago. A few months later, Arches Theatre was formally established as a registered company and non profit making charity - Andy has been its Artistic Director ever since.

The building was very damp and cold in those days and there was practically no public funding available to contribute to running costs, let alone sort out any building repairs. The feeling was that the enterprise would last only a few months before a commercial developer, night club impresario, or even car parking company would move in to take on the lease. However, an incredible energy immediately enveloped this new arts venue and all who got involved with it. A constant stream of events of all types were instigated. Arches Theatre Company produced a stream of work including absurd and irreverent theatre productions like Richard's Cork Leg and Purple Dust and site specific work like The Crucible, Caligari, and Metropolis: The Theatre Cut, which was staged throughout the whole building with a cast of 100 actors and musicians. A new theatrical night club began, Café Loco with cabaret mayhem, Mischief La Bas, Gods of Glam, Stereo MCs, Scottish Sex Pistols, and the like every Saturday night, together with the forerunner of today's Pressure - the now legendary Friday Night with Slam. Exhibitions and visitor attractions were set up to occupy the largely derelict top half of the building and included Dinosaurs Alive, The Iron Bru Pop Video Exhibition, and an event which quickly acquired cult status - Alien War.

During the first few years, four full time staff were employed, the bar was run by a local publican and any furniture was begged, stolen or permanently borrowed from the likes of Tramway and other public buildings, where old chairs and tables were unearthed from their basements. We felt like squatters in those days - artists and performers claiming an extraordinary home while always feeling that we were living on borrowed time - waiting for the bailiffs to arrive.