LAST week’s Thanks for the Memories article on the history of the Citizens Theatre prompted a flurry of warm responses from readers.

It seems the Gorbals institution has a place in the hearts of many who have worked and performed there, as well as those who love to visit.

One of the loveliest memories came from actor and writer Martin McCardie, who is currently a producer on BBC drama River City,

“I acted in the Citz on a few occasions, and the most memorable time by far was when I was doing Riders to the Sea and The Tinkers Wedding by JM Synge in 1993 in the Circle Studio,” he recalls.

“My wife, actress Maureen Carr, was heavily pregnant and overdue, so I got a call to go to the hospital where she was being induced.

“Later in the afternoon, our daughter was born, and then I had to rush back to the Citz to do the two plays.”

He adds: “Riders to the Sea is about grief and death, but even though I was supposed to be sad, I still couldn't really hide the beaming smile on my face.”

He laughs: “Actor Sandy Welch announced at the end of the play that my daughter had just been born that afternoon, so that's why his “sad son was grinning like an idiot” throughout the performance, and the audience joined in with a terrific round of applause.”

Martin’s daughter Erin worked front of house at the Citz when she was a teenager, and has since gone on to act in a variety of performances.

He explains: “Erin and her mum both appeared on the Citz main stage in the NTS production of If Men Should Weep, which is a nice postscript to the story!

“The Citizens Theatre is a special place.”

Actor Charlie Archer, who starred in the Noel Coward play Hayfever at the Citizens, agrees.

“The Citizens is my favourite theatre in the country to play, because of its energetic, playful audiences, because of the beauty of the space itself and its history, and because of its ability to bring people in who might not usually spend an evening at the theatre,” he says.

“Initiatives like the 50p tickets are fantastic, I wish there were more of them around the country. They make every performance at the Citz memorable.”

He adds: “I can’t wait to see what they achieve with the new building project and to see the next chapter in this wonderful theatre’s story unfold.”

Campbell Mitchell, 52, who is from Kelvingbridge, says he has the Citizens to thank for a “brilliant theatrical education.”

“They did very cheap schoolchildren tickets in the Seventies and Eighties, so I used to cycle over the bridge and see just about everything,” he recalls.

“It was an incredibly broad education for a teenager and the sort of experience that would cost a fortune in London, but in Glasgow, all paid for easily out of pocket money and dishwasher wages.”

Campbell adds: “I remember proudly telling my ancient English teacher that I’d seen Hamlet, which we were studying, performed by TAG at the Citz the night before.

“He had an apoplectic fit when I told him the play had been performed as a love story between Hamlet and Horatio….

“I loved the place and I still do.”

Ken Lawton, a member of East Kilbride Repertory Theatre Club, is also a big fan.

“EK Rep has had to call on the Citizens’ props department for assistance on a few occasions over our 50 plus years in existence,” he laughs.

“They came to the rescue when we needed prams for The Steamie a few years ago – and once, when we needed a pregnancy bump for an actor!

“We are eternally grateful to them – it is always service with a smile at the Citz.”

Ken adds: “I am looking forward to the refurbishment because they will be protecting the Victorian under stage equipment and especially the paint frame.

“There are not many theatres which can boast of that, or of the Corsican trap, a complicated piece of equipment that creates a particular visual illusion.

“Under the stage at the Citizens you can see the scouring marks on the wall left by the massive mechanism of the trap which was to the front of the stage.”

Ken adds: “EK Rep is lucky to have such a close relationship with a theatre like the Citz – and Glasgow is very lucky to have it in the city.”

Do you have memories of the Citz? Email ann.fotheringham@heraldandtimes.co.uk