AN array of Scottish acting talent will tonight launch a fundraising campaign to finance National Theatre of Scotland's new headquarters.

Actors Blythe Duff, Ian McDiarmid, Greg Hemphill, Julie Wilson Nimmo and Lorraine McIntosh are spearheading the drive to raise funds for the building in Speirs Wharf in the north of Glasgow.

The well-known faces from theatre, television and film have all worked with the company since it was founded in 2006, and Broadway star Alan Cumming will provide the voiceover for a film marking the launch of the campaign.

Building work on the site is due to begin this month, with the total estimated project cost £6.475 million, including the sum of £4.579million already secured. It means for the first time the theatre company - nicknamed the "theatre without walls" - will have a proper base.

"We have the opportunity to create a space where we can bring together our company, our collaborators and all of our communities," said Laurie Sansom, artistic director of the National Theatre of Scotland.

"It will be a place of imagination, learning and play, not just for the National Theatre of Scotland but for the entire nation. We are already 70 per cent of the way towards our income target. Now, every pound we raise will reduce our on-going costs so that more of our funding can go directly into creating new work, developing new talent and engaging communities. It's a hugely exciting project and we're looking forward to people from across Scotland joining us on this journey."

Plans for the new building, designed by Hoskins Architects, were revealed earlier this year, as a unique and major resource for the company and Scotland's theatre industry.

To be called Rockvilla, in homage to the area's industrial and social heritage, it will provide 40,000 sqft (3700 square metres ) of space over two levels, with three rehearsal rooms of varying scales, creative development spaces, a learning and community suite, a working wardrobe facility, production workshop and technical store, office space, meeting room facilities and social areas.

More than 3,000 people including writers, artists, school students, teachers and community participants are expected to use the facility each year. The National Theatre of Scotland will make space available to emerging artists and small independent theatre companies.

The first documented use of the name Rockvilla was in an 1860 Ordnance Survey map, and it is likely it derives from the extensive quarrying industry that once existed in this area of Glasgow surrounding the canals. Several local buildings and establishments have borne the name Rockvilla, notably Rockvilla School (demolished in 1996) and Rockvilla Church, which still stands today on Saracen Street with its new name, Possilpark Parish Church and the wider area is referred to as Rockvilla Basin.

The National Theatre of Scotland is reclaiming the name as it takes up residence in this historic area and newly regenerated cultural quarter of the city, alongside organisations including The Whisky Bond, Scottish Opera and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

Also to be revealed tonight is a winning piece of design work by Glasgow-based Pidgin Perfect, based on the map of Scotland, to appear in the foyer area of Rockvilla.

Created from an ornate laser-cut sheet, the design features bespoke, translucent 'Beacons' will be placed near significant features in the Scottish landscape: cities, towns, geographical or areas of particular cultural interest.

The National Theatre of Scotland is inviting friends and supporters to light up their favourite part of Scotland by "buying a Beacon" in the new map. Each Beacon will represent a place chosen by a supporter.

The Beacons will be made from cast acrylic resin, creating an arresting, colourful and detailed constellation of support.

In its short life, National Theatre of Scotland become a globally significant theatrical player, with an extensive repertoire of award-winning work, including Black Watch, Macbeth and The James Plays.