$500,000 funding boost given to Halifax's Neptune Theatre

Halifax MP Andy Fillmore pulled out a $20 bill and a toonie out of his pocket Wednesday morning in a newly renovated section of Neptune Theatre, for which the federal government helped pay.

The cash topped up Ottawa'slatest funding for the theatre to an even $500,000.

"Professional artists and performers need to have modern and efficient cultural spaces to present their work to audiences," said Fillmore.

Halifax's Neptune Theatre just completed a two-year, $5.3-million renovation.The federal government had previouslyannounced $1 million in funding for the theatre on Argyle Street in January 2016.

New, larger seats were brought in and improvements were made in many other parts of the building, including the foyer.

"It allows Neptune Theatre, as an organization and as a building, to keep up to date with the things that we need to make the audience'slives more comfortable," said Neptune's artistic director Jeremy Webb.

That meant the theatre was in dire need of an update to its technology.

"There were some quieter spotsor what we refer to as dead spotsin the theatre, both in terms of sound and lighting," said Rebecca Hiltz LeBlanc, president of theNeptune Theatre Foundation's board of directors. "Now the sound is incredible throughout the theatreno matter what seat you are in, and the same for the lighting as well."

Hiltz LeBlanc said she is very excited about the direction the theatre is taking.

Neptune Theatre is hoping for a big year, she said, now that the renovations are complete and the construction on the new Argyle Street landscape and the nearby Halifax Convention Centre isalso finished.