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Edinburgh Festival Theatre
13/29 Nicolson Street Edinburgh EH8 9FT |
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King's Theatre
2 Leven Street Edinburgh EH3 9QL |
Click on the links below to find out about the relevant issue opposite.
About the History of the Edinburgh Festival Theatre ...
Since 1830, the Nicolson Street locale has been the longest continuous theatre site in Edinburgh - over the course sixty years it was Dunedin Hall, the Royal Amphitheatre, Alhambra Music Hall, Queen's Theatre and Newsome's Circus.
On this site on 7 November 1892, Edward Moss opened the doors of his magnificent Empire Palace Theatre, built by Frank Matcham, seating 3000 theatregoers on four plush levels. On 9 May 1911 there was a disastrous fire on stage, started when the illusionist Lafayette accidentally ignited a stage drape with a lighted torch. The stage was rebuilt in three months but by 1927 the Empire decided to brace itself for the threat of the talkies by equipping itself for bigger shows.
A new Empire Theatre was designed and reconstructed by the brothers W & T R Milburn and opened on 1 October 1928. From 1928 to 1963 the Empire was a variety, musical and opera house, and from 1946 to 1963 acted as one of the main venues for the Edinburgh International Festival.
The site of the current Edinburgh Festival Theatre was extended to create the largest stage of any presenting house in Britain, at the time, reopening in June 1994. The auditorium is a wonderful restoration of the Empire Theatre's former 1928 glory and is a dramatic mix of art nouveau, beaux arts and neo-classicism, encompassing perfect acoustics within a parlour-like intimacy.
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