Please note that information on this page applies to our in-person programme in Edinburgh.
C aurora – our premier city centre hub venue
Features
Our premier venue, C aurora features multiple performance spaces in one location, centred around a welcoming courtyard. Lauriston Halls and the Sacred Heart Church have long festival history, dating back to the earliest days of the Fringe. The main house seats 115-189 in end-on format, and up to 225 seats in thrust format, and offers a large stage and enhanced technical facilities. It is especially suited to for larger-scale theatre, dance, circus, musical theatre, music and children's shows. The flexible black box studio seats up to 50, and offers a choice of end-on, thrust, in-the-round, traverse, corner and cabaret layouts, and ideal for smaller-scale theatre, physical theatre, dance, music, cabaret, comedy, spoken word and storytelling. The ornate church space is ideal for music, choral works and site-specific theatre and performance, with options to perform in theatre format at the front of the nave to up to 300 audience, or in studio format in a flexible space at the rear of the nave for up to 50. The courtyard can be used for outdoor performances.
Location
C aurora is on Lauriston Street, just off West Port and Lauriston Place, close to the Grassmarket, West End, Lothian Road and Tolcross, offering easy access from all directions. There a café and bar in the courtyard. The venue is fully accessible for audience members.
Our popular Royal Mile venue at the Roman Eagle Lodge. One of the original Fringe venues, C aquila features the atmospheric 91-seat end-on temple, with wood-panelled auditorium and a popular end-on 54-seat studio. Both spaces have cabaret layout options.
Location
C aquila isC aquila is the top of Johnston Terrace, opposite the international Festival Hub at the junction with Lawnmarket/Castlehill, close to our C alto< venue, with easy access from the High Street, the Mound/George IV Bridge, Victoria Street and the Grassmarket. There is a bar in the foyer. Access to performance spaces is by stairs (seated chairlift available).
C alto – our new Victoria Terrace venue with multiple spaces
Features
Our newest venue, in a distinctive building with a distinguished Fringe history, the Quaker Meeting House on Victoria Terrace, C alto has multiple performance spaces. The theatre is a classically-proportioned mid-sized end-on space with raked seating. The atmospheric studio offers a choice of thrust, traverse, in-the-round, corner, end-on and cabaret layouts. The library provides an exhibition space and digital performance screening. The venue is ideal for mid-sized and smaller-scale theatre, dance, physical theatre, musical theatre, music, cabaret, comedy, spoken word and storytelling.
Location
C alto has a unique setting above Victoria Street, one of Edinburgh’s most iconic streets, easily accessible from the Royal Mile and the Grassmarket, and very close to C aquila. The venue entrance is from Victoria Terrace, with level access from the Royal Mile at Lawnmarket/Johnston Terrace via Upper Bow, level access from the upper part of Victoria Street and George IV Bridge, and stepped access from the lower part of Victoria Street. There is a café at the Victoria Terrace level. The venue has level access to all floors via a passenger lift.
C cubed – historic Royal Mile venue with flexible space
Features
Our Royal Mile venue at the Celtic Lodge, Brodie's Close, C cubed is one of the original Festival venues in an atmospheric 16th century building. The main space is a versatile flexible format black box theatre with raked seating for up to 79, offering thrust, in-the-round, and traverse formats, and an end-on studio format option, with varying stage sizes for up to 59 seats (52 as standard). All formats can have a cabaret layout option.
Location
C cubed is on the Lawnmarket (Royal Mile), close to the International Festival Hub and Fringe Office, close to C aquila. There is a courtyard, café and bar. Accessible via stairs only.
We welcome applications from site-specific, site-responsive, and found-space shows, from immersive and installation performance, from promenade performance and street theatre. We regularly programme work into found spaces within our existing venues, and our programme has featured shows performed in spaces as diverse as castles and other historic places, attics and cellars, a hairdressing salon, a bus, a toilet, churchyards, car parks, gardens, and the closes and courtyards of the Old Town. We can assist with finding site-specific locations, or with licensing and managing locations already identified.
New venues/other options
New venues can become available at any time, and some of our venue and spaces can be reconfigured according to need, so if you are looking for a format or capacity not listed, please get in touch, as we may be able to help.
