SPOTLIGHT ON…Pleasance Theatres
Photo credits: Rebecca Wallis
Hi Besties! Today’s Spotlight article is taking you all the way up to Scotland!
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is well known for many iconic venues, or to be more specific, many iconic sets of venues. If you have visited the festival, chances are that you have seen at least one show at an Underbelly venue, decorated most likely in purple, or a Gilded Balloon venue, decked in pink, a Space venue in blue, an Assembly venue dressed in red, a Greenside venue in green, or indeed a Pleasance venue in its bright yellow tones. And today, we are talking about all things yellow, all things Pleasance!
Pleasance has a total of 26 venues across the Fringe; from the smallest, the Cellar, with its 42-person capacity, all the way up to the Lennox with its capacity of 1,300, across its three spaces - The Pleasance Dome, Pleasance Courtyard and Pleasance at the EICC (Edinburgh International Conference Centre). These many venues play host to a variety of different shows across the festival, from comedy and magic to theatre and dance.
The Pleasance Dome sits nestled in a hub of activity at the Fringe, Underbelly venues to one side, Gilded Balloon to the other, and only a few minutes away from the busy Assembly George Square Gardens. With the Queen Dome and King Dome, both with a capacity of 174, the Ace Dome (capacity 110), the 10 Dome (capacity 86) and the Jack Dome (capacity 75), this beautiful venue also hosts great bars and cafes along with its much-loved outdoor plaza.
If you fancy a stroll through some of Edinburgh’s beautiful streets and grabbing a glimpse of the stunning castle from below along the way, the Edinburgh International Conference Centre stands about 25 minutes away from the Royal Mile, and this venue plays host to some of the Fringe’s bigger capacity shows. From the Lomond, with its capacity of 375 and flexible stage size, and the Pentland with a maximum capacity of 1,200 to the Lennox, these grand spaces host various shows throughout the venue, including those more technical that need a more permanent theatre set up than some of the other Fringe venues.
The Pleasance Courtyard is considered by many to be the very heart of the Fringe, with its famous cobblestone venue entertaining festival audiences since 1985. Described as “the centre of the cultural universe” by the Scotsman, the courtyard hosts 18 different venues: the Grand with its capacity of 750, the Beyond (capacity 336), the One (capacity 299), the Forth (capacity 257), the cabaret bar (capacity 170), the Two (capacity 158), the Above (capacity 146), the Beneath (capacity 102), the Beside (capacity 95), Upstairs (capacity 91), the Baby Grand (capacity 66), the Green (capacity 60), Bunker Two (capacity 56), Bunker One (capacity 56), the Below (capacity 55), The Attic (capacity 50), Bunker Three (capacity 46) and the Cellar (capacity 42).
Away from the performance spaces, the venue also hosts multiple bars, a café, a family friendly kids game with games and crafts, and multiple food outlets from pizza, burgers and toasted sandwiches to the famous Mimi’s little bakehouse (the best brownies around), and tea and coffee.
When it’s not being used for the festival, the Courtyard remains a key venue as an Edinburgh University hub for students and public events, with the cabaret bar hosting weekly comedy acts and live music.
You can check what’s currently showing at Pleasance venues and buy tickets by clicking here.
