Festival reveals line-up for theatre reborn after decades of neglect
Ten days of arts and music events to be held in Art Deco Leith venue
It was built for the people of Leith after the town’s controversial amalgamation into Edinburgh, nearly destroyed by a war-time bomb blast and played host to the likes of AC/ DC, Thin Lizzy, Kraftwerk and Mott the Hoople in its heyday.
But the Art Deco Leith Theatre building has lain empty for the best part of three decades after falling into disrepair, despite previously hosting flagship events for the Edinburgh International Festival.
Now the historic building is about to burst back into life, with a ten-day festival featuring everything from rock, jazz, rap and pop acts to theatre, visual arts, film screenings and spoken word performances.
It is hoped the Hidden Door Festival, which will run from 26 May to 4 June, will be the launchpad for a long-term drive to turn the building into a year-round cultural hub.
The Ferry Road venue will be opened to the public every day until 6pm, with allticket events being staged each evening. Long-neglected nooks and crannies will be taken over by 31 artists.
Indie rockers Idlewild, Scottish Album of the Year winners Kathryn Joseph and Anna Meredith, site-specific theatre company Grid Iron, rapper and saxophonist Soweto Kinch, actor Tam Dean Burn and poet Jenny Lindsay will be among the artists performing.
The Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival, the Edinburgh Short Film Festival, the Africa in Motion film festival and The List magazine are also programming special events.
The line-up for the Hidden Door Festival, which is funded by arts agency Creative Scotland, has been announced two months after it emerged Leith- born author Irvine Welsh had agreed to spearhead efforts to secure a long-term future for the Leith Theatre.
Around £250,000 is needed to allow year-round performances to be staged in the building – it will also need around £10 million worth of improvements to bring its 1,500-capacity auditorium up to modernday standards.
David Martin, creative director of the Hidden Door Festival, said: “Edinburgh is a city busy with festivals but Hidden Door opens up new spaces for artists and creative talent to bring something new to the mix, celebrating innovation and experimentation in the arts.
“People may think that Edinburgh doesn’t have a lot of disused buildings, but they would be amazed at the secrets that are still there to be discovered. This year we have access to one of Edinburgh’s best-kept secrets.”