Former home of parliament to be year-round theatre venue

The former home of the Scottish Parliament is set to be transformed into a year-round theatre venue.

The 19th century General Asssembly Hall, which hosts the annual Church of Scotland summit on The Mound, sssembly Hall, will host plays on a regular basis if a pilot next month is successful.

The Old Town landmark will host its first production outwith the Fringe after promoters Assembly Festival joined forces with two of Scotland’s leading theatre companies.

The 840-capacity venue is also being lined up for several other productions which would be staged in early summer. The building was used as a temporary home for the Scottish Parliament for several years until the Holyrood complex was completed.

Assembly Festival operates one year-round venue, the Roxy, in a former church on Roxburgh Place and wants to run shows year-round in another Fringe venue, Checkpoint, on Bristo Place.

Assembly Festival has joined forces with Grid Iron and Stellar Quines to stage the premiere of a brand new musical comedy - Bingo! - at the venue on The Mound. Although a temporary stage which is being installed will be removed to make way for the Kirk’s annual gathering in May, some equipment, such as the lighting rig, will remain.

William Burdett-coutts, artistic director of Assembly Festival, said: “It’s a fantastic building and it’s been a wonderful space for us during the Edinburgh Festival.

“If it has the potential to be used throughout the year it makes sense to try to do more with it. It has all the benefits of a big space but is also intimate.” 0 William Burdett-coutts says it is a fantastic building