Car park venue really is the fringe...
Edinburgh Festival Fringe operators have revealed the first image of a major new “Covid-secure” venue which will transform the roof of a car park below the castle rock.
New details of the venue, which will be open from August 6-30, have been released after Gilded Balloon, Zoo, Traverse and Dancebase secured funding from the Scottish Government and Edinburgh City Council for the joint venture.
Comedy, theatre, dance, family, music and poetry performances will be staged at “Multistory”, which will have a capacity of 136 under the current government distancing guidelines.
Multistory, which is being supported with £230,696 in public funding, will have a food and drink village on the second-top floor of the car park, with local businesses affected by the pandemic being promoted.
A host of other Covid safety measures will be in place, including mask-wearing, cleaning, hand sanitizing, contactless e-tickets and regular testing of staff and performers.
A spokeswoman said: “With views over Edinburgh’s historic castle, this new festival hub will bring together a group of mainstays of the Fringe, as the sector begins to recover from the pandemic.”
Zoo’s artistic director James Mackenzie said: “Our mission has always been to support the best artists to bring their work to the Fringe and showcase it in the best way possible, and we’re glad to be continuing this with some new collaborators.”
Gilded Balloon’s artistic directors Katy and Karen Karen said: “We’re excited to create a unique, safe outdoor performance hub.”
Traverse executive producer Linda Crooks said: “We’re thrilled to be able to offer our audiences a new performance experience as a result of our innovative collaboration with Gilded balloon, zoo and dance Base.”
Donald Wilson, the council’s culture convener, said: “With Multistory, we can all look forward to a programme where audiences can once again safely share in live performance experiences in this new outdoor venue.”
The creation of Multistory, which will take over the top two floors of the NCP car park at Castle Terrace, will effectively extend Edinburgh’s official cultural quarter, which includes the Filmhouse cinema, the Usher Hall, and the Royal Lyceum and Traverse theatres during this year’s festival.
Gilded Balloon, Dance Base and the Traverse are also planning to stage shows at their main indoor venues in August. Other venues returning include George Square Gardens, where Underbelly and Assembly will be staging shows, Bristo Square, which will be operated by Underbelly, and Pleasance Courtyard.
BBC Scotland has also revealed it will creating a brand new pop-up venue in the grounds of Edinburgh University’s High School Yards building. Audiences will be able to attend live broadcasts featuring festival performers between 9am and 11pm for three weeks.
A spokeswoman for BBC Scotland said: “We’re delighted to have a base again for the Edinburgh festivals this year.”