ED2014 News ED2014 Week0 Edition

Greenside extends with new Nicolson Square venue

By Chris Cooke | Published on Friday 18 July 2014

Some have called the Greenside venue on the Royal Terrace behind Calton Hill one of the secret gems of the Edinburgh Fringe, though it’s not an especially well kept secret, given that the operation has garnered a sizeable loyal following within the Festival community over the years.

But being situated away from both the Bristo Square hub of the Fringe and the recently resurgent George Street festival zone, Greenside isn’t necessarily a place you’ll stumble across by mistake while rushing from one central venue to another. Until now. Because the Greenside team are about to open for business at a second location for the first time, and it’s on Nicolson Square right next to all that Bristo Square busy-ness. Which should introduce the set-up to a whole new audience, who may then also be tempted to the original Greenside venue back on Royal Terrace.

“We never wanted to rush into finding a new space”, Greenside director Tara Kilbourne tells ThreeWeeks, “we knew that any new location had to be ‘right’. The list of essentials when finding a new venue is never ending and we looked at countless spaces before finally coming across what was then a building site on Nicolson Square, a methodist church that was undergoing a million pound refurbishment. But even with the scaffolding, builders everywhere and a constant buzz of drills we knew we’d found the right space”.

“We are so excited to finally be able to share with everyone this cracking new venue” says Kilbourne’s co-Director, Darren Neale, of the space that will now be known during August as Greenside @ Nicolson Square. “Where to start. It’s in an amazing location, right in the heart of the Festival just seconds away from BBC @ Potterow and Bristo Square. The refurbishment has recently been completed so the space is quite literally gleaming. Glass fronted elevators, the beautiful Well Cafe, outdoor seating areas and two outstanding performances spaces that, we think, makes this one of the most exciting new venues at the Festival”.

Kilbourne and Neale have adopted the same programming approach to their new building as with the old, though with three stages now at their disposal they were able to include significantly more shows in the schedule. “We are proud to be an ‘open programming’ venue”, Kilbourne says. “We think that’s the way the Fringe was intended, so you will find everything at our venues from Fringe Virgins to Fringe Veterans, professionals, students groups and acts from all over the globe. We think our open programming philosophy helps create a diverse, eclectic and vibrant Fringe Programme”.

Neither director wanted to be drawn into the messy task of picking out one or two shows from their 2014 programme for special tipping, with Neale instead insisting that the Greenside programme “covers every area”. He concluded: “We really think we have the sort of programme which means you can start with us at 9am and leave at midnight seeing the best of Fringe talent under one roof”.

LINKS: www.greensidevenue.co.uk