Festival Theatre, 13 - 29 Nicolson Street, Edinburgh, Scotland - Formerly Ducrow's / Dunedin Hall / Music Hall / first Alhambra / Queens / Hippodrome / Empire Palace / Moss's Varieties

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Festival Theatre, 13 - 29 Nicolson Street, Edinburgh, Scotland

Formerly Ducrow's / Dunedin Hall / Music Hall / first Alhambra / Queens / Hippodrome / Empire Palace / Moss's Varieties

Edinburgh Index

The Festival Theatre, 13 - 29 Nicolson Street Edinburgh

Above - The Festival Theatre, 13 - 29 Nicolson Street Edinburgh

The site where the Festival theatre now stands has been home to theatrical entertainment since the 1820s. Originally there were a series of Circus venues on the site, one being Ducrow's, Then a series of Music Halls; The first Alhambra, Queen's, Hippodrome. In 1892 the Empire Palace was built by Frank Matcham.

Left - Empire Palace Programme 1897 - Click for details.

Right - Bill Advertising Arthur Lloyd at the Music Hall Edinburgh with Two Hours Genuine Fun - Click for more information.

The Empire Palace was demolished in 1928 and a new Theatre was built by W. and T.R. Milburn. More recently the stage house and front of house were demolished and the Festival Theatre, incorporating the 1928 auditorium, with a seating capacity of 1913, was constructed around the shell. M. L. 2003

Auditorium of the Festival Theatre, Edinburgh in 1999 - Courtesy Ted Bottle

Above - Auditorium of the Festival Theatre, Edinburgh in 1999 - Courtesy Ted Bottle

Arthur Lloyd is known to have performed here 1872, 1879, 1886

Music hall began in the capital in 1861 when stockbroker Wm. Paterson took over the Dunedin Hall. He transformed the structure which had housed circuses into the Alhambra Music Hall, but within a year the property was deemed unsafe and closed. Undeterred at this rebuff, Paterson opened his new Alhambra on the opposite side of Nicolson Street. Renamed Royal Princess, it failed to pay its way and petered out in 1886 to be revived as the La Scala cinema in 1912.

Left - Edinburgh Empire programme 1925 - Click for details

Along the road, Charles Hengler literally folded his tent to house the Southminster Music Hall as a circus in 1863. Gutted by fire in 1875, it was rebuilt as the Queen's Theatre with J. B. Howard, who was to found the Howard & Wyndham theatrical enterprises, in control until 1880 when James Newsomes' Hippodrome and Circus emerged on the site destined to house Britain's first Empire Theatre twelve years later.

The Scotish Music Hall 1880 - 1990 by J. H. Littlejohn.

Click here for an article on this site by Donald Auty on the Empire, Edinburgh.

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