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Dateline: 20th April, 2005 Save the Garage Campaign Launched Edinburgh's Garage Theatre in Grindlay Court has closed. Best known outside of Edinburgh for being used as a venue during the Fringe, it has also been used by the Lyceum Youth Theatre for performances, by the children's theatre festival Imaginate and by numerous small companies as both a performance and rehearsal space. The Netherbow Theatre on the Royal Mile, another year-round and Fringe venue, is also closed, and the Church Hill Theatre, mainly used by amateur groups and as the American High School Showcase during the Fringe, is to close shortly for refurbishment, and Edinbugh University wants to sell the Bedlam Theatre. All of which, according to John Naples-Campbell, director Music Theatre Scotland, a young company in Edinburgh, means that small unfunded companies wishing to showcase work have very few places to go. "As the city with the biggest arts festival in the world," he asks, "why is it that companies are finding it hard to find performance space the other eleven months of the year? Edinburgh has many interesting theatre spaces that are mainly used by funded or comercial theatre companies but what it is lacking is small venues for small companies who are wanting to showcase their new work or work that fits into their mission. "One of these small venues has now been closed down. The Garage Theatre, just of Grindly Street, has been used by many theatre groups and was a busy fringe venue. It was a vibrant space where comapnies could showcase new work. So why was it closed? It was being used, and with the Netherbow Theatre and the Churchill Theatre out of action where else can small theatre companies perform? "The Garage Theatre Campaign aims to highlight the lack of performance space in the city and show that companies need spaces like the Garage to help produce work that isn't comercial or funded. We need the Garage theatre back to help these companies and make the Edinburgh Theatre scene a more thriving place to be a part of!" Steve Small, former director of the Lyceum Youth Theatre, agrees. "The Garage is a wonderful small scale theatre that has been used over the last few years in a wide variety of ways by the Lyceum Youth Theatre as a performance space," he said. "Let's keep this small flexible, accessible space open and busy!" Scottie Anderson, moderator of the SCOTS-NITS email group, added, "Funding an experimental space at low or no cost should be a must for every major city in Scotland. The alternative is a stagnant industry with nowhere for emerging talent to practice outside the education sector." The Garage Theatre is owned by Edinburgh City Council and is in the Grindlay Court Centre which was a base for adults with learning difficulties. The centre was closed at the end of 2003, although the theatre spaces were used during the 2004 Fringe. Anyone interested in supporting the campaign should contact John Naples-Campbell. Please note that all three Archive indices are very long and will therefore take some time to download.
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