TheGateway Theatre was aCategory C listed building inEdinburgh,Scotland, situated on Elm Row at the top ofLeith Walk.[1]
The building was purpose-built byGeorge Beattie and Sons in 1882 to accommodate W. Owen Williams' New Veterinary College[2][3] (not to be confused with theRoyal (Dick) Veterinary College, which is still extant, elsewhere in the city). The college had a statuary group of animals (one horse, one cow and one dog) over the entrance, carved byJohn Rhind which survived until the mid 20th century.[4]
In 1904, the College vacated the building, with a professor and eleven students relocating to the veterinary faculty atLiverpool.[5] The college buildings were sold to William Perry in 1908, who then applied for a roof to be built over the courtyard to create aroller-skating rink.[5]
Perry's rink did not last long and the building was converted again in 1910, by architect Ralph Pringle, into a cinema[2] known as Pringle's New Picture Palace.[5] It was also for a period in 1929-30 known as The Atmospheric.[6]
When the cinema closed in the 1930s, the building was used as a theatre by an amateur dramatics group.[7] During this time, it was known as Millicent Ward's Studio Theatre and the Festival Theatre, before being renamed the Broadway in 1938.[6] Shortly afterthe war, the premises were gifted to theChurch of Scotland. The Kirk appointed the Rev. George Candlish as director and formed its own repertory theatre company based in the venue.[7] The building re-opened as a theatre in 1946,[2][6] with seating for 542.[8]Sadie Aitken was appointed Theatre Manager and remained in that post until 1965. She was responsible for changing the name of the theatre to The Gateway.[6][9] It was a venue for the precursor of what would become theEdinburgh Festival Fringe, the world's largest arts festival,[10] hosting thePilgrim Players who performed twoT.S. Eliot plays,The Family Reunion andMurder in the Cathedral.[11]Robert Kemp'sLet Wives Tak Tent, a translation into Scots ofMolière'sL'École des femmes, was first performed at the Gateway in 1948.[12]
By 1953, the Church had handed the theatre over to an independent, professional theatre company, with Robert Kemp as Chairman of the Board.[7] The Kirk retained control of the front-of-house, the box office and the café.[13] The Edinburgh Gateway Company included many of Scotland's finest actors and actresses (Tom Fleming andLennox Milne were co-founders) and its repertoire included many plays by contemporary Scottish dramatists.[7] Between the years 1953 and 1965, this company produced 150 plays.[8][9] Molly MacEwen, who had designed the costumes forTyrone Guthrie'sEdinburgh International Festival production ofAne Satyre of the Thrie Estaites and the sets and costumes for Kemp'sLet Wives Tak Tent, both in 1948, was appointed as the company's designer.[13]
In 1958, the playwrightRobert McLellan claimed that the Gateway was the only theatre providing the dramatist writing authentically of Scottish life and character with actors accomplished in Scottish speech and a producer capable of guiding them.[14]
For the 1953-54 season, the company included Tom Fleming, Lennox Milne, Marjorie Dalziel, Michael Elder, Sheila Donald,John Young, George P. Davies,Ian MacNaughton, Rona Anderson, Sheila Prentice, Margaret Hilder, Kathryn Orr, Martin Heller and Anthony Howat. James "Gibbie" Gibson was producer. The plays staged wereThe Forrigan Reel byJames Bridie,An Inspector Calls byJ.B. Priestley,What Every Woman Knows byJ.M. Barrie,The Other Dear Charmer byRobert Kemp, an adaptation ofA Christmas Carol by Roger Weldon,Bunty Pulls the Strings byGraham Moffat,Hame by Albert Mackie,The Herald's Not for Sale by A.B. Paterson, the double-billRory Aforesaid andThe Glen is Mine by John Brandane,One Traveller Returns byMoray McLaren, andThe Heart is Highland by Robert Kemp.[9][15]
The company's Council resisted a bid by theEdinburgh International Festival's Director,Sir Ian Hunter, to take over the Gateway for the period of the Festival, choosing instead to mount its own productions during August. In August 1954, the company staged a repeat production of Kemp'sThe Other Dear Charmer, Meg Buchanan playing the maid in place of Marjorie Dalziel, and Marillyn Gray replacing Kathryn Orr in the role of Jenny Clow. The American theatre director Peter Potter joined the company as guest producer for the season, while James Gibson was working in London. The other plays staged in the 1954-55 season wereThe Dashing White Sargeant by Campbell Gairdner andRosamunde Pilcher,Meeting at Night by James Bridie,The Flouers o' Edinburgh by Robert McLellan,The Burning Glass byCharles Morgan,The World My Parish andFamily Circle by Robert J.B. Sellar,Rope byPatrick Hamilton,The Lass wi the Muckle Mou byAlexander Reid,Christmas in the Market Place byHenri Ghéon, andMarigold by Robert Kemp andCedric Thorpe Davie,Sheena by Albert D. Mackie,Mr. Gillie by James Bridie, andThe Laird o' Grippy by Robert Kemp, in whichJohn Laurie played the leading role.[9][15]
Mary Helen Donald, Norman Fraser, Brian Carey,Nell Ballantyne and Pamela Bain joined the company for the 1955-56 season. James Gibson rejoined the company as producer. Plays produced includedThe Conspirators andThe Scientific Singers by Robert Kemp,Waiting for Gillian byRonald Millar,Our Maggy by D. Heddle,Heather on Fire by Moray McLaren,Beneath the Wee Red Lums andBachelors Are Bold by Tim Watson,The Boy David by J.M. Barrie,Susie Tangles the Strings by Graham Moffat,Come to the Fair by Robert J.B. Sellar,Ghosts and Old Gold by Reid Kennedy, andJuno and the Paycock bySeán O'Casey.[9][15]
The Anatomist by James Bridie was the Festival production in August 1956. Christine Turnbull andRoddy McMillan joined the company during the 1956-57 season. Other productions includedThe Open by A.B. Paterson,Lucky Strike byMichael Brett,The Man Among the Roses by Robert Kemp,Tolka Row byMaura Laverty,Weir of Hermiston by Robert J.B. Sellar,Johnnie Jouk the Gibbet by Tim Watson,The Wax Doll by Alexander Reid,A Scrape o the Pen by Graham Moffat, andMuckle Ado by Moray McLaren. The company split in two afterMuckle Ado, one part making a winter tour of the South of Scotland withA Nest of Singing Birds by Robert Kemp. The rest of the company remained at The Gateway, stagingThe Tinkers of the World byIan R. Hamilton andMacHattie's Hotel by Albert D. Mackie. The full company came together again to end the season withThe Admirable Crichton by J.M. Barrie andThe Playboy of the Western World byJ.M. Synge.[9][15]
The Festival production in August 1957 was McLellan'sThe Flouers o' Edinburgh.Duncan Macrae played the Nabob andWalter Carr played the servant, Jack. Evelyn Elliot, Diana Tullis and André Coutin joined the company in 1957. Plays produced during the 1957-58 season includedDr. Angelus by James Bridie,Drama at Inish byLennox Robinson,The Non-Resident by Moray MacLaren,The Penny Wedding andThe Daft Days by Robert Kemp,Arise, Sir Hector by R.J.B. Sellar,When We Are Married by J.B. Priestley,The Wild Duck by Henrik Ibsen, andAll in Good Faith byRoddy McMillan. The company split again in February 1958, the touring group taking Robert Kemp'sThe Other Dear Charmer to theBorders. The rest of the company stagedAll for Mary byKay Bannerman and Harold Brooke, andBlack Chiffon byLesley Storm at The Gateway. The season ended withThe Schoolmistress byArthur Wing Pinero.[9][15]
Robert J.B. Sellar's adaptation ofRobert Louis Stevenson's novelWeir of Hermiston was the Festival production in August 1958. Other plays produced in the autumn of 1958 wereKeep in a Cool Place byWilliam Templeton,Look Back in Anger byJohn Osborne, andThe Warld's Wonder by Alexander Reid. The company then tookThe Penny Wedding to theCitizens in Glasgow,Dundee Rep andPerth as part of a Scottish Repertory exchange. On their return to Edinburgh the company stagedBoyd's Shop bySt. John Greer Ervine andA Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen. The Christmas production in 1958 wasMiracle at Midnight, a nativity play by Tom Fleming. The first play staged in the New Year wasThe Forrigan Reel. Later in 1959, the company had a short summer run, revivingThe Heart is Highland,Muckle Ado,The Open andKeep in a Cool Place.[9][15]
There was no Festival production at The Gateway in 1959, as company members were fully engaged in Guthrie's final production ofAne Satyre of the Thrie Estaites at theKirk'sAssembly Hall. Richard Mathews joined the company in 1959. Plays produced in the 1959-60 season includedFrench Without Tears byTerence Rattigan,The Keys of Paradise by Ronald Mavor,Arsenic and Old Lace byJoseph Kesselring,The Master of Ballantrae,The Ghost Train byArnold Ridley,The Late Christopher Bean byEmlyn Williams, a revival ofMiracle of Midnight, and an adaption ofRob Roy by Robert Kemp.[9][15]
Moultrie R. Kelsall became the company's Chairman in 1960.[16] The plays produced during the 1960-61 season wereMary Stuart in Scotland byBjørnstjerne Bjørnson,The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare,Master John Knox by Robert Kemp,The Lesson andThe New Tenant byEugène Ionesco,The Rainmaker byN. Richard Nash,Frost at Midnight byAndré Obey,Listen to the Wind by Angela Ainley Jeans andVivian Ellis.My Three Angels bySam and Bella Spewack,The Skin of Our Teeth byThornton Wilder,The Comic by Maurice Fleming, andThe Country Boy by John Murphy.[15]
The plays produced during the 1961-62 season wereLet Wives Tak Tent by Robert Kemp,Papa is All by Patterson Greene,The Switchback by James Bridie,All My Sons byArthur Miller,It Looks Like a Change by Donald MacLaren,The Man from Thermopylae byAda F. Kay,Foursome Reel by Andrew Malcolm,That Old Serpent by John Prudhoe,Don't Tell Father by Harold Brooke andKay Bannerman,Hot Summer Night byTed Willis,The Sleepless One byVincent Brome, andPygmalion byGeorge Bernard Shaw.[15]
John Cairney joined the company in 1962, playingJames Boswell in Robert McLellan'sYoung Auchinleck. The other plays produced during the 1962-63 season wereThe Good Soldier Schweik byJaroslav Hašek,Juno and the Paycock by Sean O'Casey,The Rivals byRichard Brinsley Sheridan,The Birthday Party byHarold Pinter,The Perfect Gent by Robert Kemp,Twelfth Night andOthello by William Shakespeare,Noah by André Obey,The Little Minister by J.M. Barrie,An Italian Straw Hat by Eugene Lebech and Marc-Michel,Bus Stop byWilliam Inge,The Glass Menagerie byTennessee Williams, andWaiting for Godot bySamuel Beckett.[15]
In 1963, Victor Carin was appointed as the company's Director of Productions.[16] The plays produced during the 1963-64 season wereAll in Good Faith by Roddy MacMillan,The Hypochondriack by Victor Carin,Ring Round the Moon byJean Anouilh,I'm Talking About Jerusalem byArnold Wesker,Photo Finish byPeter Ustinov,Treasure Hunt by M.J. Farrell and John Perry,The Merry Wives of Windsor by William Shakespeare,Tobias and the Angel by James Bridie,Charley's Aunt byBrandon Thomas,Schweik in the Second World War byBertolt Brecht,Someone Waiting byEmlyn Williams, andArms and the Man byGeorge Bernard Shaw.[15]
The plays produced during the 1964-65 season wereThe Golden Legend of Shultz by James Bridie,The Heart is Highland by Robert Kemp,She Stoops to Conquer byOliver Goldsmith,The Fire Raisers byMax Frisch,Marching Song byJohn Whiting,Present Laughter byNoël Coward,A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare,The Plough and the Stars by Seán O'Casey,The Scythe and the Sunset byDenis Johnston,Becket by Jean Anouilh,The Happiest Days of Your Life byJohn Dighton,Our Town byThornton Wilder,Heartbreak House by George Bernard Shaw,The Circle bySomerset Maugham, andJourney's End byR.C. Sheriff.[15]
AsEdinburgh Corporation was acquiring theRoyal Lyceum Theatre to establish a civic theatre in 1965, the Gateway, then back in use as a cinema, closed once more.[6][7] It was then purchased byScottish Television in 1968.[17] It was converted into the Scottish Colour Studio.[2][18]
In its final public incarnation, it was one of three sites that comprised theQueen Margaret University (QMU) campus and was the last part of that university within theCity of Edinburgh. It was bought by the university in 1988 and converted back into a theatre for the expansion of their Drama School conservatoire and the dramatic arts courses Queen Margaret offered. Alterations, by Law and Dunbar-Nasmith, were completed in 1994 at a cost of £5m. The theatre, and its purpose-built facilities (such as voice studios, movement studios, radio and tv studios, an acting studio etc), helped consolidate QMU's reputation as one of the UK's leading Drama Schools attracting students and staff from across the world. Moreover, the theatre began to get a reputation as a top venue for national and international productions during theEdinburgh Festival Fringe;[2]consequently, being named as Scotland's International Drama Centre in 1999. Extensive refurbishment work took place in 1998, funded with £1.5 million ofNational Lottery money.[19] Many leading actors and theatre practitioners were involved in supporting the Gateway and the Drama School such asTom Fleming,Judi Dench,Fiona Shaw,Simon Callow,Antony Sher,Jimmy Logan,Augusto Boal among others. In 2004, Professor Maggie Kinloch, Director of both the Gateway Theatre and the University’s School of Drama and Creative Industries, launched Scotland’s Theatre Gateway which was an initiative with theScottish Arts Council to promote Scottish talent during theEdinburgh Festival Fringe.[19]
In 2005, the University was forced to close the theatre after a safety inspection declared it unsafe, with an estimated £3 million cost to make it so.[18] This deprived the city of both a major Fringe venue and its principal drama school. In the immediate aftermath, it left three theatre companies -Scottish Dance Theatre, Theatre Cryptic andVanishing Point - without a base for that year's Fringe.[19]
Discussions were entered into as to whether to carry out the repairs to the main auditorium, or to relocate to the university's Craighall campus, which was opening in 2007. The possibility of using theBrunton Theatre in Musselburgh was also discussed.[19] Part of the Drama School transferred to the university'sCorstorphine campus, while the Gateway continued to host QMU drama students in the Pend studio space until 2008.[18][19]
In 2006 the University obtained planning permission for demolition of the building to create residential accommodation. The building finally underwent conversion to accommodation in 2012.[2]
The site is now a student housing block, valued at £8m.[20]
55°57′35″N3°10′56″W / 55.95972°N 3.18222°W /55.95972; -3.18222
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