Whether it was favourites like Stanley Baxter, John Grieve, Una McLean and Russell Hunter playing in annual pantomimes, veteran actors such as Sir John Gielgud and John Mills or stars who would find fame later, like future James Bond, Timothy Dalton and Garbage lead singer Shirley Manson, they were all here.
Scroll through these old photos selected from the Evening News archive and get a flavour of theatre life and entertainment in the Capital in the early 1970s.
5. Mother Goose
Patricia Michael (Principal Boy), Stanley Baxter (in drag) and Frances Barlow (Principal Girl) in Mother Goose pantomime at the King's Theatre, Edinburgh, in December 1970. | TSPL Photo: Hamish Campbell
6. Eartha Kitt 1970
Singer Eartha Kitt with a glass of wine at the Kings Theatre in Edinburgh in February 1972. | TSPL Photo: Dick Ewart
7. The Great Northern Welly Boot Show
Billy Connolly (in front) wrote and starred in The Great Northern Welly Boot Show at the Waverley Market during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 1972. In the chorus are Roy Hanlon, Bill Paterson and Kenny Ireland | TSPL Photo: Denis Straughan
8. Show on the road
Two giant performers from the Road Troupe theatre production of Le Morte d'Arthur take the show to the High Street during the Edinburgh Festival in August 1970. | TSPL Photo: Denis Straughan