'Forgotten' open air theatre at Edinburgh's Braidburn Valley Park hosts free brass band concert
Concert could pave way for other performances in future
An Edinburgh park’s open air theatre, out of regular use for 80 years, will host a brass band concert on Saturday.
The amphitheatre Morningside's Braidburn Valley Park, which has seating formed by landscaping, was opened in June 1937 with a "mass display of dancing and gymanstics" by 1,000 children from Edinburgh schools.
In 1946 and 1947, the Southern Light Opera company put on two amateur opera productions at the theatre, but in both years performances were disrupted by gales.
But local historian Andy Arthur said: “It’s often forgotten that Edinburgh has a purpose-built 3,000-seater open air theatre - probably because it has been rarely used in the last 90 years of its life.
“Theatre seems to have died out in the 1950s, but it's reported that sheep dog trials took place in the 1960s. The last performances I can find advertised are in 1982. ‘The Shepherd Beguiled’ by Theatre Alba, featuring a real horse. It was a night time production in August and was cold and windy. The audience was 20. It was part of the Fringe and moved to the Traverse for the rest of its run.”
Paul Bailey, chair of the Friends of Braidburn Valley Park, said there had only been occasional uses of the amphitheatre since then, including one-man band Mr Boom in summers in the late 1980s.
But he said they had been trying to bring the amphitheatre back into use for some time.
He said: “When the council suggested moving some Fringe events from central location three years ago I suggested our theatre, but the council said that all legal responsibility would rest on the shoulders of the Friends group so that fell through.”
Edinburgh Brass Band contacted him to offer to play at the amphitheatre as part of the annual Tea in the Park on August 29, but the theatre is used then for a popular dog show, so instead they settled for a stand-alone concert on another date, Saturday August 1.
Mr Bailey said the amphitheatre was in good shape despite not being used for years.
“The theatre itself is surrounded by very tall trees, so the stage is acceptable. There is a bit of a lower circle, which was supposed to be for the band, but that’s got a bit eroded so people wouldn’t use that.
“We’re going to provide the chairs and some gazebos in case the weather isn’t too good, so they will be fine in that area. And the council has cut all the grass in the seating area.”
And he said the brass band concert could pave the way for more performances at the amphitheatre.
“We’re very hopeful people will say we should have other things. I think it’s more suited for music than a play with sound because we won’t need any amplification.
“I’m looking at the forecast each day now. It’s not too bad for Saturday.”
The concert is free and will run from 1pm until 3pm.