Acts confirmed as new open-air Fringe hub set to open in city centre car park

The line-up has been revealed for a much anticipated open-air festival hub at the 2021 Edinburgh Fringe.
The new open-air hub will be at Castle Terrace Car ParkThe new open-air hub will be at Castle Terrace Car Park
The new open-air hub will be at Castle Terrace Car Park

The new outdoor venue MultiStory will be located in the city centre at the NCP Castle Terrace Car Park and will host comedy, theatre, dance, family, music and poetry performances from 6-29 August.

Celebrating the return of the Fringe, Gilded Balloon, Traverse Theatre ZOO and Dance Base announced the full programme for the venue with a top lineup including comedian Jason Byrne, former poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy, Booker-prize winner Ben Okri, Shooglenifty and many more.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

It will host mainstays of the Fringe, like Sunshine on Leith performed by Captivate Theatre. But festival goers will also be able to see debuts from legendary Edinburgh drag queen Alice Rabbit with Alice Rabbit’s AYE-Cons and Scottish actress Leah McCrae of River City fame with her sell-out comedy show My Big, Fat, Fabulous Diary.

After a year without live performances music lovers are in for a treat as Scottish band Shooglenifty are set to make their first live appearance in their hometown since storming the Edinburgh International Festival in 2019.

Former poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy and musician John Sampson will perform together in a new show created for 2021, celebrating the return of the Fringe.

Other eclectic performances on the bill include Dirty Protest (How to Be Brave, Sugar Baby) returning to the Fringe with Double Drop, an amalgamation of 90s English rave culture and Welsh Eisteddfod, with original music by BBC Radio 2 Folk Award winners 9Bach.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Alongside Jason Byrne, comedy acts include Fred MacAulay, performing Fred MacAulay and Friends joined by some of the UK and Scotland’s favourite comedians such as Maisie Adam, Chris Forbes, and Susie McCabe. Also, Glasgow-based writer, actor and viral TikTok comedy star Paul Black will perform his sketch show Worst Case Scenario.

After the city’s usual raft of live theatre and dance productions have been stifled by the pandemic Traverse Theatre are thrilled to bring back the popular A Play, a Pie and a Pint to the new venue.

The two plays are Aye, Elvis by Morna Young and Chic Murray: A Funny Place to put a Window by Stuart Hepburn, both produced with Glasgow Lunchtime Theatre at the Oràn Mór.

Meanwhile, Class Act, Traverse Theatre’s flagship schools project that was due to be staged in 2020 will be finally make the stage at MultiStory with a selection of pieces created by young people from across Edinburgh.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Dance Base will present a tribute to a great drum master and host Dance Base unwrapped, a combined programme of live, immersive, digital performances and installations in their nearby Grassmarket studios which will also be available through the MultiStory website.

Other performances will include booker prize winner Ben Okri OBE and Edinburgh-based choreographer Charlotte Jarvis who will bring a world premiere Starting From First Position movement and spoken word performance.

The MultiStory family programme includes Return to the Fringe! by Funbox, creators of The Singing Kettle and Bicycle Boy, a bicycle-powered, eco-musical for children and their families and Kapow’s Rapunzel, a classic fairy tale with a pantomimic twist.

MultiStory is sponsored by local brewery Innis & Gunn and will host food and drink stalls from the Pitt, Edinburgh’s pioneering, independent street food market.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

If you haven't already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription at https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/subscriptions.

Related topics:

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.