December 17, 2016
UPDATE – the early birds are now sold out but you can still buy full festival passes at a reduced rate.
Continuing its mission to bring new life to the forgotten and abandoned spaces of Edinburgh, Hidden Door returns in 2017 taking residence in the stunning and derelict art deco Leith Theatre.
After standing empty and gradually falling into disrepair for 28 years, Hidden Door will light up the theatre’s beautiful spaces for 9 days and nights, with an ambitious assortment of artists of all disciplines.
Featuring some of Scotland’s best emerging creative talent, you can expect a diverse music line-up plus an impressive mix of art, poetry, theatre, cinema, bars and street food. We can guarantee there is something for everyone at Hidden Door.
£10 early bird tickets are now on sale for the first night – the opening party of the festival taking place on Friday 26 May 2017. This batch is strictly limited to 100 tickets, so grab yours now to avoid missing out!
We’re busy lining up the most ambitious programme yet, with some of the best new visual art, poetry, theatre, cinema and, of course, music filling every last corner of the sprawling Leith Theatre complex. We’ll be making announcements over the coming months.
What’s that? You can’t wait? Go on then, here’s a wee taste of what to expect over the 10 days and nights…
We’ve selected over 20 visual artists from the dozens of proposals we received, and are excited to see what they’ll do with their spaces in the theatre. Rachel Hendry is back with a maze of rooms, windows and doors and Olivia Turner will play with light and shadows balancing between 2D and 3D dimensions. Valerie Reid will literally turn Leith Theatre into gold and Jennifer Clews will reveal the sculptural qualities of the floor through video and sound-based media.
Fans of the theatre and performing arts won’t be disappointed – Andrew Simpson, who brought us the hilarious, ludicrous Beethoven last time round, is back with the bumbling, bemused Party Shrimp. Kathryn Spence will present a dance triple bill, and we’ll also be welcoming back entrancing storyteller Annie Lord, physical theatre maker Charlotte Hastings with an exploration of historical heroines, and the loud and vibrant Heroes Theatre with a new piece that’s bound to make audiences shiver.
Poetry and spoken word continues to find a welcoming home at Hidden Door and 2017 will host a multitude of poets, collaborations and musical mash-ups to make your ears tingle with pleasure. Andrew Blair, who brought us the uproarious Poets Against Humanity last time, is back with an ode to actor Robert Pattinson. Rachel Plummer will lead a collaboration which will fuse spoken word with electronica-inspired clarinet music and stunning visuals. Meanwhile, the legendary Interrobang will use the Leith Theatre setting as inspiration for a Phantom of the Opera-themed night.
This little lot is about 1% of the overall programme, so stay tuned for many more exciting announcements soon.
So what are you waiting for? Our opening night sells out every year so grab those early birds before it’s too late.