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Free
Festival Venue Information for Performers |
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The
Laughing Horse Free Festival Venues for 2012 |
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Jump to venues:
Renroc Cafe
Bar | City Cafe | Counting House | Edinburgh
City FC | Espionage | Finnegan's Wake
| The Hive | Jekyll & Hyde | Room
at 34 | Meadow Bar
| Newsroom | Pear Tree | Three Sisters | White Horse |
the Blind Poet | VENUE MAP |
Performers Info & Apply |
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 All of our venues
and performance spaces for the 2012 Fringe are listed below. If you have any questions
please contact us on info@freefestival.co.uk In 2011 there will be 15 Free Festival venues, with
shows running in 31 different performance spaces...
 Each of our
performance spaces ranges in size, shape and feel...
For each of the venues below you can click through to a
separate page with all of the specifications for each performance spaces. We have rooms
that range in capacity from 35 to 150, three outdoor spaces, and rooms that range from a
full set-up with large stages, back stages, full lighting and PA system and backstage
areas; to smaller room suited for solo performance.
 Fully
equipped Fringe Performance spaces for free...
All of our performance spaces which are designed for runs of
Fringe shows are in separate spaces from the rest of the venue. All of our spaces are
professionally managed and set-up and come fully equipped with, at the very minimum: A
full sound system, microphones, mic stands, 4-8 channel mixers, stage lighting, CD players
- and often much more - see the specs below for full details.
 Please do not confuse us with other free venue promoters that expect
you to bring all your own equipment, do not set-up the performance spaces and have many
rooms for shows that are public bars without a separate performance spaces.
 We Welcome all Fringe
genres...
We have spaces suitable for all Fringe genres and we
programme a mixture of genres at each venue to provide a varied programme in each space,
with shows suitable for each individual space, just like all of the paid Fringe venues.
In previous years we have had a large programmes of Comedy,
Theatre, Music, Cabaret and Children's / Family friendly
shows. Along with this our spaces have also hosted Musicals and Opera,
Magic, Poetry, Courses, Talks, Exhibitions, Art
displays, and everything else. We also have outdoor areas for site specific
works, music and busking. We aim to be diverse as possible, and are always looking
for something that bit different - so if you think your show will fit into one our venues
let us know! There is an indication of the suitability of each venue for different genres
listed
 with the venues below.
If you are planning any free walking tours of Edinburgh,
Scavenger Hints, or any other events why not include these in the Free Festival programme,
or start/end the tour at a free venue?
A map showing all of our venue locations for 2011 and
the main Fringe venues is at the bottom of this page.
All of our venues are located centrally in Edinburgh - it is vital for Fringe
shows not to be stuck a long way out of town and we don't have venues in unsuitable areas
that don't attract crowds. The quality and atmosphere of our venues is paramount for the
production of quality shows, and for being enjoyable and welcoming places for audiences
and performers.
If you have any questions on our venues, by all means
email us on info@freefestival.co.uk at any
time. Once you have found out about our venues Click here for
general performers information and to apply for a space at our venues in 2011. |
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| Laughing
Horse @ Espionage (venue 185) |
| 4 India
Buildings, Victoria Street, (Entrances on Victoria Street and Cowgate) |
  Now in it's
fifth year of Free Festival shows, Espionage
is an established Fringe venue right in the heart of the Fringe and old town, which has been
described as "The free Fringe's own mega-venue". Espionage is located just off of the
Royal mile and right next to the Underbelly, with entrances on Victoria Street and the Cowgate.
Busy all day and all night, with show performances from Midday until 1am and a night-club
following until 5am. With 5 Bars across 5 floors, and four dedicated performance spaces. In 2010
it was home to the first ever free show to be nominated for the Edinburgh Comedy Award (formerly
The Perrier Award). |
| Espionage
Performance Spaces: |
| Pravda |
90 seats, end on
stage, backstage area. Raised seating to rear. Low ceiling and standing room at rear to get capacity
up to 100 people. Video Screens available. |
| Mata Hari |
65 seats, thrust stage
with low ceiling and additional space to hold 80 people with standing room (we have squeezed in 130
for busy shows, though not comfortably!). Three video Screens available.
Disabled/Step Free Access to this Room. |
| Kasbar |
Seating arranged
around bar area, with 60 seats, and room for 100 with standing. Very popular with stand-up comedy and
home to the Free Festival's main pick of the Fringe shows in 2010 and 2011. |
| The Lizard
Lounge |
A successful new Room
added in 2010 - A small and intimate performance space located off of the main bar on the ground
floor, 35 seats. |
| Minus One |
An open bar space
utilised in previous years as the starting point for tours, scavenger hunts and "mystery
shows" utilising other rooms and venues. |
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| Laughing Horse
@ The Counting House (venue 170) |
| 38 West Nicolson Street |
   Now in it's
6th
year as a Free Festival venue, The Counting House is always a popular and busy venue, with its
comfortable performance spaces, and outdoor space in neighbouring venue The Pear Tree,
and another room in the neighbouring Blind Poet. The
venue was expanded in 2010, with improved facilities in the Ballroom. Open from 11am to 2am daily, with bars next door to the main
rooms, and also in the neighbouring Blind poet and Pear Tree there's plenty of option for audiences at
the Counting House! The Counting House is across the road from Fringe Central and just around
the corner from The Underbelly, Pleasance Dome and Gilded Balloon. |
| Counting House
performance Spaces: |
| The Ballroom |
One of the premier
performance spaces on the Fringe, with a large raised stage, backstage area, wing space, 150 seats and
full lighting and PA. Suitable for all manner of productions, large and small. |
| The Lounge |
An intimate space, with 50
seats, ideal for solo performances. |
| "Best New Outdoor Drinking" - The
Scotsman 2007 |
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| Laughing Horse
@ The Pear Tree (venue 257) |
| 38 West Nicolson Street |
  The Pear Tree is
located underneath the Counting House, and has a huge and popular outdoor courtyard, seating over 200,
and next to a large indoor bar. There will be new outdoor bar facilities in 2011, along with expanded
food service including a daily barbecue. The Outdoor stage is a covered all-weather stage with full
PA, video projection and lighting suitable for music and has been home to The Free Music Festival
since 2008, in association with Kopparberg. The Pear Tree is across the road from Fringe Central
and just around the corner from The Udderbelly, Pleasance Dome and Gilded Balloon. |
| Performance
Spaces: |
| The Pear Tree Outdoor
Stage |
Large covered outdoor
stage overlooking busy 300 capacity courtyard area, suitable for bands and other performances suited to
this. Complete with power, lighting, video projection and full PA. |
| Courtyard |
Large, flexible outdoor
space suitable for site specific and various outdoor performances. |
| "Best New Outdoor Drinking" - The
Scotsman 2007 |
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| Laughing
Horse @ The Hive (venue 313) |
| 15-17 Niddry
Street - HOME OF THE ALTERNATIVE FRINGE, FREE & PAID
SHOWS |
 Located on Niddry
street, the Hive is located right in the centre of Edinburgh and is operating as a Free Festival venue
in it's 4th year. It has two large performances spaces, with a very high-spec (and probably one of the
best at the Fringe) set-ups in the Big Cave Room, suitable for large complicated productions that
require full lighting and sound set-up. The venue has a spacious main bar area, and is light, airy and
fully air-conditioned, with a nightclub following the free shows every night until 5am. The Hive is
close to other Free venues at The Three Sisters, White Horse, City Cafe,
Finnegan's Wake
and Espionage. It's minutes from the Fringe office and just off of the Royal mile and close
to C Venues and The Pleasance Courtyard. |
| Performance
Spaces: |
| The Big Cave |
If you imagine one of the
larger Underbelly rooms, you will have a good idea about the Big Cave. It seats 120, there is a raised
stage, backstage area, large PA with 30 channel Mixer, full lighting rig with full control panel, and
multiple options for set-up of multimedia and AV equipment. |
| The Little Cave |
The Big Cave's little
sister, with a capacity of 70 people seated in a smaller cave, with stage on the flat and full PA and
lighting rig. |
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| Laughing Horse
@ The City Cafe (venue 85) |
| 19 Blair Street |
 Now in it's 3rd year of Free Festival
shows, The City Cafe is located on Blair Street, between the Royal Mile and Cowgate, making it a walk
of only about 2 minutes from the Fringe office. The venue has been fully refurbished in late 2010,
giving the upstairs bar a new feel, with expanded bar and food services and a much brighter and airier
atmosphere with a new frontage and windows - making a brilliant Fringe venue even better! In 2011
there will be a new lighting system to go with the new sound system installed for 2010. The City
Cafe is also very close to our other venues at The
Hive, The Three Sisters, The White Horse,
Espionage and Finnegan's Wake. It's also a popular venue with performers as
it's a great value bar to hang around, drink and eat in during the Fringe before and after flyering on
the Royal mile. |
| Performance
Space: |
| City 2 |
100 capacity,
with 80 seats located below the main bar, with large raised stage, low ceiling and a full PA system and
lighting. |
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| Laughing
Horse @ The Three Sisters (venue 272) |
| 139 Cowgate |
 The Three Sisters launched into the Fringe for the first time
in 2010, and was soon being called "The Free Festival's version of the Pleasance
Courtyard", with numerous performance spaces situated around an open courtyard full of
performances, bars and food, with open-air DJ's carrying the party on until 3am outdoors every day.
There is also a hotel located above the venues, and the whole complex is located right in the middle
of he busy Cowgate in the heart of Edinburgh. The Three Sisters is also very close to our other venues
at The Hive, The City Cafe, The White Horse, Espionage and Finnegan's
Wake and is minutes from The Royal Mile, Fringe Shop. The Venue is fully wheelchair
accessible. |
| Performance
Spaces: |
| Maggie's Chamber |
Upstairs 140 capacity (100
seats) venue, with raised stage, full PA system and lighting, and small backstage. Ideal for cabaret shows
and the room can be set with small tables or theatre style. Projector and Screen available. |
| The Room With A View |
A smaller room adjacent to
Maggies chamber, with a 60 seat capacity cabaret style, small stage on the flat and full PA system. |
| The Meeting Room |
A small and intimate
30 capacity room ideal for comedy shows and intimate solo theatre or music. |
| The Gothic Bar |
Located at the back of the
main downstairs bar, with raised stage, lighting, PA and a capacity of 125 |
| The Cowgate Stage |
A covered Outdoor stage
located in the Courtyard, with power and lighting usable during the day. |
| The Courtyard |
A flexible outdoor space
that can be utilised for site specific performances, located just off of the busy Cowgate |
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| Laughing Horse @
Jekyll & Hyde (venue 259) |
| 112 Hanover Street |
 Now in it's 7th year as a Free Festival venue, The Jekyll
& Hyde will have an additional performance space added for 2011 - The Aerie, a new space
at the rear of the venue that offers a perfect cabaret style room in a gothic amphitheatre style. This
will run along the established Crypt room (in the basement, where else?!). The venue is decorated in a Gothic
style with skeletons and other macabre items 'hanging around' the walls,
making it a truly original and atmospheric venue well loved by performers and is open from midday to
1am daily. The Jekyll & Hyde is located on Hanover Street in the New town, moments away from the
Assembly Rooms and just off of Princes Street and the Princes Street Gardens - while also being close
to the Mound performance area, Half Price Ticket Hut, The Stand and the free venue at The
Newsroom. |
| Performance
Spaces: |
| The Crypt |
60 Seats in an L-shaped
room, with a raised corner stage. Dark, gothic and atmospheric space. A room which is always popular with
crowds and performers. |
| The Aerie |
80 Seats and room for 100
with standing room, a gothic amphitheatre spread over two levels, and a cabaret style space ideal for
cabaret, comedy and theatre. |
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Laughing Horse @ The Blind Poet
(venue TBC) |
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West Nicolson Street |
 New Venue for 2012:
Located in the same complex as the Pear Tree and
Counting House, on west Nicolson street, The Blind Poet
has for several years offered ad-hoc performance spaces
for shows during the fringe, and been part of our
Counting House programme. This year will be the first
year it us programmed as a separate venue for music,
alongside the programmes in it's sister venues the
Counting house and Pear Tree - giving us room to expand
the Free music festival to a third official stage along
side the Pear Tree and Room at 34 |
| Performance
Spaces: |
| The
Main Bar |
New Space for 2012: A
100 capacity music venue, with raised stage and PA
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| Laughing Horse @
Edinburgh City Football Club (venue 164) |
| 7 Baxter's Place, Leith Walk |
 Now in it's
7th year of Free Festival shows, the
Edinburgh City Football Club is situated at the top of Leith Walk, right next to the Playhouse Theatre
and seconds from Highlight and the Omni Centre complex. It us a friendly and welcoming
venue, which is a private members club through the rest of the year which has one of the cheapest bars
of any venue in Edinburgh, Located on a busy stretch of Road which is five minutes from Princes
street, The Edinburgh City Football Club is also located close to our other venues The Newsroom
and The Black Dutch Cafe Bar (formally Renroc Cafe). The venue also benefits from a newly
refurbished main performance space. |
| Performance
Spaces: |
| Room 1 |
60 Seats, plus standing
from for 10. End on stage, with backstage area. TV screen available. |
| Room 2 |
An room suitable for
talks, courses, displays and presentations |
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| Laughing Horse
@ The Newsroom (venue 93) |
| 5-11 Leith Street |
 Now in it's
4th year as a
Free Festival venue, The Newsroom has benefited from a complete refurbishment in late 2010, providing
a much enhanced performance space and bar area. The newsroom is located right on the junction of Leith
Street and Princes street in an ideal location seconds from Waverley, North Bridge, The Royal Mile,
Princes Street Gardens and the half-price ticket hut. The venue is open from breakfast, right the way
through until late night, and this venue is available to use from 9am to 3am daily. The venue is also
close to The Stand, Highlight and the free venue at The Edinburgh City Football Club. |
| Performance
Space: |
| The Basement |
A corner stage, and a 60
capacity seated basement room, with enough space for another 20 people standing |
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| Laughing
Horse @ The White Horse (venue 296) |
| 266 Canongate (The Royal
mile) |
 A brand new
Fringe venue for us in 2011, with new owners taking over the building in mid-2010 who have taken what was a tired old
pub and transformed it into a stylish Royal Mile Bar, Cafe and Bistro. Although the venue is new to
us, the venue has previously been home to other Fringe shows over the last few years, and along with
new owners Billy and Jane (who we have worked before at Renroc) look to turn this venue into
a fantastic new and upgraded Royal Mile Fringe venue in August, and a regular comedy club through the
year - all in a prime location right on the Royal Mile. The White horse is just around the Corner from
The Hive, and is also near to The Three Sisters and City Cafe, along with
being a short walk from The Fringe Shop and Pleasance Courtyard. |
| Performance
Space: |
| The Back Room |
An intimate 60 seat
performance space, located on the same level as the main bar, ideal for stand-up comedy, music,
cabaret and theatre |
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Laughing Horse @ Renroc (venue
84) |
| 91 Montgomery Street |
 The venue
was
revamped and redecorated into a fresh space for Fringe shows in 2011 where we are
now presenting Free Festival shows for the 4th year here.
Renroc is located in the
Hillside area of Edinburgh, just off of London Road and Leith Walk, and is a busy and stylish
licensed cafe, Bistro and bar also with a resident complimentary heath studio. There is an intimate
basement performance space operating from mid-afternoon until midnight. Very popular with
audiences in 2009 and 2010, with very supportive staff who help sell all of the shows in the venue to
their large number of regular customers as well as Fringe-goers. The venue is located very close to
the Edinburgh City FC, as well as being near to Highlight, The Playhouse Theatre, Omni
Centre and Valvona & Crola. |
| Performance
Space: |
| The Basement |
An intimate 45 capacity
performance space , with 40 seats. Low ceiling and atmospheric. |
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| Laughing
Horse @ Finnegan's Wake (venue
101) |
| 9B Victoria Street |
 A brand new Fringe and Free Festival venue
in 2011, and a fully refurbished bar re-opened in mid-2010
after a fire the previous year at the neighbouring Khushi's restaurant. Finnegan's Wake is a large
music bar with Free music and bands in the evenings, and during the day Free Festival show
performances in their back room area. The venue is exceptionally well located next door to our Espionage
venue, moments from the Royal Mile and Grassmarket, and very close to The Underbelly |
| Performance
Space: |
| The Back Room |
An intimate performance space
with a capacity of 40 people, ideally located in Edinburgh so that the room should be full at every
performance! |
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Laughing Horse @ Room at 34 (venue
110) |
| 32-34 Potterrow (Behind
Pleasance Dome) |
 A brand new
Fringe and Free Festival venue for 2011, Koko is now
called ROOM AT 34 - a recently refurbished bar that has a music stage
with full sound and light set-up. Koko is located on Potterrow, right behind the Pleasance Dome, so is
well located a bar for food, drink and music being so close to The Dome, Udderbelly, Pleasance,
Fringe Central and Free Venues at the Counting House, Pear Tree and Meadow Bar. |
| Performance Space: |
| The Music Stage |
Suitable only for music
performances as not a separate space, in this 200 capacity bar for music and bands during the Fringe. |
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Jump to venues:
Renroc Cafe
Bar | City Cafe | Counting House |
Edinburgh
City FC | Espionage | Finnegan's Wake
| The Hive | Jekyll & Hyde | Room
at 34 | Meadow Bar
| Newsroom | Pear Tree | Three Sisters | White Horse |
the Blind Poet | VENUE MAP |
Performers Info & Apply |
Venue locations |
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