Student Union buildings in the Pleasance

The Pleasance is a

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

, bar, sports and recreation complex in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

, situated on a street of the same name. It is owned by the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

, and for nine months of the year it serves the Edinburgh University Students' Association as a societies centre, sports complex, student union bar and entertainment venue. Every August, it is converted into one of the main venues for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. The

Pleasance Theatre Trust The Pleasance Theatre Trust (often simply called The Pleasance) is a venue operator and producer of live events, known internationally for being one of the major, so-called "Big Four", operators at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the world's la ...

operate the venue during this time, and in this guise the complex is sometimes referred to as Pleasance Edinburgh to distinguish it from a sister venue, also called The Pleasance, that the trust opened in Islington in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

in 1995.

Facilities

The Pleasance complex consists of a number of separate buildings, with the main block situated around a central, cobbled courtyard. The main block houses two bars, The Pleasance Bar and The Cabaret Bar, situated in adjoining rooms with a removable partition in-between. Upstairs from these, also in the main block, is the main Pleasance Theatre. Unlike other university buildings, all these spaces are open to the general public year round, without the need for student identification. The Cabaret Bar and Theatre host a programme of live events throughout the year, including the Pleasance Sessions music festival and regular live music, comedy, spoken word and poetry nights. It is also home to Edinburgh Folk Club. The rest of the complex contains rooms and meeting spaces which can be booked out for society use. In a building towards the rear of the plot is the Pleasance sports centre and gym.

Edinburgh Festival Fringe

For the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the whole complex is converted into a variety of theatre spaces. The main theatre, capacity 320, and renamed Pleasance One for the duration of the Fringe, is one of these. The Cabaret Bar (capacity 175) is another. Other spaces range in size from the 750-seat Pleasance Grand (in the sports centre) to the 50-capacity Cellar. For the purposes of the Fringe brochure, these spaces collectively are called Pleasance Courtyard, and listed as venue 33. The programming is of a high standard, featuring international acts, and tends towards comedy and cabaret. The courtyard becomes "the biggest beer garden in the city" for the month of August. The Pleasance Theatre Trust also operate out of

Potterrow The Potterrow Mandela Centre or Potterrow Student Centre is operated by Edinburgh University Students' Association in Edinburgh, Scotland. Site and architecture The name "Potterrow" recalls a medieval suburb which stood outside the town wall ...

, an entirely separate student building on another site, but branded as "Pleasance Dome" during the Fringe.

References

External links

*
Pleasance Trust website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pleasance, The Theatres in Edinburgh Edinburgh Comedy Festival Buildings and structures of the University of Edinburgh