Traverse Theatre

The Traverse Theatre stands in Edinburgh’s historic Grassmarket area, close to the Royal Mile. Founded in 1962 by a group including John Calder and Richard Demarco, it began in a cramped first-floor room barely 15ft wide. The theatre moved in 1969 to a former sailmaker’s loft in the Grassmarket, where it grew into a flexible 100-seat space. In 1992 it relocated again to purpose-built premises on Cambridge Street, designed with two adaptable auditoriums. The larger Traverse 1 seats 214 in its usual end-on layout, while Traverse 2 offers a studio space with around 115 seats. The building also houses a bar café as part of the Saltire Court development. The theatre is recognised as Scotland’s leading new-writing house, commissioning work from contemporary playwrights. It programmes visiting companies and hosts Edinburgh Festival Fringe shows every August. In 2010 it broadcast live rehearsed readings to cinemas across the UK, and two of that year’s six Scotsman Fringe First winners came from its stages. Theatre critic Lyn Gardner called its programme “the backbone of theatre on the Edinburgh Fringe.” The Traverse has nurtured many Scottish writers, including David Greig and Liz Lochhead, and launched the careers of actors such as Robbie Coltrane and Ashley Jensen. Visitors find a modern theatre with two flexible spaces that can be reconfigured for different staging. Traverse 1’s movable seating allows transverse, end-on or in-the-round arrangements, while Traverse 2’s seating was updated in 2005 for similar versatility. The building sits within the Castle Terrace development, a short walk from the city centre. Inside, the foyer bar café provides a place to gather before or after performances. The theatre’s history is visible in personalised plaques on sponsored seats, including Robbie Coltrane’s playful “no farting zone.”