Gateway Theatre

The Gateway Theatre stands on Elm Row at the top of Leith Walk in Edinburgh. Built in 1882 by George Beattie and Sons, it began as the New Veterinary College before becoming a roller-skating rink and later a cinema. In the 1930s it became a theatre, first as Millicent Ward’s Studio Theatre and then the Broadway. After the Second World War the Church of Scotland turned it into a repertory theatre, opening in 1946 with 542 seats. The theatre earned its reputation as a home for Scottish drama. Sadie Aitken managed it from 1946 to 1965 and renamed it The Gateway. It hosted early Fringe performances and Scottish premieres, including T.S. Eliot’s plays and Robert Kemp’s Scots translation of Molière. The Edinburgh Gateway Company, led by figures like Tom Fleming and Lennox Milne, staged 150 plays between 1953 and 1965, with designers such as Molly MacEwen creating costumes and sets. Visitors found a working theatre with a stage, auditorium and front-of-house areas still partly run by the Church. The building retained its 19th-century character while hosting lively seasons of new Scottish plays. Programme notes show casts mixing established actors with fresh talent, and seasons filled with works by Bridie, Kemp, Barrie and O’Casey. The Gateway became known as a place where Scottish life and speech were heard on stage.