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C ARTS | C venues | C aurora
Lauriston Halls, 28 Lauriston Street, EH3 9DJ
Venue Description
A powerhouse of pure performance. From bardic breakfasts to music, dance, circus: we showcase the uplifting, unsettling, side-splitting, thought-provoking at our festival hub with courtyard café-bar. Part of the vibrant, vivacious variety of C ARTS: a curated programme of international, independent work taking place at multiple city-centre locations, and online, in our 34th year at the Fringe. It’s a festival all of its own. Make sure you see it all.
What makes this venue special?
C aurora is our premier festival hub, with multiple performance spaces in one location, centred around a welcoming courtyard. Lauriston Halls and the Sacred Heart Church have a distinguished festival tradition dating back to the earliest days of the Fringe. The main house black box space seating 200+ has a large stage and high ceiling, and is especially suited to for larger-scale theatre, dance, circus, musical theatre, music and children's shows. The flexible black box studio seats up to 50, and offers a choice of end-on, thrust, in-the-round, traverse, corner and cabaret layouts, and ideal for smaller-scale theatre, physical theatre, dance, music, cabaret, comedy, spoken word and storytelling. The ornate church space is ideal for music, choral works and site-specific theatre and performance, with options to perform in theatre format at the front of the nave to up to 300 audience, or in studio format in a flexible space at the rear of the nave for up to 50. The courtyard can be used for outdoor performances. C venues offers performance spaces of all shapes and sizes from less than 20 to more than 200 seats, from installation and found spaces to fully-fitted studios and theatres. In 2021 we launched C digital, our year-round digital online programme, which offers companies and artists the opportunity to take part in fringes, festivals and arts markets around the world. We provide support and advice with marketing, media, and arts industry. We can assist you to help plan the onward development and showing of your work. Winner of the Infallibles Award for Theatrical Excellence for Best Venue, Edinburgh Fringe 2021. Part of C ARTS, a vibrant and original programme at multiple city-centre venue locations, and online year-round, showcasing creativity, celebrating diversity.
Venue Programming
C ARTS is a home for international independent arts, at the Edinburgh Fringe and online. We programme across all artforms with an emphasis on new and dynamic work. Our curated season at C venues, showcasing new and classic theatre, physical theatre, musicals, opera, dance, circus, cabaret, spoken word, children's and family shows, film and video, visual and performance art, makes us one of the most vibrant and eclectic venue programmes on the Fringe. We have a track record programming site-specific, immersive, installation, interdisciplinary and multimedia work. Our in-person programme is mostly ticketed, with some pay-what-you-think shows and free events. Running alongside our main season, our events programme offers artists from across the Fringe opportunities to highlight their work and perform outside the box. Our year-round digital online programme, C digital, offers companies and artists the chance to make connections and build their international reach.
- Genres of Interest: Cabaret and Variety, Children's Shows, Comedy, Dance, Physical Theatre and Circus, Events, Exhibitions, Music, Musicals and Opera, Spoken Word, Theatre
- Contact Methods: Visit www.cvenues.com to download application pack. Apply online at www.cvenues.com. Send supporting information including company background, biographies, reviews, staging and publicity ideas, script and audio/video material (where available) by email to
Venue Manager Contact Details
Hartley Kemp / Robert Blackmore
C venues
5 Alexandra Mansions, Chichele Road
London
NW2 3AS
Telephone: 0131 581 5500
Email: [email protected]
Viewing Details
Viewing may be possible year-round by appointment. Please email us on [email protected] or call us on 0131 581 5500.
Venue Facilities
- Front of House Staff
- Technical Staff
- Cafe or Catering
- Additional Venue Facility Details: Artist services department for company advice and support, generous company bar discounts, exclusive company standby comps scheme. Copying, printing, scanning, computer and fax facilities at companies' centre.
Box Office
- Venue runs own Box Office
- Accepts Credit Cards
- Computerised Box Office
- Linked with Fringe Box Office
- Phone Sales
- Ticket Printing
- Further Box Office Information: Help and advice with ticket pricing and sales strategies. Strategic use of discount schemes. Regular sales updates available.
Press & Marketing
- Venue has a Press Office
- Venue has Press Staff
- Own Programme Published
- Website: www.CtheArts.com
- Other Marketing Support: Help and advice with campaign planning, Fringe Programme entry, print and press release design and content. Venue brochure, website, press pack and launch. Progress meetings, promoter liaison, cross-marketing promotions.
Performance spaces
- studio (audience capacity 50)
- main house (audience capacity 200)
- courtyard (audience capacity 100)
- church (audience capacity 300)
Performance Space Details - studio (audience capacity 50)
Flexible format black box studio seating up to 50 approx. Flexible seating, various layouts possible, including include end-on, thrust, in-the-round, traverse, corner, cabaret and empty room. Especially suitable for solo shows, small cast pieces, small-scale theatre, spoken word, comedy, music and cabaret performances. Room size: 8.6m L x 5.6m W.
Technical Details
- Type of space: Black Box / Empty Room
- Type of stage: End on / Thrust / In the round / Traverse / Cabaret Style
- Lighting: Comprehensive general lighting rig with 18 ways of control, ETC Nomad computer lighting control system, some LED colour-changing lights. Projector/haze machine/smoke machine/extras by arrangement.
- Sound: Theatre sound system with mixer, input for company playback device, corded microphone and stand, DI box, amplification, speakers. Extras by arrangement.
- Storage: Limited shared storage space by arrangement. Storage space is through a door approx 750mm W and 2020m H, and down half flight of stairs at right angles to the door.
- Dressing Space: Dressing room space shared between companies and is some distance from the performance space.
Performance Space Accessibility
- Wheelchair accessibility for audience
- Wheelchair accessibility for performers
Performance Space Licensing
- This performance space does not have an age limit.
Hire Details
- Deal Types: Box Office Split with guarantee
- Proposed Charges and Charge Details: Our standard rental fee is 40% of box office or guarantee, whichever is greater. The guarantee is payable in advance in instalments. In our studios seating 30-60, for a 1-hour slot performing in the afternoon or evening, you can expect to pay a guarantee
- Usual slot duration: Variable in 5 minute increments - typically 1 hour to 1 hour 30 mins, but can be longer or shorter.
Performance Space Details - main house (audience capacity 200)
Large black box theatre seating 200 offering thrust/end-on formats, with a large stage and high ceiling. Especially suited to for larger-scale theatre, physical theatre, dance, circus, musical theatre, opera, music, choral performances, and children's shows.
Technical Details
- Type of space: Black Box
- Type of stage: End on / Thrust
- Lighting: Extensive general lighting rig with 30 ways of control, ETC Eos/Ion family computer lighting control system, some LED colour-changing units, some moving lights. Projector/haze machine/smoke machine/extras by arrangement.
- Sound: Theatre sound system with mixer, input for company playback device, corded microphone and stand, DI box, amplification, speakers. Extras by arrangement.
- Storage: Shared storage space adjacent to the performance area. Sufficient space can be made available for larger-scale shows by arrangement.
- Dressing Space: Dressing room space shared between companies.
Performance Space Accessibility
- Wheelchair accessibility for audience
- Wheelchair accessibility for performers
Performance Space Licensing
- This performance space does not have an age limit.
Hire Details
- Deal Types: Box Office Split with guarantee
- Proposed Charges and Charge Details: Our standard rental fee is 40% of box office or guarantee, whichever is greater. The guarantee is payable in advance in instalments. In our larger standard theatres seating 130-250, for a 1-hour slot performing in the afternoon or evening, you can expect
- Usual slot duration: Variable in 5 minute increments - typically 1 hour to 1 hour 30 mins, but can be longer or shorter.
Performance Space Details - courtyard (audience capacity 100)
Courtyard space with buildings on three sides and with the fourth side open to Lauriston Street. Suited for street theatre, and for performances which can take place outdoors without a complicated stage setting. Especially suited to free shows, or shows preferring to perform and request donations rather than sell tickets.
Technical Details
- Type of space: Installation Space / Outdoor
- Lighting: Space in in the open air. Lighting by arrangement.
- Sound: Sound by arrangement.
- Storage: Limited storage space available by arrangement.
- Dressing Space: Shared dressing room space available.
Performance Space Accessibility
- Wheelchair accessibility for audience
- Wheelchair accessibility for performers
Performance Space Licensing
- This performance space does not have an age limit.
Hire Details
- Deal Types: Box Office Split with guarantee
- Proposed Charges and Charge Details: Our standard rental fee is 40% of box office or guarantee, whichever is greater. The guarantee is payable in advance in instalments. For the courtyard space, the guarantee is dependent on your show and capacity, and any additional spatial or technical req
- Usual slot duration: Variable in 5 minute increments - typically 1 hour to 1 hour 30 mins, but can be longer or shorter.
Performance Space Details - church (audience capacity 300)
Ornate large church space suitable for music, choral pieces, organ or piano recitals, snd suitable spoken word, theatre, physical theatre and dance and dance pieces. Two performance locations are available: stage area at the front of the nave, arranged over two levels with possibility of rostra to create a level area, and pew seating for up to 300; and studio area at the rear of the nave, with flexible options for audience layout for a smaller audience, or for immersive/installation performance.
Technical Details
- Type of space: Installation Space / Empty Room
- Stage Dimensions (width x depth x height): 9.99 x 6.00 x 0.40
- Type of stage: End on / Thrust / In the round / Traverse / Raised / Cabaret Style
- Lighting: General ambient lighting with performance area highlighting with white light. Basic supplementary stage lighting can be provided by arrangement, with LED-colour changing facility if needed. The space has natural daylight from roof domes and windows on the rear wall, with no blackout facility.
- Sound: Sound system available by arrangement.
- Storage: Limited storage space available by arrangement.
- Dressing Space: Shared dressing room space available.
Performance Space Accessibility
- Wheelchair accessibility for audience
- Wheelchair accessibility for performers
Performance Space Licensing
- This performance space does not have an age limit.
Hire Details
- Deal Types: Box Office Split with guarantee
- Proposed Charges and Charge Details: Our standard rental fee is 40% of box office or guarantee, whichever is greater. The guarantee is payable in advance in instalments. For the church space, the guarantee is dependent on your show and capacity, and any additional spatial or technical requir
- Usual slot duration: Variable in 5 minute increments - typically 1 hour to 1 hour 30 mins, but can be longer or shorter.