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Gateway Theatre

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Gateway Theatre was a historic theatre, cinema and drama-education venue on Elm Row in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Last updated October 14, 2026

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Overview

Gateway Theatre was a historic performance venue located on Elm Row, at the top of Leith Walk in Edinburgh. Although remembered principally for its post-war repertory theatre and later association with Queen Margaret University’s drama school, the building passed through several distinct institutional and commercial identities. It was originally constructed in 1882 by George Beattie and Sons for W. Owen Williams’ New Veterinary College. The veterinary college was separate from Edinburgh’s Royal (Dick) Veterinary College, and its former premises retained decorative animal statuary above the entrance for decades. After the veterinary college left the building in 1904, the premises were sold to William Perry. Perry attempted to establish a roller-skating rink by roofing over the internal courtyard, but that use was short-lived. In 1910 the building was redesigned by architect Ralph Pringle as a cinema called Pringle’s New Picture Palace. It was also known for a period in 1929–30 as The Atmospheric. When cinema operations ended in the 1930s, the building became a venue for amateur drama and was variously called Millicent Ward’s Studio Theatre and the Festival Theatre. It was renamed the Broadway in 1938. Following the Second World War, the premises were given to the Church of Scotland. Under the direction of the Reverend George Candlish, the Kirk established a repertory company and reopened the venue as a theatre in 1946, with seating for approximately 542 people. Theatre manager Sadie Aitken later changed its name to The Gateway. The venue hosted the Pilgrim Players, whose performances of T. S. Eliot’s The Family Reunion and Murder in the Cathedral formed part of the activity that preceded the modern Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Robert Kemp’s Scots adaptation Let Wives Tak Tent was first performed there in 1948. In 1953 the Church transferred theatrical operations to an independent professional company while retaining control of the front-of-house areas, box office and café. The Edinburgh Gateway Company became one of Scotland’s important repertory organisations. Its personnel included actors and practitioners such as Tom Fleming and Lennox Milne, and its repertoire combined Scottish drama, adaptations, modern international works and classics. Between 1953 and 1965 it produced around 150 plays, with designers and performers contributing to a distinctive theatrical identity centred on Scottish life, speech and character. The company also staged Festival-season productions and undertook tours and exchanges with other Scottish theatres. The Gateway’s repertory years included works by Robert Kemp, Robert McLellan, James Bridie, Graham Moffat, Albert D. Mackie and other Scottish writers, alongside plays by J. B. Priestley, Henrik Ibsen, Arthur Miller, Harold Pinter, Samuel Beckett, William Shakespeare, Sean O’Casey and George Bernard Shaw. The company’s programming demonstrated an ambition to connect locally rooted Scottish writing with the wider European and English-language theatrical repertoire. The company’s main period ended in 1965, when Edinburgh Corporation acquired the Royal Lyceum Theatre for development as a civic theatre. The Gateway had returned to cinema use by that point and closed again. Scottish Television purchased the building in 1968 and converted it into the Scottish Colour Studio. Queen Margaret University acquired the property in 1988 and converted it back into a theatre as part of the expansion of its drama school and creative-arts provision. Alterations by Law and Dunbar-Nasmith were completed in 1994, reportedly at a cost of £5 million. The facilities included voice and movement studios, radio and television studios, acting spaces and other purpose-built teaching resources. A further refurbishment in 1998 received £1.5 million in National Lottery funding. The venue supported the university’s conservatoire-style training and became a location for national and international productions during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. In 1999 it was designated Scotland’s International Drama Centre. The Gateway’s later profile was closely connected with Queen Margaret University’s School of Drama and Creative Industries. Artists and teachers associated with its support network included Tom Fleming, Judi Dench, Fiona Shaw, Simon Callow, Antony Sher, Jimmy Logan and Augusto Boal. In 2004, Maggie Kinloch, who directed both the theatre and the university school, launched Scotland’s Theatre Gateway with the Scottish Arts Council to promote Scottish talent during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. The university subsequently closed its Edinburgh-based theatre operation, and the former theatre building was later converted into a housing block. The Gateway therefore survives chiefly as a significant chapter in Edinburgh’s theatrical, educational and architectural history rather than as an active venue.

History

The Gateway Theatre building was erected in 1882 by George Beattie and Sons for W. Owen Williams’ New Veterinary College. The college left in 1904, after which William Perry acquired the premises and attempted to turn the courtyard into a roller-skating rink. In 1910 architect Ralph Pringle remodelled the building as Pringle’s New Picture Palace. It subsequently operated for a period as The Atmospheric and remained a cinema until the 1930s. The building then entered a theatrical phase. Amateur dramatics groups used it under names including Millicent Ward’s Studio Theatre and the Festival Theatre, and it became the Broadway in 1938. After the war, the Church of Scotland received the premises and created a repertory operation under the Reverend George Candlish. The theatre reopened in 1946 with seating for 542. Sadie Aitken, appointed theatre manager, later gave it the name The Gateway. During this period the venue hosted the Pilgrim Players, whose work was associated with the cultural activity that preceded the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Robert Kemp’s Scots adaptation Let Wives Tak Tent was first staged there in 1948. From 1953, theatrical production was led by the independent Edinburgh Gateway Company, while the Church retained responsibility for front-of-house functions, the box office and café. The company was chaired by Robert Kemp and brought together prominent Scottish actors, directors, designers and writers. Tom Fleming and Lennox Milne were among its co-founders. The repertoire included a substantial body of Scottish drama and adaptations, as well as major works from Britain, Europe and the United States. Between 1953 and 1965 the company produced approximately 150 plays. It also participated in Festival seasons, Scottish repertory exchanges and touring activity, sometimes dividing into touring and resident groups. The company’s seasons included works by James Bridie, Robert Kemp, Robert McLellan, Graham Moffat, Albert D. Mackie, Moray McLaren and other Scottish dramatists. Productions also included plays by Priestley, Barrie, Ibsen, O’Casey, Miller, Pinter, Beckett, Shakespeare, Shaw and other internationally recognised writers. The theatre was particularly valued as a place where dramatists writing about Scottish society could work with performers skilled in Scottish speech and theatrical traditions. In 1965 the company’s principal era came to an end as Edinburgh Corporation acquired the Royal Lyceum Theatre for civic-theatre purposes. The Gateway, then being used as a cinema again, closed. Scottish Television bought the property in 1968 and converted it into the Scottish Colour Studio. Queen Margaret University purchased the building in 1988 and restored its theatrical and educational role. A major conversion designed by Law and Dunbar-Nasmith was completed in 1994. It provided theatre, acting, voice and movement studios, radio and television studios and related facilities for the university’s drama conservatoire and creative-arts courses. A further refurbishment in 1998 was supported by National Lottery funding. The venue gained a national and international reputation through the university’s training programmes and its hosting of productions during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and it was named Scotland’s International Drama Centre in 1999. The later Gateway was supported by a wide network of prominent performers and theatre practitioners, including Tom Fleming, Judi Dench, Fiona Shaw, Simon Callow, Antony Sher, Jimmy Logan and Augusto Boal. In 2004 Maggie Kinloch launched Scotland’s Theatre Gateway in partnership with the Scottish Arts Council, seeking to promote Scottish talent during the Festival Fringe. The university subsequently closed the theatre operation. The former theatre was later converted into a housing block, ending its life as an active performance and teaching venue.

  • 2004

    Scotland’s Theatre Gateway launched

    [1]

    The initiative promoted Scottish talent during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in cooperation with the Scottish Arts Council.

  • 1999

    Designated Scotland’s International Drama Centre

    [1]

    The Gateway received this designation in recognition of its educational and Festival Fringe role.

  • 1998

    National Lottery-funded refurbishment

    [1]

    The venue underwent extensive refurbishment supported by National Lottery funding.

  • 1994

    University theatre conversion completed

    [1]

    Law and Dunbar-Nasmith completed major alterations and purpose-built teaching and production facilities.

  • 1988

    Acquired by Queen Margaret University

    [1]

    The university bought the property for drama-school and creative-arts expansion.

  • 1968

    Converted into Scottish Colour Studio

    [1]

    Scottish Television purchased the building and adapted it for colour-television production.

  • 1965

    Gateway repertory company ends

    [1]

    The company’s principal period ended as Edinburgh Corporation developed the Royal Lyceum as a civic theatre.

  • 1953

    Edinburgh Gateway Company takes over professional production

    [1]

    The independent professional company began managing theatrical production while the Church retained front-of-house functions.

  • 1948

    Scottish repertory identity established

    [1]

    Robert Kemp’s Let Wives Tak Tent received its first performance at the venue, which also hosted the Pilgrim Players.

  • 1946

    Reopened as a Church of Scotland repertory theatre

    [1]

    The building reopened as a 542-seat theatre under the direction of the Reverend George Candlish.

Products and positioning

A historically significant Edinburgh repertory theatre and later specialist drama-education centre, known for Scottish playwriting, professional theatre training and Festival Fringe activity.

  • Professional theatre productions · 1953

    Edinburgh Gateway Company repertory

    The company’s principal offering was a rotating repertory of professionally produced plays. It combined Scottish writing and adaptations with British, European and American classics and modern drama. Across its 1953–1965 period, the company produced about 150 plays and periodically toured or exchanged productions with other Scottish theatres.

  • Theatre education · 1994

    Drama-school training facilities

    During its Queen Margaret University period, the Gateway supported conservatoire-style drama education through acting spaces, voice studios, movement studios and production facilities. Radio and television studios broadened the venue’s role beyond stage performance into media and broadcast training.

  • Festival theatre

    Edinburgh Festival Fringe productions

    The Gateway hosted Festival-season work, including productions by its repertory company and later national and international productions associated with the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. This activity helped establish the venue as an important platform for performers, writers and theatre practitioners.

Marketing campaigns

  • 2004Scotland’s Theatre Gateway

    United Kingdom

    Maggie Kinloch launched Scotland’s Theatre Gateway with the Scottish Arts Council to promote Scottish theatrical talent during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

    Outcome. The initiative reinforced the Gateway’s role as a platform for Scottish theatre during the Festival period.

    Source

Brand decisions

  • 1988

    Theatre building repurposed for higher-education arts trainingStrategy

    Background

    After its television-studio period, the property became available for a new institutional use.

    Action taken

    Queen Margaret University acquired the building and converted it back into a theatre and drama-school facility.

    Aftermath

    The Gateway became a major base for drama education and Festival Fringe activity before the university later closed the theatre operation.

    Source

  • 1965

    Repertory operation discontinuedStrategy

    Background

    Edinburgh Corporation was acquiring the Royal Lyceum Theatre to establish a civic theatre, while the Gateway had returned to cinema use.

    Action taken

    The Gateway’s repertory company ended and the venue closed.

    Aftermath

    The building was sold to Scottish Television in 1968 and converted into the Scottish Colour Studio.

    Source

  • 1953

    Professional production separated from Church administrationStrategy

    Background

    The Church of Scotland had operated the post-war theatre, while retaining control of front-of-house functions, the box office and café.

    Action taken

    The Church handed theatrical production to an independent professional company, the Edinburgh Gateway Company.

    Aftermath

    The change began the theatre’s most important repertory period, during which approximately 150 plays were produced through 1965.

    Source

Sources1 sources

  1. 1Gateway Theatre (Edinburgh)en.wikipedia.org

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