I can't write a very comprehensive report on the venue since I only did three shows there - and they were right at the start of the programme (show 603). First day was a little fraught due to there initially being no sign of microphones/stands to go with the PA mixer that was on the stage - but later on some had appeared, thanks to Donna the venue manager, although she wasn't there by the evening so there was no-one to help out with tech. Don't think we'd have got any sound out of the system if Rob McGlade (show after mine) hadn't stepped up and figured it out. (Thanks, Rob!). The venue itself was good in terms of space/acoustics etc. I had varying numbers attending (7, 13, and 25 for the three shows if memory serves). Noah (show before mine) had to adapt to a couple of v small audiences, which he did admirably by sitting on the edge of the stage and treating his performance as a conversation. I've included a pic of this as it also gives you an idea of stage size.
David Taylor Just Tricks show 866 Leith Arches. 16.30 12th-24th August. I accepted a late offer at the Leith Arches, as I believe another magic show had pulled out last minute. This was literally 2 weeks before Fringe started, and I happened to be available. Having this opportunity and experience, I will be forever grateful. The venue's performance area was excellent and given the laid back atmosphere inside the venue, allowed it to be acceptable for setting up or striking equipment whilst spectators were present. However this fact, would limit me, as a magician (who may require some privacy in setting up routines) and in what material I would be able to perform. The reason for this was because there was at least 2 entry points to the venue and not all acts conducted door duty correctly. The venue's staff were very friendly and the main person who was present most regularly was Donna, she went above and beyond for all acts and certainly added a comforting reasurance when spectator numbers were low. My biggest concern when accepting the offer for Leith Arches was it's location and therefore getting bums on seats. Being at least 35-40 minute walk from the royal mile and not having a strong fringe presence in that area would mean that it would be hard getting good numbers. This unfortunately was definitely the case for me and for the other acts that I met who were performing there also. I did of course accept the offer late and this rendered me too late to be in the Wee Blue Book, which no doubt added to the low numbers that I experienced. Continued on next post.
Continued Flyering of course can be tedious and no doubt one of the hardest jobs at Fringe. However carrying out this duty outside the Leith Arches, especially when the actual venue itself was shut from Monday-Thursday was excruciating. You are certainly not Flyering to Fringe goers. You are Flyering to Edinburgers walking home after an 9 hour shift or one of the locals who you start to see regularly as they go about their daily business. This is obviously impossible, but it was said many times by myself and other fringe regulars. If you could just scoop up the Leith Arches and place it in the centre of town then you would be onto a first class free fringe venue.
Show Report (ANGEL, BABY -#223) Victoria Watson Sepejak Leith Arches is a lovely venue, run by sweet Donna who is the most lovely person ever! She and her staff truly went above and beyond to make everyone feel safe and taken care of! The space is quite delightful and very flexible! My show is physical, so I was able to organize the chairs so that I had more stage space to play! The space allowed for a standard wash, solid audio, bluetooth microphones, and a disco ball! This show was at 11:30am and Leith Arches is located 40 minutes from the central hub, so I think we can all guess how difficult it was to get consistent audience numbers! But! Nonetheless, I didn't have one show where people didnt show up, and only two performances had to be canceled due to the audience member not wanting to have the show just done for them! So if you're willing to flyer extensively, and be persistent, you can find some success, depending on your goals! My highest number was 20, lowest was 1, which I will happily take!
For this venue moving forward, my biggest take away would be that any show before 12:30pm is gonna have a real hard time, which might be an argument for not booking shows at Leith Arches before the afternoon. I teched Joshuas Witnesses who had a slot at 12:45pm, then 2:00pm, and the jump in numbers and the ease in flyering/ getting audience members into the space gave us both whiplash! Flyering for my show and then flyering for his show was day and night! It could be for many reasons, my biggest guess is anytime after 12 folks are at lunch, folks who are self employed are out more, theres just more people to pull from. Before 12, Leith is kind of barren to be honest! She gets real quiet! No one really wanted to drink at the bar at this time, and no one really wants to take the risk and watch an 18+ comedy show! It didn't help the cafe was closed from Mon-Thurs, but even when it was open, people getting coffee in the morning versus the afternoon are a different breed, and morning folks mostly want to sit and chill! But, again, if you really grind it, you can get butts in seats, just not a crazy amount! I also did two shows at CC Blooms in place of Rainbow Cabaret at 22:30 on two Monday nights, which were both fun! It made sense why Rainbow Cabaret did not want to do Monday's at 10:30, cause believe it or not, gay bars are not popping on a Monday night! But I still got fun crowds (7 people, 3 people) and CC Blooms staff were super kind and helpful! It was a delight to get to do the show at more than one venue! All in all, super fun time, super stressful time! Thankful for PBH and everyone I met over the month, so many kind folks!
Show Report (Joshua's Witnesses - #310) Joshua Bonnici I was very impressed with the support I received here. The manager, Donna is incredibly kind and welcoming. She really wants every show to succeed and does what she can to make that happen, including posting on social media. There are some nice lighting options, but without a lighting board, it was difficult to make use of them. I stuck to having a regular wash for the whole show. If they could figure out how to get control of the lights on a board that would significantly elevate this venue. The venue is large, especially compared to most PBH venues Ive seen. There is seating for 70-100 and is completely customizable. You can put out only 10-20 chairs if you are not getting big houses so that people do not disappear like they would in a typical big venue. It is a contained venue where you dont have to worry about noise bleed from another area. It is the one room, and they will not have other events while your show is happening. There is also a great balcony area that you can use to get ready for your show. Location is the biggest negative. It is very deep into Leith, which for anyone who has been to the fringe knows is a difficult area to convince people to come to that are used to being in the main hub. There are people that live in that area and tourists renting there that you will mostly try to woo with your flyering. The stage is a 6m by 6m platform that has some flexibility in how high it can be raised. Since the chairs in the venue can be moved, there is also the ability to have a larger floor space in front of the stage to play in if needed. A great plus that was not fully used this year was the cafe that is attached, but separate to the venue. It is on the corner of the street and when it was open (a few days a week), it was much easier to flyer because of the increased foot traffic and people in the cafe being able to bring their food/drinks into the venue. Overall, I enjoyed Leith Arches.