This was a new venue this year and it is an absolutely fantastic space for theatre, comedy, music etc. It has a separate room next to the bar with doors that shut completely so it is soundproof and you can set the room up in any configuration you like, theatre style or cabaret. It can fit a good sized audience depending on how you set it up - at least 30, more if needed. Afterwards you can go and have a drink and some food right next Door. Theres even a kind of backstage where you can get ready (toilets and a wee room out the back) so worked really well for our theatre/live music show. The managers and staff are super friendly and helpful. Its in Leith which is a great suburb and walking distance from the train station or you can just jump on a tram. The great thing is people werent overwhelmed with flyer-ing there so were interested to come along and watch. Highly recommended. which is a great suburb and walking distance from the train station or you can just jump on a tram. ing there. Its also where a lot of people stay because its a little bit cheaper than right in the centre. Would definitely do a show there again. Highly recommended.
I ran two shows at Satyr, for second half of the Fringe (14th-25th Aug), an improv panel show at 1:20pm and a solo standup show at 6pm. The performances were in a separate room from the bar, with wooden sliding doors. There was occasional soundbleed but not much. With a small room and small audiences I rarely used the soundsystem. There is a projector and screen available. The lights are on dimmer switches so can choose your own light levels. The venue captain provided a spot light, this would be useful for future shows. The room holds 30 people comfortably. Chairs can be set up how you want. There are a few tables in the room, they are moved out of the way for performances. Performers can use the small store cupboard to leave belongings. This cupboard is locked overnight. As Satyr is out in Leith it can be difficult to get an audience, most of the people walking past are going to and from work and home, rather than there for the comedy. The room is small enough that shows work well with audiences of 5-6, and are brilliant for audiences of 10-12. I only had to cancel 2 shows for lack of audience, 1 panel show on a Wednesday afternoon, and a solo show on a Thursday evening. There were 2 shows where I had an audience of 1. The last weekend's shows were well attended, averaging 10 for the solo evening show. The bar managers are friendly and helpful. The panel show was the first one of the day, and on the first occassion the barstaff was running late, so we couldn't access the venue until after the show started. The rest of the time we were able to start on time. They store the outdoor tables and chairs in the room overnight, so these will need moving before shows start.
I did a full run at Satyr from the 2nd til the 24th at 2:20pm. The venue is the back room of the bar, which can seat about 30 people. The stage itself is a little bit cramped, but perfectly fine if youre doing something like a one person show. Theatre productions may struggle. If you need anything technical, youre going to need to organise that yourself, as the lights are simple (though can be dimmed) and theres no PA system. Theres little noise interference as the wooden sliding doors are especially thick and good at keeping sound in (and out). The owners and bar staff themselves are easygoing, straightforward and helpful. They like to keep their bar free of too much fringe stuff, but this year they were able to use what would have been one of the entrances to the backroom as a poster wall, as it has a thick, sliding wooden door to prevent the noise coming through. Meanwhile, the front has decent space for posters on either side of the door. (Somewhat unrelated, drinks are quite pricey, so if youre skint during the fringe its not ideal XD)
A couple issues I ran into included the staff not changing the opening times of the bar to reflect the fact that they were opening earlier during the fringe. They usually open at 4pm, but during August they open at about 1pm to allow for free fringe performances; but this wasnt reflected on google until about halfway through my run, which may have caused confusion. The second (and probably most important thing to consider) is that you are going to be in one of the more out of the way fringe venues. Leith walk isnt a tremendously popular fringe spot to begin with, but if youre an afternoon show like I was youre basically not going to be getting any Edinburgh residents coming in apart from weekends. The bar doesnt get tremendous visitation during that time, so youre going to need to grab the attention of tourists on the high street and nearby, which means marketing yourself hard. Flyer every day you physically can, make a great poster, all that jazz.
Its not a bad venue by any means, but youre going to need to put the work in (and collaborate with your fellow fringers) to make the space a legitimately good spot instead of just a free room to perform in, and youre going to REALLY need to work hard if youre in the afternoon slots.