scene

50 years of theatre in the
Church Hill Theatre
Church Hill Theatre,
Morningside Road, Edinburgh
– the beginning
The Corporation of the City of
Edinburgh
Extract of Minutes of Meeting held on
26th April 1962:
The Committee had under
consideration the motion by Bailie
McKay - in view of the University’s
decision to develop the Little Theatre
for their own purposes ,that this
Council consider what practical
assistance they can give to amateur
dramatic groups by way of alternative
accommodation. The committee also
had under consideration a proposal
by Councillor Ingham for the
conversion of Morningside High
Church to form a centre for the arts,
ballet, drama, music and opera and
for groups interested in the wellbeing
of the younger generation and
in the encouragement of the arts
After considering the report by the
officials and the memorandum by the
Arts Centre of Edinburgh ltd, The
Committee were of the opinion:
a. That an arts and drama centre of
the type indicated in Councillor
Ingham’s proposal should be
provided in the city
b. That the Morningside High
Church was suitable for this
purpose from the points of view
of location, size and structure.
c. That, if it were to be acquired
and converted for the purpose, a
total capital expenditure of
£50,000 (including the purchase
price) should be contemplated.
…................
Subsequently, on 11th March 1963 the
Morningside High Church was
purchased by the City for the sum of
£6,500 (excluding the organ, pulpit and
pews) and conversion to a theatre (on
lines suggested by Councillor Ingham )
was authorised at an estimated cost of
£40,000. Tenders for the extensive
works required for conversion to a
theatre were approved in 1964 and
work was commenced. The theatre
was formally opened on 25th
September 1965 with a production of
‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ by
Oscar Wilde staged by SCDA. The
following is a newspaper report of the
opening event:
“NEW THEATRE OFF TO
GOOD START”
In the same year that Hypolite Blanc
built Morningside High Church in
Edinburgh, Oscar Wilde wrote ‘The
Importance of Being Earnest’ Now after
seventy years Blanc’s solid building
and Wilde’s frivolous play have been
brought together- the Lord Provost and
magistrates giving their blessing to this
unlikely union. Converted at a cost of
£63,000 the 380 seat Church Hill
Theatre replaces the Little Theatre
which closed three years ago. It is
intended mainly for amateur groups
who may rent it for £12 a performance
.It was opened by Mr Tom Fleming,
director of the Royal Lyceum Theatre
Group who congratulated the town
council on their enterprise.
The Scottish Community Drama
Association have assembled a talented
company from six Edinburgh groups for
the first production. Directed by Cecil
Williams they played with style and
assurance on Saturday night. The
ladies were particularly impressive and
Dorothy Jamieson’s Lady Bracknell
was quite outstanding. Her withering
superiority came across like an icy blast
from Belgrave Square. Christelle
Steele (Gwendolen) and Brenda Taylor
(Cecily) both acted with intelligence
and vivacity. Moncrieff and
Worthington were capably portrayed by
Deryk Gould and Derek Graham. The
charming sets and costumes
contributed to the gaiety of a great
occasion in the amateur drama
movement.
…................
The play ran from Sat 25th
September to Sat 2nd October 1965
The Lord Provost, Sir Duncan
Weatherstone, presided over the
opening ceremony which was attended
by members of Edinburgh Corporation
and an invited audience representative
of interested organisations. In addition,
an exhibition of paintings and
photographs was staged by a number of
selected amateur artistic groups.
The first pantomime in the Church Hill
Theatre was ‘The Enchanted Waltz’
by Frederick Davis. This was staged
by Edinburgh People’s Theatre (EPT)
21
from Mon 27th Dec 1965 to Mon 3rd
Jan 1966 with matinees on 1st and
3rd Jan. Tickets were priced at 6/-
and 4/-. The pantomime was
directed by G. Dickson Brown
supported by Pat Cresswell as
Musical Director. Dance routines
were supplied by ‘The Girls of The
Betty Brandon School of Dancing’
Excerpt from the Scottish Daily
Mail 14th Dec 1965:
Edinburgh People’s Theatre have a
lavish pantomime, “The Enchanted
Waltz”, to stage in the Church Hill
Theatre at the end of this month.
There are six sets and 160 costumes,
all home made, except for a donkey
skin.
Margaret Drummond and Sylvia
Parker play pages who are turned
into a donkey, while Rosemary
Simpson is the fair princess who sets
her suitors to compose a waltz as the
price of her hand.
…................
Thus continued the annual production
of a pantomime (or children's play) by
EPT which started in 1946 with the
production of ‘Toad of Toad Hall’. This
was directed by Andrew Anderson and
presented in the Little Theatre in the
Pleasance. The first performance on
Mon 23rd Dec 1946 was opened by
Lord Stevenson on behalf of the
Pleasance Trust. The proceeds of the
first night were donated to the
Pleasance Trust. There was one
minor blip in Dec 2005 when the
Church Hill Theatre was closed for
renovation. In that year EPT relocated
to Adam House Theatre in Chambers
Street with a production of ‘Robin
Hood’. If this is quietly ignored, EPT
can claim that the production of ‘Dick
Whittington’ this year will be the 50th
consecutive pantomime, staged by
EPT, in the Church Hill Theatre since it
opened in 1965.
Dick Whittington
18,19,22,23,27 Dec 2014 at 7.00pm
20,21,27,28 Dec 2014 at 2.30pm
Tickets £10, £8 (group rates
available).
Choose your seat at:
www.ept.org/boxoffice (small booking
fee)