Controversial Edinburgh University tower block to become major new Fringe venue this summer

Seven spaces will be created by long-time venue operator Gilded Balloon at Edinburgh University's Appleton Tower in August.

The pop-up venue will be able to accommodate audiences of between 40 and 300 during Gilded Balloon's 40th year of Fringe shows.

The family-run firm has announced plans for the new venue after it was forced to abandon a proposal to return to its historic home at nearby Teviot Row House this summer after a multi-million pound revamp took much longer than expected.

The Leith-based producers were forced to cut back their annual Fringe programme last summer due to the scale of the refurbishment at Teviot, which is the world's oldest purpose-built student union building.

As well as using Appleton Tower for the first time this August, Gilded Balloon will be returning to the National Museum of Scotland and Adam House, which it has used in recent years.

The Appleton Tower, which dates back to 1966, was controversial from the beginning after the university secured permission to demolish a number of historic buildings in the George Square area.

It was put forward for inclusion in a TV series on the “worst buildings in Britain” 20 years ago. Proposals to give the Appleton Tower listed building status were dropped around the same time due to the level of opposition.

However, the building underwent a full refurbishment between 2006 and 2017.

Gilded Balloon, one of the longest-running Fringe venue operators, has been staging shows at the festival since 1986.

Founded by Karen Koren, who now runs Gilded Balloon with her daughter Katy, Gilded Balloon's first venues were in the Cowgate, with the company expanding to Teviot Row House in August 2001.

The student union building has been Gilded Balloon's main base since its long-time Cowgate home was destroyed in December 2002, along with a number of other businesses in one of the worst fires in modern times in Edinburgh.

When the temporary closure of Teviot to make way for a major refurbishment was announced in the spring of 2023, the work was originally intended to run from October 2023 until the spring of this year.

However, it emerged last October the building, which is run throughout the year by Edinburgh University Students' Association (EUSA), would not be ready to reopen until early 2026.

The university, which is paying for the revamp, blamed the hold-up on the need to completely rewire the building, which was not originally expected.

The Appleton Tower deal has been clinched following months of talks between Gilded Balloon, EUSA and the university to try to secure an alternative Fringe venue for this year's Fringe.

An official announcement from Gilded Balloon said: "We’re thrilled to reveal our new venue hub. Located just around the corner from Teviot beside George Square, Gilded Balloon at Appleton Tower will feature seven versatile performance venues ranging from 40 to 300 seats, plus a lively bar and event space.

"We’re excited to provide another platform for artists from around the globe to showcase their work in these fantastic new venues, and we can’t wait to support more incredible talent at the Fringe."

Discussing this summer's shake-up in their Boss Wummin podcast, Katy and Karen Koren admitted they had been "gutted" to discover that Teviot would be unavailable this year.

Karen Koren said: "We only had one-year contracts before but they [EUSA] have offered us a three-year contract. They want to keep us, which is good. Teviot will live again and be fabulous when it reopens. I'm very excited about Appleton Tower this year."

Katy Koren said: "Building theatres for the Fringe is a more and more expensive thing every year. It is exciting, but it is also quite daunting the amount that needs to be done for it to be of a standard we would be happy to present shows in.

"We have got an incredible team that can definitely build the venues. Our production team is ready for it."