Pleasance Edinburgh opened as part of the 1985 Festival Fringe with just two theatres, which faced onto a deserted courtyard-come-car-park, at the then unfashionable, eastern end of Edinburgh’s old town!
Twenty-five seasons later and the story is very different. The Pleasance has become one of the biggest and most highly respected venues at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, with an international profile and a network of alumni that reads like a Who’s Who of contemporary comedy, drama and entertainment.
The company has expanded year on year, added up to 23 more venues – large and small – and in the process attracted a large number of faithful supporters and staff who return every season.
One such individual, who has been involved with the Pleasance for 11 years, is freelance sound designer Tom Lishman. Keenly enthusiastic about all the Pleasance Venues have to offer, he discusses his role in the organization, what it takes to plan and manage the sound installation across 25 venues hosting over 200 companies and what keeps him coming back for more. He also talks us through the Pleasance’s long and positive relationship with its audio kit supplier, Orbital Sound.
We also talk to the charming and enigmatic Director of the Pleasance, Anthony Alderson. He’s been involved with Pleasance for an amazing 23 years, having started when it comprised just two venues, in which he swept the floors! He tells us how it all began for him and what makes the Pleasance such a special place to work. He also discusses the benefits of company’s continued investment in its artist and technicians, how he has watched the operation grow and develop and his plans for future training initiatives.
Pleasance Theatre Trust Ltd [Registered Charity number 2013041].
And . . . if further proof were required of the opportunities and development prospects for aspiring theatre professionals, in all disciplines working at the Edinburgh Fringe, then Ellie Morgan has to be the icing on the cake. Now deputy head of lighting for all 26 venues, she started with the Pleasance just three years ago, working in a single Pleasance venue as a stage manager!
