An open air terraced amphitheatre will stage its first concert in around 80 years for a free show by the Edinburgh Brass Band.
Taking up the mantle at the Braidburn Valley Park – south of Morningside – which has welcomed a kaleidoscope of different performers over its history, is the Edinburgh Brass Band, who will gather there at 1pm on Saturday 1 August.
The last advertised use of the open air theatre was for a touring programme of children’s puppet shows in 1988, while it is thought to have been last used for a concert 80 years ago.
This provides locals with an opportunity to view a piece of Edinburgh history as well as enjoy the soothing tones of the city’s community brass band with a picnic.
Newsprint photo from The Edinburgh Evening News howing the opening concert of the Braidburn Valley Theatre on 28th June 1937
Throughout its near-90-year history, the theatre has undergone periods of disuse, but this stretch, following the 1980s, is by far the longest.
This is despite the theatre, in the shadow of the pastoral Blackford Hill, being described as “idyllic” and uniquely suited to hosting such productions by observers.
The park’s design was inspired by a similar valley park in Scarborough. The city acquired the around 27 acres of ground from the Mortonhall Estate in 1933, on condition that it be kept as an open park; the open-air theatre itself was inaugurated four years later, in 1937.
The valley was deemed unsuitable for development because of its steep sides and key water pipes running underneath it.
The theatre opened to a “mass display of dancing” in June 1937 as part of celebrations for King George VI’s coronation, and has hosted a colourful variety of attractions, from sheepdog trials to Shakespearean and Ancient Greek tragedies.
Despite its disuse, the theatre’s terracing, as well as the flat performance area ringed by hornbeam trees, can still clearly be seen.
Organisers will hope that the brass band performance can remind locals of the theatre’s charm and breathe new life into the park.
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