During the lockdown summer of 2020, with Edinburgh\u2019s usual festivities cancelled, the tradition of the theatrical \u2018ghost light\u2019 inspired a display of beams of lights emanating from the city\u2019s empty venues. When theatres were allowed to open again, we revelled in the power of the shared experiences we\u2019d missed, and the arts bounced back. However, plans for a major restoration of Edinburgh\u2019s King\u2019s Theatre had already been drawn up prior to Covid, and in summer 2022 the theatre closed again. Not dark and empty this time though \u2013 the contractors moved in, and a huge and expensive process was underway. This week, the \u2018Grand Old Lady of Leven Street\u2019 welcomed audiences back at long last, and a special Gala performance set the tone for a bright future.<\/p>\n
This Edwardian beauty is looking fabulous. From an extended fly tower to a new stage, the theatre is now equipped to accommodate a wider range of productions, and the audience experience is enhanced by redesigned bar spaces, new staircases and lifts, and refurbished\/renewed seating. Improved accessibility has been central to the project. The gorgeously ornate ivory and gold plasterwork in the auditorium glints beneath John Byrne\u2019s vividly coloured ceiling artwork, also newly restored.<\/p>\n
How else to celebrate the reopening of the King\u2019s than with a variety show, but the line-up for this one had been kept under wraps. After a brief lightshow, the opening spotlight fell on Nicola Benedetti, playing utterly spellbinding solo Bach. After opening speeches by the Chair and CEO of Capital Theatres, the \u2018panto boys\u2019 (Allan Stewart, Grant Stott and Jordan Young) took the helm and introduced items as diverse as Scottish Ballet (a pas de deux from Starstruck), a medley of songs by National Theatre of Scotland, and Jamie MacDougall performing as Harry Lauder from the Scottish Opera show.\u00a0 One of my personal highlights was watching the BSL interpreter Greg Colquhoun (on stage throughout) signing along to \u2018That\u2019s the Reason Noo I Wear a Kilt\u2019\u2026<\/p>\n
Woven throughout the evening were recollections from people who had enjoyed their first taste of theatre at a King\u2019s panto, and reminders of the venue\u2019s very special place in the city\u2019s affections. A place where, in Hannah Lavery\u2019s specially commissioned poem \u2018The King\u2019s 2026\u2019, we find \u2018a city arriving as itself, many voiced, choosing, despite it all \/ to be together\u2019. It was fitting that this warm hug of a show ended with a stage full of Edinburgh folk: singers from community groups such as the Gang Show and the Gilbert & Sullivan Society performing the Proclaimers\u2019 \u2018Streets of Edinburgh\u2019. Welcome back, \u2018Old Lady\u2019 \u2013 Edinburgh\u2019s missed you!<\/p>\n
Reviewed on 31 July 2026 | Image: Contributed<\/strong><\/p>\n \t\t\tThe Reviews Hub Star Rating<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"During the lockdown summer of 2020, with Edinburgh\u2019s usual festivities cancelled, the tradition of the theatrical \u2018ghost light\u2019…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1124291,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[8816],"tags":[198054,748,305940,1102,150759,4884,305941,305942,305943,305944,305945,160174,305946,127812,712,127814,203685,16,15],"class_list":["post-1124290","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-edinburgh","tag-allan-stewart","tag-britain","tag-capitol-theatres","tag-edinburgh","tag-grant-stott","tag-great-britain","tag-greg-colquhoun","tag-hannah-lavery","tag-jamie-macdougall","tag-john-byrne","tag-jordan-young","tag-kings-theatre","tag-national-theatre-of-scotland","tag-nicola-benedetti","tag-scotland","tag-scottish-ballet","tag-scottish-opera","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/117020885468302299","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1124290","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1124290"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1124290\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1124291"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1124290"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1124290"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1124290"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}