Award-winning interdisciplinary festival is back for another year of innovative arts
With the recent announcement that the award-winning Hidden Door festival will be returning to Edinburgh following a successful fundraising campaign, it has now been confirmed that the event will be back at the Leith Theatre for its 2019 edition.
Having raised £40k towards securing the future of the multi-arts festival, preparations are now underway for the event, which will take place in the form of a long weekender, running from Thu 30 May to Sun 2 Jun. As a major part of the festivities, The List will be partnering with the festival for another year to bring audiences a specially curated opening night on Thu 30 May. Hidden Door's core team of volunteers are now busy pulling together the full programme of live music, immersive film and other artistic delights, with more announcements to follow soon.
David Martin, Creative Director of Hidden Door, said: 'We believe Hidden Door is making a real difference to artists and creative people in Scotland. It is creating accessible, engaging experiences for audiences, and is leaving a legacy, both to the communities we invest in and the fabric of the city itself, such as with the Leith Theatre. It's hugely exciting to be returning to that glorious venue for a long weekend of fun, and we're also proud to again be working with The List.'
The Leith Theatre was transformed in 2017, when the festival took over the art deco building to provide a platform for new and emerging artists, musicians, theatre makers and more. As a result of this successful and hugely popular takeover of the venue, Hidden Door once again returned to the Leith Theatre in 2018, with 13,000 visitors making their way to see acts ranging from Daniel Avery and Sylvan Esso to a sold-out show from Young Fathers. This was then followed by a night in August 2018, which saw the Hidden Door team curate an event as part of the Edinburgh International Festival's Light on the Shore programme, with alt-rock legends The Jesus and Mary Chain headlining.
Jack Hunter, chair of the Leith Theatre Trust, said: 'We are thrilled that Hidden Door has both secured enough funding to continue and also that it returns to Leith Theatre in 2019 in a fantastic, packed weekend programme. Hidden Door has been instrumental in putting Leith Theatre on the map and generous in its time and support of our campaign to save the theatre. The campaign to reopen the full complex at Leith Theatre continues to make progress and we are in positive conversations to support the building and its role within the community of Leith, and for the city of Edinburgh. Watch this space!'
In 2017, Hidden Door collaborated with The List on two nights of live music – bringing Scottish Album of the Year (SAY) award winner Anna Meredith and Scottish indie legends Idlewild to the Leith Theatre main stage. The partnership continued last year, with a powerful all-female line-up including Honeyblood's Stina Tweeddale, Dream Wife, Gwenno and Mercury Prize nominee Nadine Shah.
Arusa Qureshi, Editor at The List, said: 'We're thrilled to be partnering with Hidden Door again this year and delighted to see the festival heading back to the Leith Theatre. Hidden Door is one of the city's most inspiring and truly unique events, proving every year that Edinburgh has plenty to offer year-round. The List are pleased to support such a fantastic festival and we can't wait to present another cracking opening night with some of our favourite acts.'
Full line-up to be revealed. Visit hiddendoorblog.org to follow future programme announcements.