| Bedlam Theatre | |
|---|---|
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| Former names | New North Free Church (1848–1900) New North United Free Church (1900–1929) New North Church of Scotland (1929–1941) University of Edinburgh Chaplaincy (1957–1975) |
| General information | |
| Status | Active |
| Type | Theatre |
| Architectural style | Decorated Gothic |
| Address | 11B Bristo Place, EH1 1EZ |
| Town or city | Old Town, Edinburgh |
| Country | Scotland |
| Coordinates | 55°56′46.49″N 3°11′26.60″W / 55.9462472°N 3.1907222°W |
| Current tenants | Edinburgh University Theatre Company |
| Construction started | 1846 |
| Completed | 1848 |
| Renovated | 2012 |
| Owner | University of Edinburgh |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) | Thomas Hamilton |
| Website | |
| www | |
Listed Building – Category B | |
| Official name | Bedlam Theatre (Former New North Free Church), Including Boundary Walls, Forrest Road and Bristo Place, Edinburgh |
| Designated | 4 July 2001 |
| Reference no. | LB30020 |
Bedlam Theatre is a theatre in the Old Town of Edinburgh, Scotland. The building was completed in 1848 for the New North Free Church. After closing as a church in 1941, the building served as a chaplaincy centre and then a store for the University of Edinburgh before reopening in 1980 as the student-run theatre of Edinburgh University Theatre Company (EUTC), operating during Edinburgh Fringe festival as venue 49.
The New North Free Church originated in the Disruption of 1843, when Charles John Brown, minister of the New North Church, led many of his congregation out of the Church of Scotland and into the newly established Free Church. The church was noted for its active mission and its ministry to students. After its congregation united with Greyfriars in 1941, the University of Edinburgh used the building as a chaplaincy centre and then, from 1975, as a store. The university gifted the building to EUTC, who reopened it as the Bedlam Theatre in 1980. It is named for the lunatic asylum, which once stood nearby. With a capacity of 90, the building remains the United Kingdom's oldest student-run theatre, hosting around 40 EUTC productions each year as well as up to eight shows a day during the Edinburgh Fringe.
The building was designed in the Decorated Gothic style by Thomas Hamilton. It forms an important part of the Old Town cityscape, terminating the view south along George IV Bridge. The theatre, restored in 2012, has been protected as a Category B listed building since 2001.