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Sign board of former Traverse Theatre
McGarry, Paul, 1992, Photograph
Sign board of former Traverse Theatre
Sign board of former Traverse Theatre
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Location
Category
Library Item
Item no
2521
Title
Sign board of former Traverse Theatre, James' Court, Lawnmarket, Edinburgh
Artist / maker
McGarry, Paul
Date
1992
Size
25 x 20.1 cm
Type
Photograph
Location
Edinburgh and Scottish Collection
The first
Traverse Theatre
was situated in a rather dilapidated building owned by Tom Mitchell at 15 James Court, off Edinburgh's Lawnmarket. Reputedly a former brothel and lodging house, it went by the nickname of 'Kelly's Paradise'.
On the first floor an oblong room only 15 feet wide and 8 feet high was converted into a 60 seat theatre, the seats themselves coming from the disused Palace Cinema further down the High Street. Terry Lane suggested two banks of seats on either side of a central stage, an arrangement he erroneously thought was called 'traverse'. The actual term is transverse, but from such a misconception the name Traverse Theatre was born.
The basement of the building was used for dressing rooms, a scene dock and wardrobe accommodation, the second floor housed the box office and a coffee bar, and the third had a restaurant and bar. The Traverse occupied this building from 1963 to 1969 when it moved into its second location in the Grassmarket.
Exhibitions with this item
The Traverse Theatre at 50
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