Hidden Door is happening – at Granton Gasworks

Hidden Door reveals location of the 2021 festival.

The Hidden Door 2021 venue has been revealed, and (with a massive drum roll…) it is to be Granton Gasworks, where the festival will take place in the shadow of the historic gas holder.

The site at West Shore Road will be transformed into an outdoor celebration of music, visual art, theatre, dance and spoken word from 15 – 19 September 2021.

The festival organisers plan two stages for music performances, lighting up the gas holder to create a dramatic backdrop, with sculptures displayed throughout the site.

The large, open space will allow Hidden Door 2021 to be flexible, adapting to comply with whatever coronavirus restrictions in place at the time.

Over five days, the event will showcase the work of at least 30 graduates, four site artists, eight dance groups and two theatre companies, highlighting some of the best emerging talent in Scotland.

David Martin, Creative Director of Hidden Door, said: “Taking on the site of the Granton Gasworks is an exciting opportunity for Hidden Door to adapt, as we need to, in order to start bringing live events back to the city. We are used to working in the nooks and crannies of disused buildings, so moving to a big open site like this is really liberating!

“We are designing the event so that there will be enough space for everyone to be safe and to be able to accommodate social distancing if we still need to work with those restrictions, but the epic nature of the site, with the incredible gas tower landmark looming over us, means we will be able to create a spectacle and an atmosphere, and bring about the wow-factor that our audience expects from a Hidden Door venue. 

“We can’t wait to get on site and start turning it into a creative and joyful showcase of Scotland’s emerging talent. Early career artists and performers have been so badly affected by the pandemic, so they are front and centre for this event, and we are looking forward to showing how much talent there is to celebrate.”

Edinburgh College are enthusiastically welcoming the festival on to the site. As well as opening the gates to Hidden Door, they hope to use the festival as a training opportunity for students on a number of courses.

Jakki Jeffery, Head of Creative Industries at Edinburgh College, said: “It’s fantastic that Hidden Door have chosen this site close to the iconic Granton Gasworks to host their 2021 festival.

“It will be wonderful to see the space transformed to showcase creative talent which we hope our students can play a part in, and take inspiration and experience from to boost their future careers.” 

Tickets are available via www.hiddendoorblog.org/tickets or from Citizen Ticket. Once the full programme is announced, ticket holders will be able to select which days they would like to attend.