Gilded Balloon

The Gilded Balloon at Teviot Row House, during the 2004 festival

Gilded Balloon is a producer and promoter of live entertainment events, based in Edinburgh, Scotland, and best known as one of the Big Four venue operators at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe each August.[1]

The company has its origins in a venue known as The Gilded Balloon on Edinburgh's Cowgate, where artistic director Karen Koren first started promoting comedy events in 1986. When a fire in 2002 destroyed the original premises, Gilded Balloon shifted its Fringe operations to Teviot Row House in Bristo Square, which became the company's main venue.

Gilded Balloon also operates outside the Fringe, including running monthly comedy nights in the studio of Edinburgh Festival Theatre.

History

The Gilded Balloon was established by Karen Koren in 1986, staging seven shows a day in a building on Cowgate that was formerly J. & R. Allan's department store.[2][3][4] The building was built in 1823 by James Spittal, a draper and silk merchant, who used it as a warehouse for his shop "The Gilded Balloon".[5]

In 1988, the Gilded Balloon devised the competition "So You Think You're Funny",[2][6] which has been won by many notable comics including Rhona Cameron, Lee Mack, Dylan Moran, Tommy Tiernan and Peter Kay; other finalists have included Ed Byrne, Jason Byrne, Ardal O’Hanlon and Johnny Vegas. The competition was sponsored by Channel 4 from 1993 until 2004,[7] with five and the Paramount Comedy Channel taking over in 2005. Karen Koren is one of the major supporters of Australian comedy talent, and has produced a number of notable Australian acts at the Gilded Balloon over the years, including Greg Fleet, and is particularly noted for being the springboard for the careers of Tim Minchin and Drags Aloud.

In 2001, the Gilded Balloon expanded to include Teviot Row House in Bristo Square, which is owned by the Edinburgh University Students' Association. On 7 December 2002, a fire devastated its original Cowgate base.[4] In 2007, the C venues used the space to create a new venue, the "Soco Urban Garden".[8]

The Gilded Balloon continues to use Teviot Row House which, in 2014, contained nine performance spaces,[9] The Debating Hall being the biggest, seating 360, and The Turret being the smallest at 50 seats. Other venues include The Dining Room, The Wine Bar, The Wee Room, The Nightclub, The Sportsman's, The Balcony and The Billiard room.

Gilded Balloon's offices are at 25 Greenside Place in Edinburgh, which is run by a small team of full-time staff.

Trivia

During his early career, Russell Brand was forcefully ejected from the Gilded Balloon.[10]

References

  1. ↑ http://www.gildedballoon.co.uk/about
  2. 1 2 Cornwell, Tim (5 June 2010). "Old faces return for Gilded Balloon's 25th birthday". Edinburgh: The Scotsman. Retrieved 2011-08-20.
  3. ↑ Raymond Duncan and Shan Ross (10 Dec 2002). "Personal cost of fire that tore through capital - Tears of Gilded Balloon's artistic director". Herald Scotland. Retrieved 2011-08-20.
  4. 1 2 Brocklehurst, Steve (31 July 2003). "Fire fails to burst the Balloon". BBC News. Retrieved 6 January 2010.
  5. ↑ "Thomas Hamilton Architect: Commercial Projects".
  6. ↑ "So You Think You're Funny?". Chortle. Retrieved 2011-08-20.
  7. ↑ "Channel 4 'So You Think You're Funny' page". Channel 4.
  8. ↑ "C Soco Urban Garden". Edinburgh Guide. Retrieved 2011-08-20.
  9. ↑ "gildedballoon.co.uk".
  10. ↑ Logan, Brian (17 August 2004). "Edinburgh festival: Russell Brand". The Guardian (London). Retrieved 25 May 2010.

External links

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