Symposium Hall, Educational venue in Southside, Edinburgh, Scotland
Symposium Hall is a church building in Edinburgh's Southside now operating as a performance venue, featuring a theater with 156 leather seats, digital sound equipment, and video projection capabilities. The stage extends approximately 7 meters (23 feet) wide, 3 meters (10 feet) deep, with an overhead clearance of 5 meters (16 feet) to accommodate diverse productions.
The structure was built in 1847 as Roxburgh Free Church, designed by architect Thomas Hamilton, and later served as St Michael's Episcopal Church until 1965. The Royal College of Surgeons transformed it into a lecture hall in 1982.
The space serves performers during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and draws artists from across the creative spectrum to its stage. Its role as a theater has brought contemporary culture into a historic religious building, making it an important venue for local and visiting artists.
The venue is easily located in Southside and offers good sightlines from most seats. Visitors should know the acoustics work best for intimate productions, and access is straightforward at ground level.
A donation from a Saudi Arabian king enabled the conversion to a modern educational and performance space in the 1980s. This royal patronage unexpectedly connected a religious building with academic and artistic purposes.
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