Hidden Scotland
Sign in
The word 'Playhouse' spans a stone facade in raised lettering beneath a balustraded parapet.
Edinburgh

Edinburgh Playhouse

A giant picture palace of 1929 at the top of Leith Walk, modelled on New York's Roxy, saved from demolition and a theatre since 1980.

Visit website

Welcome

At the top of Leith Walk, where the traffic swings round below Calton Hill, a long pale stone front carries one word in raised letters along its parapet: Playhouse.

Visited and photographed by Simon Hird

Below it a canopy runs the width of the building, lit up at night, with a row of black doors and posters for the season's shows in the box office windows.

It looks like a grand old cinema because that is what it was built to be, and inside it still feels like one, a vast auditorium rising in three levels towards a wide stage. Big touring musicals settle in here for months at a time, and in August it becomes one of the main stages of the festival. Come early, have a drink nearby on Leith Walk or in the streets round Picardy Place, and join the crowds going in under the lights.

The Daily

Arrives at 5am every day.

A free morning email to see what’s on this week, catch up on what’s happening in Scotland and find somewhere new to go.

The Daily for 14 November, from Scotland with love. A red kayak beached on a loch shore beneath sunlit rocky hills, Sutherland

Before you go

The Playhouse stages touring musicals, music and comedy; what is on, and tickets, are on its own site.

Where
18 to 22 Greenside Place, at the top of Leith Walk.

Been here? Tell others what you know, and the best go on this page with your name.

Add your review

Did you know

The word 'Playhouse' spans a stone facade in raised lettering beneath a balustraded parapet.
Did you know

A copy of the Roxy.

Its owners toured America to study the great picture houses, New York's Roxy among them, then came home and had John Fairweather design Edinburgh's biggest cinema. It opened on 12 August 1929.

A sign reading 'Playhouse' spans the entrance of a theatre advertising 'Jersey Boys' and 'Burns'.
Did you know

Built with a stage, just in case.

It was planned as a talkie cinema from the start, but it was still given a fly tower, a stage and dressing rooms, in case the fashion turned back to live theatre.

Black doors numbered 1 through 4 line the entrance of the Playhouse theatre.
Did you know

Three buildings in one.

It was built in three separate blocks in case of fire, round an auditorium of more than 3,000 seats that has hardly changed since.

Posters for 'Jersey Boys' line the box office windows beneath the Playhouse sign.
Did you know

The last picture show.

After four decades as a cinema it closed on 24 November 1973, after a last showing of Live and Let Die, and the next year it was put out for demolition.

The word 'Playhouse' spans a stone facade in raised lettering beneath a balustraded parapet.
Did you know

Saved by its own staff.

Two former staff started a campaign to save the building and gathered 15,000 signatures. Elton John and The Carpenters played concerts there in 1976 while its future was argued over.

A sign reading 'Playhouse' spans the entrance of a theatre advertising 'Jersey Boys' and 'Burns'.
Did you know

A theatre at last.

The regional council bought it, refurbished it and reopened it as a theatre on 1 June 1980. Today it calls itself the largest all-seated theatre in the UK.

Ben Lerwill

From our guide to Edinburgh

The one and only. The Playhouse is the largest working theatre in the UK, its three levels holding more than 3,000 seats. Expect big-name musicals and big-budget plays. The venue is Grade I listed and was inspired by New York’s Roxy Cinema.

Read more
Black doors numbered 1 through 4 line the entrance of the Playhouse theatre.
What is on

What is new across Edinburgh, day by day.

New places, news and stories, as we find them.

What is on in Edinburgh
01 / 08

Where it is

At the top of Leith Walk, on Greenside Place below Calton Hill.

Close byThe places nearest the Playhouse, at the top of Leith Walk.
  1. Bronze giraffe sculptures stand beside a glass-fronted building on the pavementThe Dreaming SpiresTwo giraffes of scrap metal outside the Omni Centre.Under a mile 2 min by road
  2. Sliding ladder against floor-to-ceiling bookshelves beside a window overlooking a church spireTopping & CompanyA large independent bookshop, opened in 2019.Under a mile 3 min by road
  3. Old Calton Burial GroundThe graveyard on the slope below Calton Hill.Under a mile 4 min by road
  4. Calton HillCalton HillA volcanic hill at the east end of Princes Street, crowned with monuments.Under a mile 4 min by road
  5. Rows of stone columns on Calton Hill under a grey skyCity ObservatoryPlayfair's observatory of 1818 on Calton Hill.Under a mile 4 min by road
  6. Nelson MonumentNelson MonumentA tower on Calton Hill for Nelson's victory at Trafalgar.Under a mile 4 min by road
Directions
Cafe Calton's terrace on top of Calton Hill on a sunny day, people at tables looking out over the city to the Firth of Forth.CafeCafe CaltonA step away
Cakes and pastries on Polish pottery stands at Stòr on Broughton Street, EdinburghShoppingStòr Lifestyle, EdinburghA step away
Man standing outside The Street bar, with rainbow murals and pavement seatingRestaurantsThe Street0.4 miles
The Cheese Gallery at The Big Cheese on Broughton Street: glass cabinets of cut wedges and whole wheels of cheese, each with its label.ShoppingThe Big Cheese0.4 miles
Barista pulling espresso shots on a chrome machine with stacked cups nearbyCafeAnte Café0.4 miles
Paper sculpture of a fox beneath a tree, crafted from an open bookAttractionsEdinburgh Book Sculptures0.4 miles
Street food spread on a blue table, with Chix and Fabrica packaging visibleRestaurantsEdinburgh Street Food0.5 miles
Lucky Yu's blue shopfront on Broughton Street at dusk, its windows lit pink by neon around an old wooden door.RestaurantsLucky Yu0.5 miles
Vinette's pale front on Broughton Street at dusk, its name above the apricot door and tall window, with lamps lit either side.RestaurantsVinette0.5 miles

Recommend to a friend

Stay nearby

Places to stay near the Playhouse, and when each is next free.

A hotel studio room with a beige fitted kitchen unit and stainless sink beside a bed dressed in white and teal cushions, a wall of black-framed pictures above a patterned headboard.Old Town Chambers
  • To stay
  • In Edinburgh
  • Under a mile from the Playhouse
Check datesA round table and chairs stand before tall curtained windows looking onto stone buildings, a sofa and mounted television to the right.Moment George IV Bridge
  • Sleeps 2
  • In Edinburgh
  • Under a mile from the Playhouse
Check datesWest End Muse
  • Sleeps 4
  • In Edinburgh
  • A mile from the Playhouse
Check datesA turreted sandstone building with conical spires catches the evening light above rooftops, a large pine tree standing beside it.The Scott Hotel
  • A hotel
  • In Edinburgh
  • A mile from the Playhouse
Check datesPlaces to stayEvery stay in EdinburghAll our places to stay nearby, to search by date and by who is coming.See them all
Hidden Scotland, the magazine

Scotland, in print.

We want to show you the best that Scotland has to offer. The makers and the creatives, the enduring experiences, the evocative tales, the concealed corners. The roads less travelled that take you to places that matter. The adventures that gather you up and sweep you away. The blend of the wild and the artistic that makes Scotland what it is. We’d love for you to join us.

Get Issue 13Read it here

Read on

What we have written about it and more in Edinburgh.

ArticleFebruary in EdinburghArticleMarch in EdinburghArticleApril in Edinburgh
More in Edinburgh

Find out more

For further reading, before you go. The details on this page were checked on .