Edinburgh Theatre Arts

Edinburgh Theatre Arts (ETA) stages full-length and one-act theatre productions in the Stockbridge area of Edinburgh. Fringe Venue 230.

Edinburgh Theatre Arts (ETA) has been in existence since the late 1940s. The company owed a lot, in the early years, to Charles Johnston who set the standard as a no-nonsense talented director. Charlie also encouraged the company to join the National Drama Federation Association (NDFA) and to compete south of the border in at least one NDFA full length play festival each year. Our far flung festival sorties have included a range of great old theatres including The Gaiety, Isle of Man; New Theatre, Cardiff; The Harrogate Theatre and the Buxton Opera House.

After an itinerant existence for some years the company settled for nearly 20 years in the Coach House Theatre in Ferry Road. In a space that accommodated 40 people, ETA achieved great acclaim for some classic productions. ETA has been a regular on the Edinburgh Festival Fringe for nearly 40 years starting with a 1972 Fringe debut production of The Birthday Party. During the Coach House years other productions included:
The Father, Uncle Vanya, Our Town, A Delicate Balance, Glass Menagerie and a number of productions which recognised their association with one of America’s greatest playwrights, Arthur Miller: Death of a Salesman, A View from the Bridge, The Crucible, All my Sons and The Price.

In the 1990’s the company moved to St Phillips Hall near Powderhall where highlights included Under Milk Wood, and Liz Lochhead’s Dracula, the latter receiving the playwright’s seal of approval. During this time, Spring shows were staged at Churchill Theatre with a wide range of productions: The Diary of Ann Frank, Plaza Suite, A Streetcar Named Desire, The Odd Couple, The Front Page, Night Must Fall, The Crucible, Sailor Beware and One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest.
Directorial duties were shared between Norman M. P. Morton, Mike Duffy and John McLinden. Mike and John are still directing for the company today. It was also greatly encouraging to see new directorial talent emerging in Maureen Woods, David Gibson, David McCallum and Suzie Le Morvan.

The company has appeared at most major drama festivals south of the Border, winning a host of acting and directing awards along the way.
The group was also crowned National Drama Festival Association full-length British winners four times with, The Father, The Birthday Party, A View from the Bridge and The Crucible.

ETA moved to St Ninian’s in the 1990’s, but to a hall which has since been replaced by housing. Among the logistical problems in those days was the lack of dressing rooms, the cast changing in a tent! This did not affect the output with acclaimed productions of The Scottish Play (and a late night production of excerpts from MacBeth in Scots! ) and The Government Inspector.
ETA has been in the new replacement hall in St Ninian’s since 2002 and the company continues to flourish. Following an innovative production of David Copperfield, the company staged a number of award-winning productions: Waiting for Godot, The Ride Down Mount Morgan, The Day They Shot John Lennon, Steel Magnolias, I Have Been Here Before, The Servant of Two Masters and Michael Palin’s The Weekend