About Us

Edinburgh Theatre Arts (ETA) is a community theatre company which has been in existence since the late 1940s.

We aim to produce the best shows possible, maximising the skills and resources available in our membership. We enjoy telling stories - classic and modern - and delight in challenging our audience to join us in imagining single-set locations or multi-scene stories in our intimate theatre which creates a very real bond with a live audience. Movies are great, but nothing beats the buzz of a great story told by live actors to a live audience!

We typically stage two full-length productions each year - one in the spring, and one in August as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. In addition to those shows, we often enter one-act play festivals and have also staged Christmas Shows, Murder Mystery and Burns Supper events in recent years. We have also run several series of drama workshops for children at our St Ninian’s base.

We are always open to new members who share our love of theatre. Please use the Contact page to get in touch!

Our History

The company owed a lot, in the early years, to Charles Johnstone 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 over 50 years, starting with a 1972 Fringe debut production of The Birthday Party. During the Coach House years the group became particularly associated with regular productions of Arthur Miller plays.

In the 1990s the company moved to St Phillip’s 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 the Church Hill 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 Cuckoo’s Nest. 

Directorial duties were shared between Norman M.P. Morton, Mike Duffy and John McLinden. John is still directing for the company today, along with David McCallum, Colin McPherson and Iain Robertson.
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 1990s, 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! ETA has been in the new replacement hall in St Ninian’s since 2002 and the company continues to flourish with innovative and award-winning productions.

In 2008 and 2009, ETA was proud to be recognised locally in winning the Evening News Fringe drama award with productions of Blue Remembered Hills and A Tale of Two Cities.
In 2012, ETA was selected as the sole Scottish representative to perform at the Royal Shakespeare Company's Open Stages National Showcase. Our production of MacBeth in Scots being performed at the RSC Courtyard Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon.

In 2023, ETA was proud to present a world-premiere adaptation of the Stephen Fry novel Making History - written and directed by Colin McPherson.
In addition to our theatrical seasons, ETA produces Burns suppers - the company having performed in Edinburgh Castle, The National Portrait Gallery and The Scotch Malt Whisky Society.

The company continues to aim to perform innovative, challenging and entertaining theatre and hopes to carry on doing so for many years to come!