Hold The Door!

Apr 22 2021 | By Thom Dibdin More

Hidden Door sets September 2021 return

The Hidden Door festival will return in September 2021 for an outdoor festival of music, visual art, theatre, dance and spoken word, its organisers have announced.

The five day festival will run from Wednesday 15 to Sunday 19 September at an as-yet-unnamed location with an as-yet-unnamed lineup. Despite the mystery, tickets are going on sale today from noon, with early bird buyers able to select the date they wish to attend when the programme is announced.

The Secret Courtyard off King’s Stables Road in 2015.

Hidden Door’s organisers have spent the past year exploring potential sites for staging a safe, physically distanced outdoor event. They now believe they have one, and are working closely with the council and other organisations to ensure the event will be safe and compliant with any Covid restrictions in place at the time.

On offer, they say, is an outdoor festival of music, visual art, theatre, dance and spoken word, with “a series of specially commissioned collaborations with Scottish musicians and artists, creating visually stunning multimedia shows and immersive experiences”.

David Martin, creative director of Hidden Door, said: “This event is going to be a great opportunity to get back together with friends and celebrate the return of live events and the amazing creativity that is still very much alive in this city, if hidden for the last year.

something special

“We are going to create something special in a large outdoor space that will have enough room to spread out and feel free, yet at the same time give everyone something to share together.

“While there has been lots of arts happening online, we are crying out to share experiences together and create new memories. We will throw 18-months worth of pent up creative energy at this and create something truly memorable for the city.”

Hidden Door volunteers at the initial clean-up of Leith Theatre in 2017. Pic: Hidden Door

The festival has steadily grown in size and reputation since its first appearance in 2014, when it cleared out the abandoned Market Street vaults to run a 9-day arts festival showcasing local creative talent.

In 2015 it moved to a hidden courtyard behind Kings’ Stables Road, returning there the next year, and attracting over 12,000 visitors to experience a wealth of art, poetry, theatre, cinema, dance and music.

In 2017 the festival breathed new life into the old Leith Theatre, attracting rave reviews and critical praise for helping get the theatre back into a useable condition for live events. It returned to the theatre the following two years, continuing and enhancing the good work.

Live online

Although there was no Hidden Door festival in 2020, the Hidden Door team have been producing a series of online live shows, connecting artists and audiences, and showcasing some of the best emerging talent in Scotland. The free shows can be viewed at hiddendoorblog.org/live.

The first 150 tickets for Hidden Door 2021 will include a free digital download of the new EP from electronic duo, Post Coal Prom Queen, who are currently curating Hidden Door’s next online live show.