Hidden Door Festival 2021

The Hidden Door Festival opens up forgotten urban spaces for the public to explore and discover incredible music, art, theatre, film, dance, spoken word, and more.

This year’s Hidden Door Festival is heading to Granton Gasworks for 5 days of outdoor fun from 15-19 September.  Where they will be transforming a nearby warehouse as a performance and exhibition space to showcase local emerging talent.

Through their festivals, they reveal hidden parts of the city and showcase new and emerging artists, musicians, theatre, and filmmakers.

Hidden Door is a volunteer-run charity, with its work funded through ticket sales, sponsorship, and fundraising. All money goes straight back into the festival and paying the creative contributors.

Its History

The festival has steadily grown in size and reputation since 2014 when it cleared out the abandoned Market Street vaults to run a 9-day arts festival focused on showcasing local creative talent. In 2015 the festival moved to a hidden courtyard behind Kings’ Stables Road, and returned to the same site in 2016, 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 its role in resurrecting “Scotland’s best new live music venue”.

In 2018, the festival returned to Leith Theatre for 10 more days and nights of music, theatre, visual art, film, dance, spoken word, late-night DJs, and special events – finishing what was started to transform the building into the major arts venue the city needs. Continuing the festival’s tradition of discovering forgotten spaces, the festival also took up residency in Leith’s empty and derelict former State Cinema building, just around the corner.

Following a farewell weekender at Leith Theatre in 2019, and a quiet 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, organisers are now setting their sights on the epic Granton Gasworks in north Edinburgh to bring to life in 2021, set in the shadow of the iconic gasholder.

What’s on this year?

Click here to learn more about the festival and see what events are on and how to get tickets.