Bedlam Theatre

Until they were given a good dose of elbow grease in 2014, the craggy black turrets of Bedlam Theatre were once as distinctive a feature of the central Edinburgh skyline as the Royal Mile clocktower. Today, thanks to the hard work of an entirely student-run operation, the building boasts a scrubbed up face and a ruby front door. The iconic ash may be long gone, but the tremendous calibre of artistic effort staged at the venue remains.

Bedlam is home to the Edinburgh University Theatre Company (EUTC), and the endearingly ramshackle building hosts some massively classy drama, with performances greedily gobbling up star-streaked reviews and award-nominations during Festival time. 

The in-house Fat Cat cafe is wallpapered in old theatre memorabilia, plastered and replastered with posters from shows of yore. It's one of the few places where you're in for a treat if you need to kill some time before showtime. Order yourself a ludicrously cheap beverage (or perhaps sample some of the best home baking in town), choose a book from the bookcases stuffed with lovingly-thumbed classics and retro boardgames, and dive into the squishy armchairs. You won't regret the decision - unless you accidentally miss the show, of course.