Type Private company | Industry Arts | |
Headquarters London, England and Edinburgh, Scotland Products Theatre and comedy promotion, productions and venues Website | ||
Assembly is a theatre and comedy promotion company, producer and venue operator. It programmes and promotes entertainment events at venues in Edinburgh, London and Brighton, and is the longest-established of the so-called Big Four promoters at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August. Year-round audience numbers at Assembly events are more than 500,000, and the company's artistic director is William Burdett-Coutts.
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Assembly Festival
During August, as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and under the title "Assembly Festival", the company operates seventeen theatre spaces, and eight bars. In 2015, the Assembly Festival programme consisted of 163 shows, including performances by Milton Jones, Adam Hills and Jason Byrne.
The company has been running events at the Fringe since the early 1980s, originally at the Assembly Rooms, from which the name is derived. In recent years, the contract for operating the Assembly Rooms building during the Fringe has been awarded to the promoters behind The Stand Comedy Club, separating the company from its origins. However, from 2016, the company will again be operating the building.
The other main hub for Assembly Festival events is around George Square, at the centre of the main University campus.
The entire Assembly Festival operation is three times the size of the Edinburgh International Festival and plays to audiences the equivalent of the BBC Proms.
Assembly Roxy
Assembly also run a year-round venue in Edinburgh in a converted church building near the main university campus. It is named the Assembly Roxy after the street on which it stands, Roxburgh Place. It hosts a small theatre, music and comedy programme, and also operates as a function suite for weddings and corporate events.
The current building dates to the mid 19th century, when it was built as Lady Glenorchy's Parish Church, on the site of a previous church. For several years after its deconsecration as a church, it was owned by the University of Edinburgh, and used as an examination hall. During this time, it also served as a venue for the Fringe, under the management of the nearby Pleasance. The Edinburgh University Settlement charity, which owned the building, went bankrupt in 2010, and the building was bought by Assembly in a joint deal with restaurateur Malcolm Innes to become Assembly's first permanent Edinburgh home.
It has four performance spaces, including the 250-seater Roxy Central, and a snug bar in the basement.
Assembly Checkpoint
Plans are also being discussed for the permanent conversion of another of Assembly's Fringe venues, Assembly Checkpoint, into a year-round music venue. The building, a former church built in 1900, was taken over by Assembly in 2012. It is situated on Bristo Place, near the National Museum of Scotland. The plan is for live music events to be held on the upper floor of the Grade B listed building, which has been soundproofed.
Brighton
In September, Assembly run Brighton Comedy Festival, a curated festival, operating across five venues. In 2014, the festival featured 140 acts across 16 days including Simon Amstell, Bridget Christie, Marcus Brigstocke, Jack Dee and Seann Walsh.
London
Assembly's London base is at Riverside Studios in Hammersmith. Riverside is currently under redevelopment, with a plan to reopen in 2018 will as a national live and digital arts hub.