Festival City Theatres Trust - Festival and King's Theatres Edinburgh Reviews

Great theater venue, all seats seem to have a good view of the stage

Great venue. Reasonable drink prices - very helpful staff

Went to Banff mountain film festival. Sound quality was terrible and then died completely in last 5 mins. Take it back to the queen's hall.

Brilliant theatre..were in the stalls and had a perfect view of the stage.

Cafe, theater and staff all was excellent. Coffee for donations.

Always a good place for a show! Whilst the outside is modern inside retains its old world charm.

Saw les mis what a great show nice theatre drinks a bit pricey

Very pleasant experience in this theatre. The Willows maybe wasn't our type of musical but it was very well acted, danced, and sung. The theatre itself was very welcoming.

Went to see sarah millican at this venue. 1st time I have been. I found dead it to be a great venue, where you could see the act perfectly .

Smashing show. Google maps is a saviour when trying to negotiate Edinburgh. Got there in plenty time. Thanks again xxx

Beautiful venue, Christmas tree is gorgeous. Fabulous night at the Ballet Cinderella

I went here with my girlfriend to watch the Scottish ballet perform Hansel and Gretel. Very good show in a good theatre. We had great views from the circle. Very enjoyable night

Went to see Miss Saigon absolutely loved it costumes and acting spot on

Smashing venue - and The Nutcracker was great fun at Xmas.

Not the most comfort seats in the world. Good choices of shows. Don't sit too near the front.

I come very often to the theatre as they have some really nice shows and concerts that I truly enjoy going to. The staff is very friendly and keen to help and the theatre inside is beautiful and you can take really nice pictures and selfies! They have two bars in defence laws where you can enjoy a glass of wine and many other different drinks, including coffee! There is a restaurant in the ground floor in which you can definitely have dinner before your show :-) enjoy!

Spacious comfortable seating. Fantastic show. Great time had by all.

Wonderful professional Theatre, great staff great play script, great venue

Plenty of bars so no queues, but not enough ladies loos! Modern front, old inside. Upper circle not good if you have vertigo.

Was there as part of a school trip fine experience altough the seats are not the best.

The building, the staff, the repertoire and the views from stage are very good.

A wonderful atmosphere and lots of great shows to see. A very classy establishment.

The seats are the most uncomfortable of all edinburgh theatres.

Staff were wonderful as my mum was not feeling great and they gave us a special assistant to call on at any time of we needed

Been here several times. Recently to see The Snow Queen and the performance was incredible both effects and ballet. Also seen How the Grinch Stole Christmas. For the best all round seats, row J in the stalls is good. Have sat in the front row and it was great being so close to the orchestra but they do become distracting vs the performance. Either way, great venue.

Great atmosphere, well maintained and good facilities. This all means your focus is on the show and there are no distractions or irritants. Staff were all friendly helpful and polite from the booking office, bar, programme seller, ice cream vendor, or merchandise stands. I have been to a few shows now and this has been a consistent experience every time.

Very beautiful room. Very interesting q take to shows drink and some food like chocolates and gums, but when the show starts everyone respects

Lovely theatre with a great atmosphere. Went to see Les Miserables which was amazing.

One of the loveliest theatres in the UK to sing in. Yes, it's a huge barn of a venue but I've done several Scottish Opera tours here and the audiences are very responsive.

Quick facts
The Edinburgh Festival Theatre is a performing arts venue located on Nicolson Street in Edinburgh, Scotland used primarily for performances of opera and ballet, large-scale musical events, and touring groups.Wikipedia
Events:Simon & Garfunkel Through the YearsPaul CarrackCirque BerserkCirque BerserkCirque BerserkCirque BerserkCirque BerserkCirque BerserkCoppelia - The Russian State Ballet of SiberiaRentRentRentRentRentThe Curious Incident of the Dog In the Night-Time (Touring)The Curious Incident of the Dog In the Night-Time (Touring)The Curious Incident of the Dog In the Night-Time (Touring)The Curious Incident of the Dog In the Night-Time (Touring)The Curious Incident of the Dog In the Night-Time (Touring)The Curious Incident of the Dog In the Night-Time (Touring)Buddy - the Buddy Holly StoryBuddy - the Buddy Holly StoryBuddy - the Buddy Holly StoryBuddy - the Buddy Holly StoryBuddy - the Buddy Holly StoryDanza Contemporanea De CubaDanza Contemporanea De CubaSean LockStewart Lee - Content ProviderElvis CostelloMike & The MechanicsCasanova - Northern Ballet
Capacity:1,915
Opened:7 November 1892

Very nice. Loads of space in the foyer, easy access, seat are uncomfortable but they're no more uncomfortable than any other theatre seats.

We sat in they top section and still got a great view of the show. It's not too high.

Attended here to watch the Banff film festival winners adventures, it was an excellent show

Faultless. Went to see Les miserables. Simply breathtaking. Would go again tonight if tickets were available. Excellent theatre and staff

Magical Scottish Ballet performance of the Nutcracker.

Fabulous theatre, very clean and accessible for all. We sat in row p8, 9 and 10 and they were fabulous seats. This is my second visit to this theatre and I will definitely return

GREAT PLACE FOR SHOWS BEEN QUITE A FEW TIMES THIS YEAR ALONE

Place was comfortable, the staff were all lovely, the queues weren't horrendous, the temperature was ambient and the toilets were nice

Super! Fine venue, staff all very pleasant and helpful

Beautiful theatre, good views from basically every seat. Well laid out.

What an excellent well produced show Hamlet was amazing technically it was almost flawless it was quite an experience

Always like to visit the Festival due to its relaxed atmosphere and excellent staff.

Went to see Everyone Talking about Jamie and again was not disappointed.

The cashier changed my students daughter ticket which was a nice touch.

Bar staff were excellent even if I didn't like the reusable cup policy in the current climate.

Great show, sound, lightening and staging.

We met loads of friends after through show in the foyer and again the staff didn't throw us out.

Just to make our nighr we even met some of the stars at the end.

Went to watch War Horse with my girlfriend and have to say the show was outstanding! The theatre itself is perfectly located just at the start of Edinburgh Old Town along the South Bridge and the theatre itself is a great size with easy access bar for start and intermission of whateve r you go and see. I liked how they had different ques for coffee or alcohol but considering how many people were three you weren't waiting long. Toilets on each level, again easy access and no time queuing. We were on level 3 and had an excellent view of the stage.

I have been to The Festival Theatre numerous times to watch the ballet and it is always so much fun.
A modern exterior hides the traditional theatre that it houses. Great facilities and top quality productions.

Saw Burn the Floor this show is brilliant Kevin Clifton and the cast of dancers were fantastic , brilliant singers and live band

It was GR8. Comfortable good view of action on stage. Had difficulty following script at times because of accents or lines so quietly/quickly spoken. Loved changing background ' banner'.

Great theatre...every seat has a good view. One of the largest permanent stages in Europe.

Saw the Simon and Garfunkel tribute act recently, and they were really very good. I do have issues though with people filming everything on their phones. It's very annoying for anyone sitting behind them, and my experience would have been better if this wasn't allowed. Also people were getting up and leaving their seats all the time, literally every minute. What was that all about? First time I've ever noticed that. Sorry, doing my Victor Meldrew impersonation here...!

My son and I went to Rossini`s Cinderella on Sunday 26th August and had excellent seats until the second half, when immediately before the opera resumed a tall gentleman from a restricted view seat sat in the seat in front of me thus totally blocking my view! When I informed him of this, he was totally unconcerned and refused to move even although he didn`t have a ticket for the seat he had taken. There were absolutely no ushers in the vicinity, and indeed any ushers present in the auditorium must have been right at the back thus making themselves inaccessable to people at the front or the middle. If I had walked to the back of the auditorium in attempt to locate an usher in the hope that they would resolve the situation, obviously I would have disturbed many other people at the opera! The only way I could see anything at all was for me to move to a seat in the restricted area even although I had paid for a more expensive seat!
I had spoken to Rachel from the Edinburgh Internation Festival about the situation as soon as the concert finished. However, although I emailed Rachel at the Edinburgh International Festival and also Linda Hogg at customer services, Edinburgh Festival Theatre to ask why there are no ushers near the front or/ and the middle of the auditorium to resolve such problems, neither of them have responded!
It seems to be the case that once the EFT and EIF have secured your money they are totally unconcerned about problems which may arise which ruin your experience of the opera/ concert!
I am adding this to my review subsequent to getting a phone call from Linda Hogg regarding the above. She agreed with me that ushers should also be placed in the middle, and that it was unfair that people were allowed to move from restricted view seats to expensive seats during Edinburgh International Festival performances. Linda is attempting to get the E I F to state on tickets they sell that the latter is forbidden to allow them to implement this policy at the festival theatre. Linda was most apologetic and tried to be as helpful as possible, even althouth our evening had already been ruined due to the behaviour of the selfish gentleman who had purchased a ticket for a restricted view seat.

Saw Miss Siagon on the 10th of Feb, theatre staff were very helpful and the theatre is amazing. Was surprised to see the old theatre behind a modern facade but it is truly beautiful.

The Christmas ballet is an experience for the whole family. We really liked the set design, the music and the performance.
The theater is well maintained with a nice foyer and a very nice hall.

Fantastic performance of the Scottish ballet in the snow queen

Miss Saigon.. Excellent, great seats, amazing stage props, fantastic cast.

Brilliant performance, immaculate voices, stage and costumes perfect, always pleasure to see Scottish Opera life! Well come again! Thank you!

Lovely theatre, very sensibly had coffee and water available by the bar saving the usual long wait for a drink. Very clean theatre, sound is very good too. I really enjoy visiting the Festival Theatre.

Enjoyed the show very much only problem very hard seats but this is an old theatre.

Magnificent theater. I ve been to Edinburgh three times since. The armchairs are comfortable. And you can see the stage very well. You can have a look. Is perfect. With musicals, music is orchestral. Very good hearing. I definitely recommend it.

Attended the EFF gala evening even the later showing us good for rubbing elbows with the stars. A great building tastefully renovated outside and left as is on the inside.

Went to see war horse really really good a must for everyone

Excellent performance first time I had been to the Theatre throughly enjoyed the experience.

Nice theatre seats are a little on the cramped side though

This is my favourite theatre in Edinburgh. With a bar on every floor it's easy to get a drink.