Pleasance

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The Pleasance Courtyard during the 2006 Edinburgh Fringe

Pleasance is a street in Edinburgh, Scotland, which is the location for one of the largest and most popular venue at the Edinburgh Fringe, hosting mainly comedy shows. In 2006 it consisted of two multiplex venues: the Pleasance Courtyard (situated on the Pleasance), and the Pleasance Dome (situated on Bristo Square). Both these venues are owned by Edinburgh University Students' Association and used as student union premises normally. The Pleasance theatre company London rents the venues from mid July to the end of August each year. Together these now comprise 21 performance spaces:

10 Dome,
Above,
Ace Dome,
Attic,
Baby Grand,
Below,
Beside,
Beyond,
Cabaret Bar,
Cavern,
Cellar,
Grand,
Hut,
Jack Dome,
Joker Dome,
King Dome,
Palm Court,
Pleasance One,
Pleasance Two,
Queen Dome,
Upstairs

These spaces range in size from the 700 seater Pleasance Grand to the Cellar and Joker Dome, which each seat 50 people.

Pleasance is famous for spawning such acts as Frank Skinner, Graham Norton, Paul Merton, and Al Murray.

In addition to the Edinburgh venue, Pleasance London also has a sister venue in Islington, North London, which operates throughout the year.

[edit] Student Usage

Through the rest of the year the pleasance is home to the societies and sports offices for the Edinburgh University Students' Association (EUSA) and Edinburgh University Sports Union (EUSU). Further north along the pleasance is the university sports centre, which now houses a state of the art gym, completed in 2004.

[edit] History

Pleasance theatre company London was founded in 1985 by Christopher Richardson, in the Pleasance Courtyard. In 2005 Richardson retired as director of Pleasance, leaving Anthony Alderson to succeed him.