About
This is the website of Thom Dibdin, theatre critic for the Edinburgh Evening News and Scottish correspondent of The Stage newspaper. I am a freelance journalist, with a special interest in writing about Edinburgh, theatre, and the arts.
Why the Annals of Edinburgh Stage?
In 1888, Richard Cameron of Edinburgh published The Annals of the Edinburgh Stage (with an account of the Rise and Progress of Dramatic Writing in Scotland) by James C. Dibdin. It tells the history of Edinburgh’s theatres from the early Mystery plays with Scotland’s unique Abbot of Unreason up until the late 19th century.
It’s a history Dibdin used to good effect in his novel of the ‘45, The Cleekim Inn, which includes an episode set in Taylor’s Hall in the Cowgate, based on the so-called Culloden riot of April 17, 1749. Great stuff, and it seems that the title of his historical work is a fitting one to give this blog, which aims to give a reasonable account of all the current happenings on Edinburgh’s stages, both large and small. And, should they occur, of any riots in the auditoriums.