Hullabaloo over new Fringe venue

The Bosco Tent will show Mervyn Stutter's Pick of the Fringe

A 1908 German theatre tent is to replace the Famous Spiegeltent at this year's Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

The Underbelly has been named as the new operator to run the George Square Gardens site for one season, with a scaled down venue called Hullabaloo.

The Bosco Tent will have shows from Mervyn Stutter's Pick of the Fringe to New York pianist Dennis Crow.

It follows David Bates, who owns the Famous Spiegeltent, taking his venue off the road for £150,000 maintenance.

The garden site's capacity will fall from 2,000 to just 700 with the indoor tent area only holding between 180 and 200 people.

We believe that we can offer a different, but nevertheless magical, George Square Gardens experience for the 2009 festival Ed Bartlam Underbelly

It has been reported that it had been agreed the scale was cut back following protests from neighbours about the level of disruption from the amount of revellers in previous years.

The venue will have a new ornate Indian garden theme with pagoda tents, Indian furniture and oriental lanterns.

Organisers said it would be more of a "family friendly" and "intimate festival" venue, which would take up less of the site so it did not appear empty of people.

A family programme for children will run in the afternoons.

There will be a bar on the site but it will be on a smaller scale and its style will be in keeping with the Indian theme as opposed to the big white tent of previous years.

In the evening there will be the hit show 'Luck' from the 2008 Dublin Fringe, Glenn Wool returning from his sell-out 2008 show in Underbelly Cowgate and The Dirty Brothers Sideshow, fresh from their successful run at the 2009 Adelaide Fringe Festival in the Bosco Tent.

Love and affection

Ed Bartlam, one of the directors of Underbelly, said: "We are very excited about being given the opportunity to run the George Square site for one year.

"The Bosco Tent was always going to be part of our 2009 programme.

"We understand the love and affection that the festival audience has for the Spiegelgarden.

"We believe that we can offer a different, but nevertheless magical, George Square Gardens experience for the 2009 festival."

A spokesman for Edinburgh University, which owns George Square Gardens, said: "We are delighted to confirm that, although the Spiegeltent will not be returning for one year, we have found an exciting alternative in Underbelly's Hullabaloo and we are confident that Underbelly will operate the site well and on a reduced scale from previous years."

It is understood the Famous Spiegeltent will be back at the site next year.