2025: The Sound of the Crowd
Restless Natives: The Musical at Leith Theatre, June 2025
As we head into the festive break, it feels like the right moment to stop and listen. Not to wrap things up completely – we've still got some stories to share and celebrate – but to notice what this year sounded like at Leith Theatre.
2025 has been loud in ways we didn’t even expect. Not just music in the Main Auditorium, but the wider hum of people talking about our progress and using the building again. Strategic conversations happening around tables. Artists testing things out. Photographers wandering around, noticing the details in the building as it is right now. Audiences finding their way back through the doors.
Sharing our Heritage Fund support with press & media, February 2025
That’s what has inspired the Little Leith Theatre Stories we are currently sharing on our social media channels, the small moments we might have missed sharing while they happened, while the bigger picture continued to form.
Last week we gathered our full project design team for the first time. Ten new faces squeezed into a fairly chilly crew room, fuelled by coffee, mince pies and the quiet reassurance of a hot water bottle or two. There was a long agenda, plenty of conversation and a real sense of momentum. As the Christmas bells begin to chime, the work is properly underway now!
It was a fitting way to bookend the year. From celebrating National Lottery Heritage Fund support and securing a 50-year lease on the building, to sitting around the table planning what comes next, 2025 has been defined by progress made visible. This year began with a literal bang, with confetti cannons and celebrations and it ends with voices in a room and the excited buzz of a project taking shape.
Listening to Leith Theatre’s Voice
One of the clearest sounds of 2025 was the return of live creative activity. In June, Restless Natives: The Musical brought theatre audiences back into the building for the first time since 2018. There were practical challenges, a bit of figuring things out as we went, and a lot of warmth. It felt important.
After that, the programme kept coming. On stage we listened to Irvine Welsh’s PORNO and a comedy weekender with Leith Comedy Festival in the Crush Foyer. And of course, plenty of film and location shoots; The Bidding Room, The Big Scottish Book Club, Netflix’s Department Q and more. Live music brought all kinds of energy and rhythm into the space. A series of live sessions recording with Idlewild in the run up to the release of their self-titled album, multiple music videos in the space and of course, rehearsals and shoots with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, who's Winter series was simply exquisite.
Other highlights across the year include hosting the Independent Spirits Festival, working with the BFI Film Academy, pre-festival rehearsals with some incredible artists, as well as a few activities that we can’t share, yet! Every activity or event that took place left something behind, sometimes applause, sometimes quiet concentration, sometimes just the feeling of a building being alive and at home again.
Hear from the Team
Douglas
“For me, the year's highlights all revolve around the fantastic programme that came through our doors in 2025. The year began with a music video shoot for Jacob Alon’s Liquid Gold 25, from his now Mercury Prize nominated, “In Limerance”, which brought their haunting voice into our Main Auditorium, bringing music back to the stage and giving us another taste of what the future will hold. For those who haven’t seen it, the link below is a must click”
Watch Jacob Alon: Liquid Gold 2025
Aisha
“Of course, not all noise makes a sound. Photography has been a huge part of how this year has been captured and understood. We’ve documented the building as it is now, while continuing to grow our own archive. Photographers have spent time getting to know the space, from press days that helped create new images of the building that were shared far beyond Leith, to photo calls during August and visits from photography groups. We’ve also updated how the theatre appears online and on the street through new external panels. Each photographer notices different details and seeing the building through those lenses has been a real form of creative expression.”Anna
“Heritage has been anything but quiet this year. Through our heritage tours, the building has been full of voices – stories being shared, memories resurfacing and questions being asked. We’ve welcomed locals, first-time visitors, artists, venue colleagues and funders into the space, occasionally helped along with mulled wine or hot chocolate!Listening to how people respond; what resonates, what surprises, what lingers, has been invaluable. That learning is feeding directly into our National Lottery Heritage Fund development work, helping us shape a future where heritage isn’t just preserved, but active, relevant and part of the everyday life of the theatre.”
Josephine
“This year has been full of firsts for me. I’ve been learning the rhythms of the building, supporting events as they happen, meeting artists and performers, and helping bring the programme and activity to life. Being part of the team at such a pivotal moment has been exciting and grounding, and I’ve just loved seeing how small moments behind the scenes contribute to the bigger picture.”Lynn
“So much of our progress this year has happened around tables rather than on the stage. Planning and developing, working hand in hand with incredible partnerships and inspiring collaborators. From the many creative partners and community organisations to city-wide conversations about culture, place and access, these discussions often begin quietly, but they’re shaping what comes next in very real and tangible ways. Building networks, building trust, listening and learning and giving ideas time to develop and connect has been key, and those wonderful relationships inspire and nurture plans for the next phase.”
A Changing Sound
As we move towards 2026, things are starting to gather pace.
Conversations are turning into dates in the diary. Creative opportunities are taking shape, and we’re looking forward to welcoming significant artists, partners and audiences back into the building as momentum continues to build. For the Leith Theatre team, 2026 is full of excitement about new design ideas and the completion of the National Lottery Heritage Fund development phase, with all of the challenges, learning and growth that brings.
What’s stayed with us most from 2025 is the collective sound of people using Leith Theatre again…talking, listening, creating and planning. That sound has given us clarity, confidence and direction. It’s the one we’re carrying forward.
Thanks for being part of it, and for adding your voice to the mix – here's to a noisy 2026!
Make sure you follow us on our social media channels to discover some of the smaller stories from this year & keep up to date with our journey next year.