Assembly

Assembly is a theatre and comedy promotion company, producer and venue operator. It programmes and promotes entertainment events at venues in Edinburgh, London and Brighton, and is the longest-established of the so-called Big Four promoters at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August. Year-round audience numbers at Assembly events are more than 500,000, and the company's artistic director is William Burdett-Coutts. History Assembly can trace its roots back to the 1981 Edinburgh Fringe when William Burdett-Coutts, who at the time was working at the Old Vic, intended to bring a show to the Fringe, The Madman and the Nun. However, he had left it too late to organise a venue. Fortunately, the Assembly Rooms on George Street had been vacated by the Festival Club, which had found it unprofitable to operate there. This meant there was space for Burdett-Coutts to host both his own show, and others. This was the foundation of the company which would become one of the "Big Four" Fringe venues, promoting shows at multiple venues across the city. An early success was Alternative Cabaret, a show featuring Tony Allen, Jim Barclay, Andy de la Tour and Pauline Melville, which became one of the critical hits of 1981.