John Gibson: Gary's got it ready to roll

All go. Barely out of the cradle, he was 17, still A levelling in his native Nottingham, when he appeared in the Fringe on the Royal Mile at the Crowne Plaza. Gary Roden's first time in Edinburgh. At 20 he was back up for the Fringe, same venue, managing 45 fellow students from Hull University.

Not born in a trunk. None of the Judy Garland showbizzy thing, but it did seem Gary was destined never to lose his theatrical bent. He took over the Playhouse as general manager in October, responsible for every star-spangled event at Greenside and he is involved in the Fringe again big style, this time plunging the Playhouse into it across the road in the Green Room (Venue 173) with Play Late, late-night cabaret for the duration.

Also, his own production company promise a "brand new moving theatrical experience" in The Tour Guide. The venue is an open-top bus, the journey from August 3-28 beginning in Market Street. Predicted to be a Fringe hot ticket.

Gary says: "I think I qualify for 'working class'. Mum was a factory worker, Dad was a miner. Made of the right stuff."

They put him to university. Theatrical management proved to be his forte, recognised by the Ambassador Theatre Group, owners of the Playhouse. He had been general manager of Bristol Hippodrome before graduating to Greenside.

At 29 he is the youngest GM in the group. He looks his age, to the extent you'd wonder how he clinched this much-coveted biggest bums-on-seats post in Scotland. It's the plum.

"I see this as a privilege," he stresses. "When I first stood on the stage facing the 3039 seats I was mesmerised."

Gary and his partner Kate, 24, live in Leith. She is box office supervisor for the Edinburgh International Festival. They're an odd couple, professing such admiration for Leith. I wonder if that tour bus stops there.

I left Gary Roden frothing over Legally Blonde, award-winning new musical set to storm the Playhouse from September 6-17. And wishing he had met the late, legendary Brian Clough when he managed Forest.