Edinburgh Playhouse boss Gordon Millar's journey from Fringe debut to running Scotland's biggest theatre

New director made festival debut when he was 15

Gordon Millar is the new theatre director of the Edinburgh Playhouse. Picture: Rob McDougall

It is more than 30 years since Gordon Millar first stepped onto a stage in Edinburgh – for a life-changing experience at the heart of the Fringe.

Starring in a sold out football-inspired play gave him a taste of theatre that would lead to a career immersed in the industry.

The latest stage of a journey that has seen him work in venues across the UK has brought him back to Edinburgh – for one of the biggest jobs in the city’s cultural landscape.

Gordon Millar is the new theatre director of the Edinburgh Playhouse. Picture: Rob McDougall

Millar, who was hired from Liverpool's Unity Theatre to take over the running of the Edinburgh Playhouse, Scotland’s biggest all-seater theatre, happily admits he had never set foot inside the venue before applying for the job.

But he has been visiting the city for decades, partly thanks to grandparents who lived in Edinburgh, but also the annual draw of the Fringe, which he got his first taste of as a 15-year-old performer with the Oxfordshire-based Thame Youth Theatre group.

Millar recalled: “Our show, Jack in the Box, was a bit of a Roy of the Rovers sort of story about a footballer who was a bit short but could leap up in the box to score a goal and I actually played Jack.

“The other lads were a wee bit older than me – I was very much the baby of the group.“It was a brilliantly funny piece and a very formative experience with a wonderful group of people. Some of the folk I worked with on it went on to become actors, comics, writers, promoters and producers.

Gordon Millar is the new theatre director of the Edinburgh Playhouse. Picture: Rob McDougall

“It feels like yesterday in many respects. I remember all of us standing on the Royal Mile dressed in our kits as 1950 and 1960s footballers, with Brylcreem in our hair, trying to get folk to come to the show. We sold out – it was wonderful. The response from our audiences gave us all a huge boost in confidence.

“But there was also the fact that we were able to go and see lots of other things on the same day when we weren’t performing.

“It was an extraordinary thing to be part of and the Fringe has really pulled me back ever since.

“From that moment on, I only ever wanted to work in theatre. I’m very fortunate to have been able to do so.”

The Edinburgh Playhouse will be expanding after the sale of a neighbouring site which was home to Cafe Habana for more than 20 years.

Mr Millar, who went on to study drama at the Liverpool John Moores University, would make regular return visits to the Fringe, first as “a punter,” and then when he was working as a programmer and producer with the likes of the Barbican in London, and Liverpool’s Everyman and Playhouse venues, and running the Crewe Lyceum theatre.

He is leading the Edinburgh Playhouse into a new chapter during a prolonged post-pandemic boom which has seen ticket sales soar despite the impact of the cost of living crisis on household budgets.

Mr Millar started his job at the end of a five-week run of Wicked which saw more than than 135,000 tickets sold. More than 21,000 tickets were sold in advance for this week’s run of The Wizard of Oz.

He said: “Our capacity is more than 3000 and we have the biggest seated capacity of any theatre in the UK, so we have a lot of seats to fill.

“If you look at Wicked, which was with us over Christmas. We were at 99 per cent capacity in terms of ticket sales and most performances completely sold out.

"Looking ahead to the rest of the year, our shows are doing brilliantly. The demand we are seeing is extraordinary.

“Audiences are choosing to go to things that they like, they know and want to see. I think there is a real appetite to get lost in moments of wonder.

“Big musicals are very popular in terms of people booking way in advance, including The Book of Mormon, Six, Hairspray and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

“But everything we have on sale is actually doing really well - we have some great one night attractions."

Mr Millar’s tenure has begun against a backdrop of debate of the cost of tickets for the biggest theatre shows in the UK. Although some Playhouse tickets now cost more than £100, he points out that its prices start at just £13.

He said: “I do think it is affordable to come to the Playhouse. We have seats across all price brackets, as every theatre has.

"If you look at society as a whole, prices have gone up. People will only put their prices up as much as they can and within reason to cover their costs, rather than to try to make more money. All costs have gone up and that has to be reflected in ticket prices.

“I think the things we’re presenting are very popular because people know them, they want to see them and they are guaranteed a good time . “People want to spend time with their friends and family, and they want to be entertained. They are looking for premium entertainment. That’s translating into full audiences for us.”

The Playhouse hit the headlines for the wrong reasons when it reopened after the pandemic, with previous director Colin Marr condemning a rise in antisocial behaviour at some shows.

However Mr Millar said: “The Playhouse received attention because it flagged an issue which was happening across the country.

"I don’t think it was ever to do with the way theatres were run. It was more to do with what audiences wanted when they came back after being in lockdown. I think audience expectations of what a night out should be have settled down a bit.

“I don't think the problems are as prevalent as they were. A lot of that is down to how our teams handle situations and the welcome they provide. We had more than 130,000 people here at Christmas and didn’t have a single incident.”