Airport Lounge/Hard Rock Hybrid Set To Ready Edinburgh Performers For Take-off

Airport lounge/Hard Rock hybrid set to ready Edinburgh performers for take-off

A theatre-themed hybrid of an airport lounge and a Hard Rock Café has landed in Stockbridge as a shop, resource and meeting place for local dancers, actors and performers.

The Core, on Glanville Place, will offer guests the opportunity to shop for all things theatrical, provide information on local performing arts events and offer guidance on opportunities to practise and train in performing arts across the city, including children's classes, dance groups, and degree-level tuition. It will also host signings and talks by theatre stars, including performers from London's West End.

Visitors to The Core will be able to enjoy hot beverages and cakes whilst they shop or meet with friends in exchange for an optional donation to The MGA Foundation, the charity that will run the shop and that was established to enable performers to train for careers on stage regardless of their financial background.

"Edinburgh has such a rich history in the arts and the city and surrounding area is a hotbed for performing talent", explained Murray Grant, co-founder of The MGA Foundation. "However, as I experienced, it's not always obvious where to go to pursue performing, hone your skills, and do what you love.

"The shop will not only offer some incredible items for sale but it will also host regular events with some of the theatre's biggest visiting stars so that our guests can meet and learn from the industry's finest performers in a relaxed and accessible environment.

"We will encourage people to pop in and engage with opportunities in dance, acting, and musical theatre in Edinburgh ? really any performing art, at any level, and for any age, audience or participant. We hope to do all of this whilst raising much needed money for The MGA Foundation."

With signed theatre memorabilia forming the décor, the space takes on the atmosphere of a Hard Rock Café for stage aficionados, who will also be able to purchase show tickets across the UK at the shop's on-site box office.

The MGA Foundation was established earlier this year by Drew Gowland and Murray Grant to ensure aspiring singers, dancers, actors and musical theatre performers are to be given financial freedom to pursue education in their chosen art at reputable schools across the UK. MGA have distributed more than £600,000 in tuition fees in the past ten years for students on part-time and full-time performing arts courses.

"The establishment of a registered charity and our very own charity shop with a difference to continue our work and encourage even more people into performing arts training seemed like the natural next step," said Drew Gowland.

"It is so important that young people, regardless of their background, have the opportunity to find out about the wealth of opportunities out there in the performing arts and then be able to access them should they so wish."

Applications for funding from The MGA Foundation will be welcomed from mid-2019. Successful applications can secure funding to participate in classes, workshops, summer schools and youth theatre projects and even to train full-time on CDMT-accredited courses across the UK.

The MGA Foundation is a Scottish registered charity (SC047592). For further information, visit www.themgafoundation.org or email info@themgafoundation.org

The Core opened to the public on November 24 and was formally last night (November 27). A special Family Day will take place on December 18.