“The Fringe as God intended”
– Three Weeks
About Venue 13
Venue 13, located in Harry Younger Hall at the foot of the Royal Mile, has been a fixture of the Edinburgh Fringe since 1980. Managed by the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama (RWCMD) since 1996, and now taken over by producers Ian Garrett and Vanesa Kelly, the venue is renowned for showcasing daring and innovative work across theatre, contemporary dance, and physical performance.
Praised as a “serene little venue” by The Scotsman and hailed by Three Weeks as “the Fringe as God intended,” Venue 13 has provided a platform for emerging artists from the UK, US, and Canada. Holding the same venue number for 34 consecutive years—longer than any other Fringe location, it celebrated 40 years as one of the longest-standing venues in the festival’s history in 2020, cementing its status as an essential part of the Edinburgh Fringe.
Who is running this place?
Ian Garrett is a designer, producer, educator, and researcher in the field of sustainability in arts and culture. He is the director of the Centre for Sustainable Practice in the Arts; producer for Toasterlab, a mixed reality performance collective and media production company; and Professor of Ecological Design for Performance at York University (Toronto). He has a research and performance design practice focused on ecology and accessible mixed reality technologies in performance.
Vanesa Kelly is a Scottish-based writer, producer, and visual artist working at the intersection of folklore, immersive storytelling, and ecological reflection. As co-director of A.I. Campfire and producer at Venue 13, she brings a deep commitment to accessible, sensory-rich experiences. Her background in dance and music informs a multidisciplinary approach to storytelling, and her visual practice—rooted in foraging and material craft—has led her to be an active member of the Glasgow Art Club. Vanesa is also the founder of V-Kind, supporting sustainable, story-driven projects across the UK and internationally.
