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{{Use British English|date=April 2017}}
[[File:Teviot row house.jpg|right|250px|thumb|The Gilded Balloon at Teviot Row House, during the 2004 festival]]

'''Gilded Balloon''' is a producer and promoter of live entertainment events, based in [[Edinburgh]], Scotland, and best known as one of the '''Big Four''' venue operators at the [[Edinburgh Festival Fringe]] each August.<ref name=about/>

The company has its origins in a venue known as '''The Gilded Balloon''' on [[Edinburgh]]'s [[Cowgate]], where artistic director [[Karen Koren]] first started promoting comedy events in 1986. When a [[Cowgate#2002 fire|fire]] in 2002 destroyed the original premises, Gilded Balloon shifted its Fringe operations to [[Teviot Row House]] in Bristo Square, which became the company's main venue.

Gilded Balloon also operates outside the Fringe, running year round events at the [[Rose Theatre, Edinburgh]].

==History==
Gilded Balloon founder, Karen Koren, started promoting comedy at McNally's, a restaurant and club based in a townhouse at 6 Palmerston Place, near [[Haymarket railway station|Haymarket Station]], which opened in February 1985. The owner had intended to open a casino upstairs, but it was rejected for a licence. Koren, who was working there alongside other part-time jobs, including working for the Norwegian Consulate, was well-connected to people involved with the [[Comedy Store]] and had been observing the growth of comedy during the [[Edinburgh Fringe]] each year. Instead of the intended casino, she turned the room into a year-round performance space for comedians, particularly Scottish ones. Early performances included [[Craig Ferguson]], [[Jerry Sadowitz]], and duo [[Alan Cumming]] and [[Forbes Masson]] as glam double-act Victor and Barry.<ref name=Venables170802/>

The Gilded Balloon itself was established by Karen Koren in 1986, staging seven shows a day in a building on Cowgate that was formerly J. & R. Allan's department store.<ref name=Scotsman100605/><ref name=Herald021210/><ref name=BBC030731/> The building was built in 1823 by James Spittal, a draper and silk merchant, who used it as a warehouse for his shop "The Gilded Balloon".<ref name=JoeRock/> It had twelve arches and a gentle curve on its [[South Bridge, Edinburgh|South Bridge]] side. Its 3am late-licence meant it became a place for socialising, and [[Late'n'Live]], a raucous late night show was started there. It became "a natural home" for comedians.<ref name=Venables170802/>

In 1988, the Gilded Balloon devised the competition "[[So You Think You're Funny]]",<ref name=Scotsman100605/><ref name=ChortleSYTYF/> which has been won by many notable comics including [[Rhona Cameron]], [[Lee Mack]], [[Dylan Moran]], [[Tommy Tiernan]] and [[Peter Kay]]; other finalists have included [[Ed Byrne (comedian)|Ed Byrne]], [[Jason Byrne (comedian)|Jason Byrne]], [[Ardal O'Hanlon]] and [[Johnny Vegas]]. The competition was sponsored by [[Channel 4]] from 1993 until 2004,<ref name=C4SYTYF/> with [[Five (TV)|five]] and the [[Comedy Central (British TV channel)|Paramount Comedy Channel]] taking over in 2005.{{citation needed|date=March 2016}} Karen Koren is one of the major supporters of Australian comedy talent,{{peacock inline|date=March 2016}} and has produced a number of notable Australian acts at the Gilded Balloon over the years, including [[Greg Fleet]], and is particularly noted for being the springboard for the careers of [[Tim Minchin]] and [[Drags Aloud]].{{citation needed|date=March 2016}}

During his early career, [[Russell Brand]] was forcefully ejected from the Gilded Balloon.<ref name=Guardian040817/>

In 2001, the Gilded Balloon expanded to include [[Teviot Row House]] in [[Bristo Square]], which is owned by the [[Edinburgh University Students' Association]]. On 7 December 2002, a [[Cowgate#2002 fire|fire]] devastated its original Cowgate base.<ref name=BBC030731/> In 2007, the C venues used the space to create a new venue, the "Soco Urban Garden".<ref name=CSoco/> For a short while the Gilded Balloon ran comedy nights at the [[Festival Theatre, Edinburgh|Festival Theatre Studio]] in Edinburgh.

==Current venues==
The Gilded Balloon continues to use Teviot Row House which, in 2014, contained nine performance spaces,<ref name=perfinfo/> The Debating Hall being the biggest, seating 360, and The Turret being the smallest at 50 seats. Other venues include The Dining Room, The Wine Bar, The Wee Room, The Nightclub, The Sportsman's, The Balcony and The Billiard room.

In recent years, the Gilded Balloon has expanded into different venues. For several years it has held Fringe events at the [[National Museum of Scotland]], billed as '''Gilded Balloon at the Museum'''. For one year in 2016, it also took over the Counting House venue from [[Laughing Horse]] and ran it on a pay-what-you-want model for audiences.<ref name=BroadwayBaby160225/> Then in 2017, it took over the former Charlotte Chapel on Rose Street, now owned by dancer [[Peter Schaefuss]]. It now runs this as [[Rose Theatre, Edinburgh|Gilded Balloon at the Rose Theatre]] on a year-round basis. Finally, in 2019, the Gilded Balloon started operating in two more venues - the Old Tolbooth Market, which had been a [[Free Fringe]] venue the previous year, and [[Adam House]], which for many years had been the main venue in C Venues portfolio. The latter was billed as the '''Patter Hoose'''.

Karen Koren's daughter, Katy Koren, became joint artistic director in 2015, with a view to taking over from her mother in due course.<ref name=Scotsman150812/>

Gilded Balloon's year round base is on Commercial Street in [[Leith]].

==References==
{{Reflist|refs=

<ref name=about>{{Cite web |url=http://www.gildedballoon.co.uk/about |title=Archived copy |access-date=1 March 2010 |archive-date=7 April 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110407234535/http://www.gildedballoon.co.uk/about |url-status=dead }}</ref>

<ref name=BBC030731>
{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/3112819.stm |title=Fire fails to burst the Balloon |work=[[BBC News]] | date=31 July 2003 |access-date=6 January 2010 |first=Steve |last=Brocklehurst}}
</ref>

<ref name=BroadwayBaby160225>
{{cite web |url=https://broadwaybaby.com/features/no-joke-the-counting-house-goes-gilded-balloon-updated/1186 |title=No joke. The Counting House goes Gilded Balloon |publisher=[[Broadway Baby]] |date=25 Feb 2016 |access-date=11 September 2019 |last=Shaw |first=Pete}}
</ref>

<ref name=C4SYTYF>
{{cite web |url=http://www.channel4.com/culture/microsites/S/sytyf |title= Channel 4 'So You Think You're Funny' page|publisher=[[Channel 4]]}}
</ref>

<ref name=ChortleSYTYF>
{{cite web |url=https://www.chortle.co.uk/features_static/awards/sofunny.php|title=So You Think You're Funny? |work=[[Chortle (website)|Chortle]] |access-date=2011-08-20}}
</ref>

<ref name=CSoco>
{{cite web |url=https://www.edinburghguide.com/venue/csocourbangarden |title=C Soco Urban Garden |work=Edinburgh Guide|access-date=2011-08-20}}
</ref>

<ref name=Guardian040817>
{{cite news| url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2004/aug/17/comedy.edinburghfestival20043 | work=[[The Guardian]] | location=[[London]] | title=Edinburgh festival: Russell Brand | first=Brian | last=Logan | date=17 August 2004 | access-date=25 May 2010}}
</ref>

<ref name=Herald021210>
{{cite news | title=Personal cost of fire that tore through capital - Tears of Gilded Balloon's artistic director |author=Raymond Duncan and Shan Ross|date=10 Dec 2002 |work=Herald Scotland
|url=http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/spl/aberdeen/personal-cost-of-fire-that-tore-through-capital-tears-of-gilded-balloon-s-artistic-director-1.131785|access-date=2011-08-20}}
</ref>

<ref name=JoeRock>{{Cite web|url=https://sites.google.com/site/joerocksresearchpages/thomas-hamilton-architect/commercial-projects|title=Commercial Projects - Joe Rock's Research Pages|website=Sites.google.com|access-date=1 November 2021}}</ref>

<ref name=perfinfo>
{{cite web
 |url         = http://www.gildedballoon.co.uk/edinburgh_festival_fringe_performers_information.html
 |title       = gildedballoon.co.uk
 |url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20100308053814/http://www.gildedballoon.co.uk/edinburgh_festival_fringe_performers_information.html
 |archive-date = 8 March 2010
}}
</ref>

<ref name=Scotsman100605>
{{cite news |title=Old faces return for Gilded Balloon's 25th birthday |date=5 June 2010 |first=Tim |last=Cornwell
 |url=http://news.scotsman.com/entertainment/Old-faces--return-for.6342768.jp |access-date=2011-08-20 |location=[[Edinburgh]] |publisher=[[The Scotsman]]}}
</ref>

<ref name=Scotsman150812>
{{cite news |title=Fringe impresario Koren to hand over to daughter |last=Ferguson |first=Brian |date=12 August 2015 |access-date=11 September 2019  
|url=https://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle-2-15039/fringe-impresario-koren-to-hand-over-to-daughter-1-3855961}}
</ref>

<ref name=Venables170802>
{{cite web |title=How Comedy Captured the Edinburgh Fringe: Part 4 |last=Venables |first=Ben |publisher=[[The Skinny (magazine)|The Skinny]] |url=https://www.theskinny.co.uk/comedy/opinion/how-comedy-captured-the-edinburgh-fringe-part-4 |date=6 June 2017 |access-date=13 October 2017}}
</ref>

}}

==External links==
*[http://www.gildedballoon.co.uk/ The Gilded Balloon]
*[http://latenlive.co.uk/ Late 'n' Live]
*[https://soyouthinkyourefunny.co.uk/ So You Think You're Funny?]

{{Edinburgh Festival Fringe}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gilded Balloon}}
[[Category:Edinburgh Festival Fringe]]
[[Category:Edinburgh Comedy Festival]]
[[Category:Event venues established in 1986]]
[[Category:1986 establishments in Scotland]]