On your right is Eden Court Theatre, sitting snug as you like near the River Ness. If you can, pause a second and listen: you’ve got that soft whoosh of water nearby, and then this steady hum of people coming and going. That’s Eden Court’s magic trick-making a proper cultural buzz feel as everyday as popping out for a coffee.
Its Gaelic name, Cùirt an Easbaig, means “Bishop’s Court,” and that’s not just a fancy nickname. This place was built to wrap around an older resident on the site: the Gothic Bishop’s Palace. So Eden Court isn’t only a modern arts venue-it’s also a bit of Inverness history wearing a new jacket. The first big idea for a theatre here was floated in 1967, but like many Highland plans, it took its time: meetings, negotiations, more meetings, and probably a few “we’ll see”s over cups of tea.
Then, on 15 April 1976, Eden Court officially opened-cutting the ribbon was actor Andrew Cruickshank, known to many as the kindly Dr Cameron from Dr Finlay’s Casebook. And here’s the thing: this wasn’t just “a new theatre.” For Inverness and the wider Highlands, it was a small revolution. Modern live performance finally had a proper home again, something the town hadn’t really enjoyed since the early 1930s.
Because before Eden Court, Inverness had drama… and not just on stage. The old Theatre Royal on Bank Street burned down in 1934. Another crowd-pleaser, the Empire Theatre on Academy Street, had started life as a picture house in 1912, then stepped up as a full theatre after that fire. Big names played there-Harry Lauder, Renee Houston, Calum Kennedy, and The Corries-until the building was demolished in 1971. And the Playhouse, originally built as a grand cinema with a huge seating capacity, was set on fire by an arsonist in 1972 and later cleared away for the Eastgate development. So yes: Inverness has had a habit of losing venues… which makes Eden Court feel a bit like a hard-won victory.
In the 2000s, Eden Court levelled up again. It reopened in November 2007 after a major refurbishment and extension, becoming the largest combined arts centre in Scotland. Now it’s got two theatres-the main auditorium is the Empire Theatre, with just under 840 seats, and the smaller OneTouch Theatre, around 270. There are two cinemas too: La Scala and The Playhouse, names borrowed like affectionate nods to the venues Inverness once had. It even hosts the Inverness Film Festival, bringing Scottish premieres and international films up here to the Highlands.
And the place has the awards to prove it’s not just shiny-it’s meaningful: a Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors community benefit prize in 2008, a specialist carpentry award in 2009 for careful work in the old Bishop’s Palace, and in 2024 it took Venue of the Year at the MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards.
Ready for Politics of the Highland council area? Just walk west for 5 minutes.
