Brown’s of Leith: the premiere of Grid Iron’s Mayflies, Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2026

In August, Grid Iron will stage the world premiere of Mayflies in the Foundry at Brown’s of Leith. The production marks the company’s 30th anniversary and is included in this year’s Made in Scotland showcase at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Adapted by Ben Harrison from Andrew O’Hagan’s 2020 novel, the work moves between a 1986 trip to Manchester and a reunion three decades later.

The choice of venue is not incidental. Grid Iron’s note on the production describes the former engineering works as echoing the music venues of 80s Manchester, with worn concrete floor, brick walls darkened by use and three original gantry cranes overhead. The fabric remembers the labour that filled the building for more than 130 years.

Gunnar Groves-Raines:

“Welcoming Grid Iron to Brown’s is a very exciting moment for us, bringing site-specific theatre into the heart of this evolving regeneration project. Throughout August, the production team and audience will coexist with designers, makers, artists, chefs and baristas, creating a lively occupation of a building which, until recently, was filled with the sounds of machinery and tools.

The team at Grid Iron exemplify the vibrant creativity of Leith, which we are committed to supporting across our spaces, and we are honoured to host them for this unique production.”

Brown’s joins the Fringe as Venue 320, its first August inside the festival. The Edinburgh Festival Fringe runs throughout August, and Made in Scotland, the showcase presenting the strongest work from Scotland’s performing arts companies, places Mayflies among eighteen productions selected from across the country.

Opened in November 2025, Brown’s of Leith sits within the former George Brown & Sons Engineering Works on The Shore. For more than 130 years it housed engineers and metalworkers, and remains deeply rooted in Leith’s industrial history. Brown’s brings together independent food and drink partners alongside shared rooms, with future phases accommodating artists, architects and creative practitioners. As part of the wider Custom Lane ecosystem, it supports collaboration, shared knowledge and a growing community shaped through use over time. A site-specific production from one of Scotland’s most rigorous theatre companies continues that work, bringing art and creative exchange into the building.

Mayflies runs 7 to 30 August 2026 at Brown’s of Leith, Venue 320, daily at 16:00. Part of Made in Scotland at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Tickets via Grid Iron and edfringe.com.

Photographs by Richard Gaston