Last year saw the 100th anniversary of the devastating fire that swept through Edinburgh’s  Empire Theatre. Remarkably, the entire capacity crowd escaped the theatre unhurt, but 10 performers caught backstage lost their lives in the blaze. The headline act and international celebrity, The Great Lafayette was among those who perished.  Find out more about the events of the fateful night with our online exhibition on Capital Collections.

Explore the Brave New World attic in Whose Town? and you’ll see how the Empire Theatre Fire unfolded through the eyes of the city’s Firemaster, Arthur Pordage. We worked with the Museum of Fire to bring Arthur’s story to life and his box contains unique imagery and fascinating ephemera from their collections.