Aberdeen’s newest entertainment venue has arrived in a riot of colour, ribbons, flags and chandeliers, transforming the grey quad of Marischal College into the Wonder Hoose.
This dazzling blaze of light and fun will burn brightly – but briefly – serving as a pop-up home for a dizzying sweep of shows and festivals every day for the next 16 days.
Kicking off as a hub for the Wonderland event this weekend, the Wonder Hoose marquee will be a non-stop “palace of variety” until the end of the prestigious True North festival on September 25.
And it will transform not just the college quad, but the heart of the city, said Ben Torrie, director of programming and creative projects for Aberdeen Performing Arts, which is behind the unique venue on behalf of Culture Aberdeen.
Wonder Hoose will help reanimate, reimagine and bring life to the city
“It is part of an initiative to reanimate, reimagine, build excitement and bring life to the city centre,” he said. “This crazy idea to build a venue inside the quadrangle at Marsichal College is all part of that ambition and maybe encourage people to engage in their city in a slightly different way.”
Ben said the inspiration behind the Wonder Hoose is the idea of a spiegeltent – glittering opulent structures that create a carnival atmosphere for performances at festivals around the world.
“We are very much creating our own version of that which will hopefully reflect Aberdeen and be a really unique pop-up venue in our city.”
Local designer Laura Bremner has been brought in to work her magic on making the Wonder Hoose a truly enchanting oasis of arts and entertainment, complete with tree-lined walkways and festival flags before they even get into the marquee, with its ribbon chandeliers and golden furniture.
People will walk into the Wonder Hoose and say ‘wow!’
“My brief was to create a place of wonder, so it is very maximalist – it is very more is more, with so much colour,” she said. “I just want people to walk in and be like ‘wow!’”
“I thought about every festival I’ve ever been to and just went a bit mad. There is so much ribbon, so many streamers, and that carnival feel. I looked for inspiration in vintage fairgrounds and signage. It is just that sense of celebration and going for it. It is just dripping with stuff and has been so much fun.”
Laura said she hopes people waiting for performances in the Wonder Hoose will also be getting their cameras out to capture the “totally Instagrammable” venue.
While the Wonder Hoose – which can hold up to 200 people – aims to be a jaw-dropping attraction, so too are the events lined up, with something on every day from now until September 25, with 21 acts entertaining across 16 days.
Those include acclaimed north-east singer-songwriter Kathryn Joseph playing a sold-out gig tomorrow night, then a rich strand of local musicians, comedians, theatre and children’s shows – and even a healthy dose of slapstick comedy.
You can see something different every night in the Wonder Hoose
Ben said: “There was a desire to make this feel like something for the whole city, so it’s not aimed at a particular taste or a particular group of people, it’s about adding wonder to the city in all its different forms.
“We also used the spiegeltent as a stepping off point as an inspiration. They are known as palaces of variety and we wanted the Wonder Hoose to be something where you could come every night and see something completely different.”
Ben also hopes the Wonder Hoose will leave a lasting legacy.
“My big hope is that people start seeing the city in a different way, seeing it as an exciting cultural landmark and that old adage of ‘nothing ever happens here’ becomes a thing of the past,” he said.
How to find out more about what’s on in the Wonder Hoose
“Actually, lots of really exciting things are happening here and we’re trying our best to be imaginative and creative and bring those opportunities.”
Laura added: “I just hope in months to come, people will look back or look at their photos and have that memory of an absolute colour explosion and a bright Aberdeen.”
For more information on events at the Wonder Hoose go to aberdeenperformingarts.com
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