Established in 1963, Edinburgh's Traverse Theatre is Scotland's new writing theatre. With quality, award-winning productions and programming, the Traverse has a record of excellence and receives accolades at home and abroad from audiences and critics alike.

The Traverse has an unrivalled reputation for producing contemporary theatre of the highest quality, invention and energy, commissioning and supporting writers from Scotland and around the world and facilitating numerous script development workshops, rehearsed readings and public writing workshops. The Traverse aims to produce several major new theatre productions plus a Scottish touring production each year. It is unique in Scotland in its exclusive dedication to new writing, providing the infrastructure, professional support and expertise to ensure the development of a sustainable and relevant theatre culture for Scotland and the UK.

Traverse Theatre Company productions have been seen worldwide. Recent tours and transfers include Petrol Jesus Nightmare 5 (In the Time of the Messiah) by Henry Adam (Kosovo, 2006); When the Bulbul Stopped Singing by Raja Shehadeh, adapted by David Greig (Scotland, Iran, New York, 2004-5); The People Next Door by Henry Adam (Scotland, England, Germany, the Balkans, USA - 2003-5); Outlying Islands by David Greig (Scotland, England, Canada, 2002-3); Iron by Rona Munro (Scotland, England, 2002-3); and Gagarin Way by Gregory Burke (Scotland, England, Norway, Sweden, 2001-2).

During the Edinburgh International Festival the Traverse is one of the most important venues, regularly picking up coveted Fringe Firsts and Bank of Scotland Herald Angel Awards, with world class premieres playing daily in the two theatre spaces.

The Traverse also incorporates site-specific productions into its programme. These have taken place in locations such as a public toilet (Ladies & Gentlemen, 2003), a sports car (A Mobile Thriller, 2004), an Indian restaurant (Curry Tales, 2004), a hotel room (Chamber Made, 2005), a department store (The Devil's Larder, 2005) and the University of Edinburgh's Medical Faculty (Dr Ledbetter's Experiment, 2006).

An essential element of the Traverse Company's activities takes place within the educational sector, concentrating on the process of playwriting for young people. The Traverse flagship education project Class Act offers young people in schools the opportunity to work with theatre professionals and see their work performed on the Traverse stage.

In addition the Traverse Young Writers group, led by professional playwrights, has been running for over three years and meets weekly.