THE former Royal High School on Edinburgh’s Calton Hill will be brought to life for a 10-day festival of live music, visual art, dance, theatre and spoken word.

The Hidden Door festival will use the building to celebrate Scotland’s exciting new and emerging creative talent before work begins to transform it into Scotland’s new National Centre for Music.

The festival will completely transform the entire complex from June 9-18, organisers say.

Inside the vast building, forgotten rooms will be transformed into performance spaces and given over to artists to fill with installations.

The audience will be encouraged to explore the myriad passageways, corridors, nooks and crannies that make up this remarkable building.

One of the most impressive rooms, the central debate chamber, will host specially commissioned in-the-round performances and spectacular events that respond to the unique space. Outside, a stage will be built for large music performances and a bar will take over the front terrace, giving festival-goers a unique view on the city.

Creative director David Martin said: “This is such an incredible site for Hidden Door. It is such a privilege to be able to bring one of Edinburgh’s most iconic buildings back to life. It feels really exciting, in what is still a very challenging period for the arts, to invite Scotland’s newest, most daring artists, dancers, theatre-makers, poets and musicians to take over such a prestigious building and flood it with creative energy. It feels important to bring Scotland’s young creatives right into the centre of the city to celebrate what they do.

“We know that the public will enjoy exploring this unique building too. The place is full of surprises and lends itself to Hidden Door’s ethos of creating an environment that the public can explore and discover new things.”

Hidden Door is working in partnership with the organisations involved in the development of the site. Tickets are available via hiddendoorarts.org/tickets or from Citizen Ticket although the full programme has yet to be announced.