Bedlam Theatre is a student-run theatre owned by the University of Edinburgh and notable for being the oldest student-run theatre in Britain. It is housed in the former New North Free Church building at the foot of George IV Bridge in Edinburgh; a building which was designed by Thomas Hamilton, an architect involved in the creation of Edinburgh New Town in the city. It is on the site of the old city poorhouse, and its name is taken from the nearby site of the city's first mental health hospital, where the poet Robert Fergusson died. After the building was abandoned by the church in 1937 it was gifted to Edinburgh University. The University used it for various purposes, including a furniture store and a school of nursing. In 1980, the Edinburgh University Theatre Company (EUTC) moved in, the building being converted for their use.