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If you have any news which you think is relevant to this website and of interest to our readers, please send it in to judith@britanniapanopticon.org
Strippers to peel off at Britannia Panopticon!
16/10/08
Recently a newspaper article in our beloved local paper The Evening Times published a (rather spurious) feature about burlesque performers, under the leadership of Dita Von Tease, who would be stripping off to raise money for the Britannia Panopticon campaign. Well, yes, over the next six or seven months there will be a lot of stripping at the Britannia Panopticon Music Hall, but these strippers will be peeling off paint - not clothing! Yes, the scaffolding is up and the work to clean the blue paint off from the historic, neo classical facade of the Britannia Panopticon (the world's oldest known surviving music hall) is about to begin.
Who's stripping?
B3 (whose head office is in Wales) are acting as Conservation Architects under the leadership of Keith Hamilton, a conservation architect with specific training in stone repair. B3 recently restored Nottingham Castle and specialise in museums and listed buildings. Keith was recently appointed as the chair of Leicestershire Historic Buildings Trust. B3 will be working alongside CBC Stone, who are the main contractors and will be seen daily stripping the paint off. How? "We are starting by getting the paint off the facade," said Keith Hamilton "Hopefully using water based lances to reduce the risk of damage to the face of the stone using Doff and Toff ( a duo of paint removal techniques). It will get wet for the first few weeks!!!!"
Naked!
In addition to peeling off the blue to reveal the beautiful buff coloured Giffnock sandstone beneath, some of the original historic features will also be restored and recreated, inlcuding the missing Putti (small children which are traditionally depicted naked). The putti are being recreated by sculptor, Jez Ainsworth, who in recent years worked with Hathernware restoring the magnificent Doulton Fountain on Glasgow Green.
Above: model of the Putti in clay.
Below: a detail of the facade in 1881 showing the original Putti
How Much? And who's paying?
This scheme of work (which has been comissioned by the Mitchell Family -the erstwhile owners of the building), will cost approximately £720,000.00. Historic Scotland will be providing approximately £250,000.00 in funding which will be matched by our local Townscape Heritage Initiative for the Merchant City whilst the Mitchell family will pick up the the tab for the shortfall.
Burlesque Stars to strip off for the Panopticon (???)
10/10/08
Some of you may have read in the Evening Times an article by Caroline Wilson entitled "Burlesque Stars to strip off for the Panopticon". Well, this is great publicity and no mistake as the following day the letters page was full of letters from concerned and outraged members of the public. However, though I do not wish to disappoint our supporters, Dita Von Tease and Co. will not be stripping off to raise money for the Britannia Panopticon campaign. The truth is that a local production company called "Rhymes With Purple" are currently planning a Cabaret Festival in Glasgow for July 2009 and the idea is that some of the proceeds will go to the Britannia Panopticon preservation fund. As many of you will know, cabaret is not striptease and neither is burlesque! Striptease is something altogether different and although I have friends who strip for a living (no not paint) and I have no problem with it as an art form, Britannia Panopticon is not going to become a strip club - although there will be an element of burlesque and cabaret and if you want to know what I mean by that, please see my published works "Stan Laurel and Other Stars of the Panopticon" where one chapter describes Victorian Burlesque or join us next summer for one of the Academy of Burlesque and Cabaret summer schools (please see our links page).
Tony Roper to give Britannia Panopticon Music Hall a new feature for the display
10/10/08
The lovely Tony Roper has offered to loan us (indefinately) a wonderful print which was given to him by the late, great Rikki Fulton. The picture contains prints of all the Glasgow theatres including the penny geggies (again, please see my publiched work "Stan Laurel and Other Stars of the Panopticon" for more information about Glasgow's old theatres and penny geggies). We will be unveiling the wonderful gift soon.
Thanks Tony!!!