Welcome to our NEWS page.
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
A Magic Tour
Britannia Panopticon Music Hall has seen many different kinds of acts grace her boards over her long and illustrious history and amongst the most popular was Magic.
Recently we were contacted by the Highlands Museums who have put together a fascinating exhibition (please see poster below) and documentary (which was filmed in none other than Britannia Panopticon Music Hall) about the history of magic. The documentary will be available to view as part of the exhibition entitled "Now You See It..."
Britannia's New Face Lift
27/8/2009
152 years after being completed the Britannia Music Hall on Glasgow’s historic Trongate has had a facelift. For nearly a year the four storey edifice has been hidden behind scaffolding whilst the stone masons of CBC Stone have worked their magic on the crumbling facade. The historic clean up was completed under the direction of conservation architect Keith Hamilton of B3 Architects. B3 specialises in museums and listed buildings and includes the restoration of Nottingham Castle in their prestigious list of credits. Now the peeling blue paint which had been a familiar sight since the 1930’s, has gone to reveal a magnificent façade which was the original vision of Glasgow Architects Thomas Gildard and Robert H. M. MacFarlane in 1857. In addition to peeling off the blue and repairing the stone some of the original historic features have also been restored and recreated, including the missing Putti (small children – usually boys - which are traditionally depicted naked). The Putti were recreated by sculptor, Jez Ainsworth, who in recent years worked with Hathernware on the restoration of the magnificent Doulton Fountain which has been relocated to the front of the People’s Palace on Glasgow Green. This work was funded by Historic Scotland, Merchant City Townscape Heritage Initiative and the Mitchell Family (the erstwhile owners of the building) and cost in the region of £900,000. But the work hasn't finished yet - watch this space as the plate glass shop front is removed in favour of...? Well, you’ll just have to wait and see.
Burlesque at the Art De Caf
9/7/09
On Wednesday 8th July Alex Rettie and his team at the Art De Caf, Brunswick Street, Glasgow, hosted a burlesque show in aid of Britannia Panopticon. Compered by the diminuitive and delectable Miss Dolly Tartan, the show also featured some familiar faces from "Movers and Shakers" the bi-annual burlesque show in which the graduates from the Dance House burlesque classes play a starring role; alongside the emerging talent from the Glasgow burlesque scene. This weeks show featured (amongst others) Hettie Heartache, Cherry Loco and Champagne Charlie.
Alex, Dolly and co managed to raise £355 for the Britannia Panopticon campaign and the evening was such a success that it will all happen again on the 2nd September. For more information please contact the Art De Caf on 0141 552 1810
The Friends of Britannia Panopticon and trustees wish to thank the Art De Caf for all their help and support.
Mr Hunter Goes to Kirkintilloch
27/4/09
Graham Hunter one of our erstwhile Trustees has been busy setting up his exhibition at the Auld Kirk Museum in Kirkintilloch.
As some of you may already know, Graham has one of the largest collections of period costume in the UK and his name can been seen at the end credits of such films as "Arragon" and "Last King of Scotland" as well as TV programmes such as the popular "History of Scotland". A small collection of Graham's costumes can also be seen in the Britannia Panopticon on our open days alongside displays exhibiting a selection of the many artefacts that have been found beneath floorboards and seating in the Panopticon. If you don't get a chance to visit this fantastic exhibition at the Auld Kirk Museum, come along to the Panopticon for Built Heritage Week and Doors Open Day 15th - 20th September 2009 (keep an eye on our events calendar for more information).
SWELL
CLOTHING OF THE VICTORIAN MALE
25th April - 30th May 2009
Auld Kirk Museum
Cowgate
Kirkintilloch
Open Tues-Sat 10am - 1pm & 2pm -5pm (closed Sunday & Monday)
Theatre Trail Prints Come to Britannia Panopticon
6/3/09
In 1990 Glasgow began to celebrate it's long and illustrious history of Theatre with a special trail designed to guide you through the streets of Glasgow where the oldest and most memorable theatres once stood. From Burrell Hall (1750) to the Kings Theatre which survives today and including our beloved Panopticon, each little theatre was awarded it's own theatre trail plaque with a little drawing of what it once looked like. The original drawings were then placed in a frame and given as a gift to Dr Rikki Fulton. Sadly we lost Rikki a few years ago, but the framed prints still exist and were given to Tony Roper by Kate Fulton. Tony has now very kindly given the frame to Britannia Panopticon Music Hall on indefinate loan so that visitors can see this little collection of prints which will be on view in the auditorium on our open days and show days (please see events calendar for more information).
The frame will also be on view at Oranmor on the 29th March for our gala evening entitled "Music Hall Memories Goes West" which stars (amongst others) Tony Roper himself. For more information please see the poster on our home page and events calendar.
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!!!