06/10/2023
Just a wee note to say that The Britannia Panopticon Music Hall will not be open for general viewing on Saturday 7th October. But we will be open on Thursday, Friday and Saturday next week. Sorry for any disappointment.
The World's Oldest Surviving Music Hall in the heart of Glasgow. To find out when we are open please Oldest surviving Music Hall 1857-1938 Glasgow
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Just a wee note to say that The Britannia Panopticon Music Hall will not be open for general viewing on Saturday 7th October. But we will be open on Thursday, Friday and Saturday next week. Sorry for any disappointment.
Prepare for a night of laughter at the Panopticon Comedy Club on October 13th at 7pm. Featuring the incredible Taryam Boyd and a lineup that's so funny, it's scary! 🎃
Tickets are only £5 - money raised goes towards the upkeep of the world's oldest music hall where Stan Laurel made his comedic debut!
✨🎩
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-panopticon-comedy-club-tickets-717562317207?aff=oddtdtcreator
🎥 Another nice turnout for an evening of Laurel and Hardy films presented by The Sons of the Desert.
🎩✨
We have a special Laurel and Hardy event coming up in November, stay tuned for further updates! 👀
Only 13 tickets left for Thursday
Friday is Sold Out
An Adults only Pantomime of Sleeping Beauty from the team that brought you 6 years of Panto After Dark and Dragged Tae The Steamie .
The night I died onstage at The Britannia Panopticon Music Hall.
Tonight and tomorrow we have 'Don't get mad get everything ' a drag parody of first wives club. 💄👯🪩
There's still some tickets left for tomorrow evening, don't miss it! ✨
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/dont-get-mad-get-everything-a-drag-parody-of-first-wives-club-tickets-598635192977?aff=oddtdtcreator
It's so exciting! The first re throughs are happening at this very minute for Ghost Stories - From around the World Have you got your tickets yet?
Do you want to be a vendor at our Hallowe'en market? Email us at [email protected] for a booking form!
Upcoming September and October events
🍂🍁👻✨🎃
29th & 30th September 8pm - Don't get mad get everything
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/dont-get-mad-get-everything-a-drag-parody-of-first-wives-club-tickets-598635192977?aff=oddtdtcreator
4th October 7pm- Laurel and Hardy film night with sons of the Desert 📽️
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/laurel-and-hardy-film-night-tickets-719116335317?aff=oddtdtcreator
6th October 8pm - Dragopticon 👯♂️
https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/whats-on/113-117-trongate/the-britannia-panopticon-music-hall/drag-opticon-october/e-pxdeko
13th October 7pm - The Panopticon Comedy Club 🎩
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-panopticon-comedy-club-tickets-717562317207?aff=oddtdtcreator
20th October 7:30pm - Ghost Stories from the World 👻🙀🕷️
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/ghost-stories-from-around-the-world-tickets-717553671347?aff=oddtdtcreator
27th October 8pm - The Friday Night Fling 👯♂️
https://glasgowfestivalofburlesque.designmynight.com/
28th October 12-5pm - The Panopticon Halloween Market 🪄🧙🏼♀️🔮
£1 admission
28th October 7pm - The Cabinet of Dr Caligari 📽️🎃
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-cabinet-of-dr-caligari-tickets-717013636087?aff=oddtdtcreator
Excellent video by Andrew Quinn 👻
This afternoon, join us for Music Hall Memories, where you can step back in time to experience the charm of bygone Music Hall variety shows.
Free to get in but we charge to get out!
1:30 & 3:30
🎩🎭✨
Contact [email protected] or Dragged TAE productions Ltd to apply / details
This is a great annual event and always a lot of fun
ADULT PANTO : CASTING CALL
We are currently casting for our 2023 Adult Panto at The Britannia Panopticon Music Hall
We are looking for :
Princess
Prince
Comic Lead
Featured Ensemble
Auditions will take place on Monday 2nd October in a Glasgow City Centre .
Interested parties should email headshot and Acting CV to [email protected] using Shattered rosebud as subject .
All applicants must be 18+
For the auditon you will be required to sight read and perform a song of your choice .
Princess auditionees will also be asked to perform chorus of “I will always love you “
Video auditions be accepted on a case by case basis .
please let us know when you apply
Today is the last day of Glasgow Doors Open Days Festival. Come along and discover the history of the world's oldest surviving music hall.
👯🎩📸✨🎻
Join us this weekend for doors open days and see what we have prepared just for you! come along, take some photos of our carnival photobooth and share away your snaps!
📸🎩👯🎪
Burlesque returns to Panopticon with Friday Night Fling! A wonderful evening hosted by Roxy Stardust! Join us for some more Sparkle and Glamour on the 27th October with a spooky themed night. 🌟💃
Coming up this Friday we have 'Step Right Up' a fantastic new variety show hosted by the incredible Paul Puppet with a dazzling lineup of live music, burlesque and Comedy.
👯🌟
Ticket Link below 👇
https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/whats-on/glasgow/the-britannia-panopticon-music-hall/step-right-up/e-kgbxlp
We have a fantastic turnout for tonight's screening of 'Oliver Twist' with musical accompaniment provided by Gladstone's Bag.
🎻🎥🍿
Tonight Gladstone's Bag presents the 1922 silent classic 'Oliver Twist' with a live musical orchestra.
🎻🎥🍿
Don't miss out! Tickets available from the link below 👇
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/oliver-twist-1922-silent-movie-featuring-live-music-tickets-700703040657?aff=oddtdtcreator
PLEASE NOTE DUE TO FILMING WE WILL NOT BE OPEN THURSDAY 7th Sept
Re- Open Friday 8th 12-4:30
We've been featured in The Guardian and Glasgow Times for Glasgow Doors Open Days Festival
Join us for an unforgettable experience from the 15th to the 17th! Step into history at the world's oldest music hall, where comedy legend Stan Laurel took his first comedic steps. Curious to know who else graced our stage? Come along and visit us, we can't wait to see you!🎭🎶🌟
Coming up this Friday at 7pm we have the Panopticon Comedy Club! Kavita returns with another incredible lineup at the very venue that Stan Laurel made his comedic debut! 🎩🌟
Tickets are only £5 and money raised goes towards the upkeep of the world's oldest music hall!
Don't miss out!
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/myevent?eid=700174640197
The World's Oldest Surviving Music Hall in the heart of Glasgow. To find out when we are open please see our website www.britanniapanopticon.org
https://linktr.ee/britanniapanopticon
💃✨🎩Photos from our brand new Variety Show, Step Right Up hosted by the fabulous Paul Puppet with cast of wonderful performers. Step Right Up returns Sept 15th with another exciting line up!
Grab your tickets now :
https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/whats-on/glasgow/the-britannia-panopticon-music-hall/step-right-up/e-kgbxlp?fbclid=IwAR3MOeYNmj-ZoNh8pcKxhgl8_Cv2GR18cACn1KxURKS1cCQlcAo8zowyeN8
We’ve been featured in The Guardian’s article as one of the top ten best attractions across the UK to see for the Glasgow Doors Open Days festival!
Come see our glorious building and auditorium, learn about its rich history. We are open Saturday 16th & Sunday 17th September.
Times: 11am-2pm and 2pm-5pm both days.
In September, thousands of monuments, civic buildings and private homes throw open their doors to offer a rare glimpse of normally off-limits spaces. Here are some lesser-known treasures around the country
Our monthly victorian style music hall shows return! With an array of music, comedy and other variety acts gathered from all four corners of glasgow, and scraped from the gutters of the Trongate.
Performances at 1.30pm & 3.30pm
Free to get in but we charge to get out!
Come along and discover our wee shop tucked away at the back of the auditorium! 🌟From fascinating books to stylish t-shirts, we have a fine but small collection just for you. ✨ If you would like to purchase from our shop and are unable to visit please email [email protected] for more information. 🌹🎩👯♀️
THIS FRIDAY!
We’re bringing little touch of the Edinburgh Fringe to you all right in the heart of Glasgow! Fancy supporting the oldest surviving in Music Hall and seeing and awesome burlesque show? Then join us at The Britannia Panopticon Music Hall on the 25th August and catch a bevy of Burlesque beauties from far and wide.
🎟️ www.glasgowfestivalofburlesque.com
(Direct Link - https://glasgowfestivalofburlesque.designmynight.com/)
*Acts featured on poster may not feature in the show
This afternoon, come along to the Panopticon and check out our wonderful Second hand Rose's Second-Hand, Vintage & Handmade sale and discover a wide range of collectables and trinkets from our wonderful vendors! 🌟🛍️
We'll be open from 12am until 5pm with £1 admission 🎟️
Glasgow International Comedy Festival
We will shortly start planning our events for Glasgow International Comedy Festival 2024 .
This will include daytime events / shows and evening shows including full day / evening events and also 1hour slots .
If anyone wishes to express an interest in performing at The Britannia Panopticon Music Hall for GICF2024 please send us a message or email ( using subject GICF 2024) with your contact details and some details of your show and we will be in touch when we start programming .
Our email address is [email protected]
Venue has a capacity of 100 seats and we will be programming a mix of dry hire and box office split events .
We particularly want to hear from family friendly day time events and Stand alone 1 hr comedy shows but all events will be considered if suitable .
Please note that we are a limited tech venue so we can ensure you are seen and heard but May not be able to offer any specific lighting effects or special effects .
This Saturday our Second hand Rose's Second-Hand, Vintage & Handmade sale returns!
Step into the world's oldest music hall and discover a fantastic collection of vintage and hand crafted wonders from our vendors.
We'll be open from 12pm to 5pm ✨
£1 admission 🎟️
A fantastic sold out show for this evening's A Night of Ghosts brought to you by Ash and Des.
👻
🎪🤹Roll up roll up, come along and discover our fantastic merchandise at our charming shop tucked away at the back of the auditorium! 🌟From informative books to stylish t-shirts, we have a fine but small collection just for you. ✨ If you snag a trendy t-shirt, don't forget to tag us – 😘🌝
Photos from Last Month's Comedy Club!
Thanks to everyone who took part and who came along!
This Friday we have another night of fantastic Comedy, so why not grab a ticket and see some wonderful acts at the very venue Stan Laurel made his stage debut! 😁
Tickets:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-panopticon-comedy-club-tickets-685011286197?aff=oddtdtcreator&fbclid=IwAR36jud9PzW-WYtGohePRMojpRL2Q5WMzeQmcVbgsdHlZpNN-4CZBEKEIFQ
113-117 Trongate
Glasgow
G15HD
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Curtain call and standing ovation for our cast of Dragged tae The Steamie, the only official drag version of Tony Roper’s “The Steamie”. We had a completely sold out 5-day run and, due to popular demand, have added an extra date on 7th October. Tickets are £25, link is at bottom of post to buy tickets. Thanks to all of our customers who came along and supported the show and our amazing building. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/dragged-tae-the-steamie-extended-run-tickets-413320441567?aff=erelexpmlt
Wednesday 7th of September at 7pm Gladstone's Bag presents Harold Lloyd's classic silent feature film 'Speedy' with a live musical orchestra! Don't miss it! ✨🌟🎻🎬 https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/speedy-1928-silent-movies-with-live-music-tickets-390960241607?aff=ebdsoporgprofile
Don't forget, tonight it's silent films and each one is a comedy classic. Live music will be performed by Gladstone's Bag. Here's a wee clip from Billy Blazes, a parody of westerns starring Harold Lloyd. Tickets are available from silentcomedyclassics.eventbrite.co.uk
Here's another little snippet from tomorrow nights silent films with live music by Gladstone's Bag. This is John Bunny in drag as Kitty Tickets available at silentcomedyclassics.eventbrite.co.uk
Tomorrow its silent film night with live music performed by Gladstone's Bag. Here's a clip from Buster Keaton's Cops. Some tickets still available from silentcomedyclassics.eventbrite.co.uk
Today the Sons of the Desert (official Laurel and Hardy fanclub) from around the world descended upon our old music hall. It was a fantastic day and they raised another £400 for the Panopticon. They were also entertained by the wonderful Lucky Dog Theatre Productions with a short show about "the boys". Here's a wee clip. To find out more about Lucky Dog you can follow them on Twitter LuckyDogTP
We love Laurel and Hardy, what's your favourite scene? We're happy to announce that 'The Sons of the Desert' will be returning on the 6th of April 7pm with another fine collection of Laurel and Hardy features. Don't miss it! Free to get in but please leave a donation if you can?
Did you miss the General today in Panopticon? Next silent film with live band is Metropolis 4th May 7pm
I have been going through some of the old hard drives and have come across some old videos. Though not quite Victorian, this video shows Judith Bowers performing with her Hallelujah Sister, Gypsy Charms. Shake your tambourine! By the way, Judith is celebrating 25 years of campaigning for Britannia Panopticon and you can show your support by donating to https://www.gofundme.com/f/britannia-panopticon-campaign-silver-jubilee?utm_source=customer&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_campaign=p_cf+share-flow-1
Mary Ann Bevan was once titled the ugliest woman on earth. Here's her tale in 49 seconds. Thanks John!
PANTO RETURNS TO THE WORLDS OLDEST SURVIVING MUSIC HALL The evil giant Blunderbore is terrorising the poor village of Skint upon the Brew in the Kingdom of Panoptica. Can a poor farm boy named Jack save the village and the beautiful princess Jill from the giant Blunderbore and his glamorous assistant Demon Moonshade with the help of newly graduated Fairy Divine? Will her father King Carracacus ever allow her to marry for love and not money? Will Jack’s Brother Wee Willie be able to survive their mothers cooking? And what secret is Dame Trott hiding? Find out out this Christmas as The Britannia Panopticon in association with The Vesta Girls present this Giant of a Pantomime! Starring: SALLY STARSHINE as DEMON MOONSHADE NOMI DIVINE as FAIRY DIVINE AUNTIE EFFIE as DAME TROTT Tickets available from www.universe.com/panto21 ( Please note that your ticket is for the event and does not guarantee the appearance of any specific cast member - we will advertise any change to cast on our social media and reschedule your ticket where possible in order to see that cast member.) PLEASE NOTE AS AN ONGOING CONSERVATION PROJECT THE VENUE DOES NOT CURRENTLY HAVE HEATING AND PATRONS ARE ADVISED TO WRAP UP WARM .
Panto returns to the Panopticon Following the postponement of our 2020 Pantomine due to the Covid-19 pandemic The Friends of The Britannia Panmopticon Music Hall Trust ( SCIO) and The VESTA Girls are delighted to announce that Jack and The Beanstalk will return to The Britannia Panopticon Music Hall for Christmas 2021 from 11th December along with our adults only event Jack Off The Beanstalk on 16th December . The pantomime is once again produced by Scotlands Premier Theatrical Drag Troupe - The VESTA Girls and stars Sally Starshine and Auntie Effie who have appeared every year since we relaunched panto in 2016 alongside the family panto debut of Nomi Divine who previously played Cinderella in our Adults only version of Cinderella in 2019 although her ‘manager’ has appeared in each of our pantos since 2018 in some form or another . Jack and The Beanstalk will also see thereturn of Matt Jones who played the king and prince in Sleeping Beauty , this time as comic lead . Fairy Divine ( Nomi Divine ) has recently graduated from fairy school and has been tasked with saving the village of Skint upon the Brew in the land of Panoptica from the evil giant Blunderbore and his nasty assistant Demon Moonshade ( Sally Starshine ) who have been terrorising the village . If only she had The Wand of Vesta which legend says will defeat a giant but it has been lost for many years so instead she must enlist the help of a boy who is strong and true - Jack Trott . Although that means having to deal with his mother Dame Euphemia Trott ( Auntie Effie) . Can Fairy Divine save the village ? How Evil is Demon Moonshade ? Will The King let Jack marry Princess Jill ? and will Effie ever stop mentioning that she was named as one of Scotland’s finest panto dames in The Scotsman? Find out This Christmas at this Giant of a pantomime . Saturday 11th / 18th Dec - 2pm and 7pm Sunday 12th / 19th Dec - 2pm Tickets : Child : £5 Adult : £10 Group rate : £8 Available from www.univer
Britannia Panopticon began life in the late 1850s when Glasgow was bursting at the seams with humanity. Thousands of workers had flocked to the city to work in the mills, factories, foundries, shipyards and collieries. They lived in the worst conditions imaginable; single ends* housed one third of the population, lodging houses where they crammed eight to a bed were available for those who couldn’t afford a single end and if you couldn’t afford a sliver of bed space then the penny line** was a slightly better option than the poorhouses and workhouses.
The social and working conditions of the workers of this industrial empire were not so much intangible as unimaginable to us today; men, women and children toiled in the most atrocious and dangerous conditions, the stench of the sewers, the thick smoke that belched from the factories and mills and made the air thick and foul to breathe, the lack of indoor and outdoor plumbing etc. would be insufferable to our modern and delicate dispositions – only the strongest survived.
The audience of the Britannia Music Hall (as it was originally known) comprised 1500 of these people, who would cram into the small auditorium four times a day, squeezing up cheek to cheek (so to speak) on the rough wooden benches that served as seating for those who could afford it. Those who couldn’t got to stand at the sides and back of the hall. Where-ever they sat and whoever they were, they all came for the same reason, to be entertained, blow off steam, have a laugh (usually at the expense of the act on stage if they weren’t up to muster) and escape from their difficult lives. But this was an audience that had for generations cut its teeth on the barbarous practice of public punishments and executions, which in Glasgow had been the only form of legitimate entertainment from the 1550s to the 1750s. Consequently the Glasgow audience evolved over the generations into a merciless mob who literally left no turn un-stoned. In Britannia Music Hall the turns (acts) could find themselves pelted with Shipyard rivets, nails, rancid turnips and horse manure, whilst urine might rain down on them from the balcony. However, if the turn appealed to the Britannia’s audience, they would be rewarded with thunderous applause and foot-stamping instead.
In the early days the bill of fare offered a diet of dancing girls, comic singers and ballad singers***,the dancing girls being a particularly strong draw for the men who (ordinarily starved of the sight of female flesh) would whoop and whistle their appreciation at the sight of the dancing girls’ stocking tops. This titillation meant that the ever resourceful prostitutes who inhabited the Trongate found themselves a brisk trade in the Britannia Music Hall where hundreds of fly buttons still survive as evidence of their booming business.
This b***y behaviour became synonymous with the music halls of Glasgow’s east end and by the 1860s had become a subject of great concern amongst certain worthies of the city who believed that the nudity to be seen in the music halls was a major contributor to the moral decay of the east end working classes. The flash of a dancing girls’ thigh so outraged one pious gentleman he suggested that “No leg of mutton should be hung in a butcher’s window without being properly dressed”.
To ensure the moral well being of the public, police were thereafter instructed to include a walk around the various music halls of the city as part of their daily beat and this certainly prompted a clean up of the music halls, though one critic did state that whilst the police were in, the material was toned down, but as soon as they left would revert to the more popular ribald humour.
In Britannia it seems that a new management, under the husband and wife team of Mr & Mrs Rossborough, brought with it a new bill which included child performers, acrobats, high wire and trapeze artistes and animal acts; it also included a caveat at the bottom which stated, “No ladies admitted unless accompanied by gentlemen” in an effort to eradicate the ladies of the night who had been plying their wares in the dark corners of the balcony.
Under the management of Mr & Mrs Rossborough the Britannia Music Hall flourished. They gave the auditorium and foyer a facelift which the Glasgow Sentinel newspaper described as being “...painted with very great taste indeed....everywhere displays great artistic taste... The roof of the Hall has been, along with other parts, redecorated, and presents quite an elegant appearance. Boldly panelled and painted in accordance with the mouldings that cross it, the roof of the Britannia, lighted up by many chandeliers, has really a splendid effect. The front of the galleries, the proscenium, the wings of the stage, and all the more prominent points are painted with a due regard to the general effect, and the while presents a coup d’ which must astonish those who are unacquainted with the music halls of Glasgow. The front gallery has been comfortably fitted up with cushioned seats, and affords ample accommodation for the better class of visitors who may desire to visit it with their wives and children. And to complete the Hall for the comfort of those who may desire a series of private boxes at the back of the middle gallery, the decoration and adornment of which give a finish to that portion of the house...”
Britannia was by now one of the most popular places of amusement in the city and the years that followed saw some of the greatest acts of music hall history grace its boards; Marie Loftus, Dan Leno, George Leybourne, The Great Vance, Jenny Hill, Bessie Bellwood, Harry Champion, WF Frame, Marie Lloyd, Harry Lauder and so the list goes on. Many of these names are still remembered today and their songs are still sung from time to time, “The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo”, “I’m Henery the Eighth I Am”, “Champagne Charlie”, “Daisy (Give me your answer do) Bell”, “Boiled Beef and Carrots”, “The Man on the Flying Trapeze”, “My Old Man Said Follow the Van”, “TaRaRaBoumDeay” and “The Boy I love Is Up In The Gallery” to name but a few. It makes you wonder what songs people one hundred years from now will remember from the early 21st Century? Will the songs of the P***y Cat Dolls and Britney Spears be remembered by following generations?
But songs are not the only legacy of the music hall. As the years progressed, so did technology and the music halls were quick to take advantage of new advancements. When in 1896 electricity became widely available in Glasgow, Britannia Music Hall was amongst the first 300 buildings of the city to have it wired in, enabling the management to show the latest marvel of the era; Animated Pictures. At the time most of the world of show business regarded the Animated Picture as a novelty act that would have a short burst of popularity before being replaced and forgotten in light of some new innovation. Subsequently the initial engagement of the animated picture was for just one week.That one week proved such an enormous success that by January of 1897 the animated picture had become a regular feature on the programme. Now Britannia stood on the threshold of the most successful entertainment the world would ever know – Cinema.
Electricity also afforded the audience an opportunity to see another marvel of the age, Dr Walford Bodie M.D. who used electricity to astounding affect. Assisted by the lovely “La Belle Electra”he would connect himself to huge electrical coils which buzzed and hummed with flashes of blue lightning when Electra threw the switch. He would stand with his arms dramatically thrust up into the air,teeth gritted, head flung back and his body tensed as thousands of volts of electricity coursed through him. His fingertips crackled with blue lightning. Volunteers were selected from the audience to stand on the stage next to the electrifying Bodie, and their hair would stand up on end with static charge – which of course looked very comical indeed. Next Electra would invite a courting couple on the stage and ask them to kiss. The couple would hesitantly approach each other, but as their lips drew closer, electric sparks would pass between them preventing the pouting lips from touching. The audience loved it.
As much as Britannia Music Hall tried to move with the times, it was now heralded as the oldest place of amusement in Glasgow and in the dawn’s light of a new century, it looked old and tired. With the new Century came new buildings and across the city new variety theatres began to appear, replacing the now elderly music halls. By 1905 people were flocking to these sparkling new palaces of entertainment like the Pavilion, Coliseum and Kings Theatre, and Britannia closed – for a while anyway as the owner, James Anderson, reviewed his options and considered a way to bring the audiences back.
The solution came to Anderson in the form of his neighbour, A. E. Pickard, a young lad from Bradford in Yorkshire who was having some success revitalising the fortunes of the old Fell’s Waxwork Museum two doors down. Pickard jumped at the opportunity to expand his showmanship into the old Britannia and in January of 1906 he moved in. For several months the front doors of the old music hall stayed closed to the public as workmen marched in and out carrying strange boxes and crates and enormous potted palms, but strangely very little seemed to come back out. What was this young Yorkshire lad who modelled himself on the great American showman, P. T. Barnum, up to? When, in May 1906, Pickard finally reopened the doors of the Britannia Music Hall, the curious population of the east end flooded in, streaming up the stairs to the auditorium where it appeared very little had changed, other than the addition of a pair of staircases which carried the public up to a floor in the attic above the auditorium. This attic space had been turned into a carnival complete with seventeen different games including Love in a Tub, Aunt Sallies, Hook ‘Em Up, Bogie Men, Pipe Breakers, Coconut Shies, Electric rifle ranges, fortunetelling machines and hooplas. Interspersed between them and around the edges of the room was a collection of the most popular characters of the day represented in wax.These included the British Royal family and the latest person to be executed at the Duke Street Prison (this exhibit was changed frequently).In addition a series of small rooms contained various characters from the worlds smallest man, to the worlds tallest man, Sleeping Beauty, a leprechaun and numerous others who would entertain the gawping public.
Pickard further extended the variety of entertainments to be found in the building by converting the basement into a zoo which he advertised as “Noah’s Ark,” and declared that it was the first time that the term had been used to describe a collection of animals since the biblical days of Noah. Perhaps he thought this reference to Noah would capture the public’s interest. It certainly seemed to work as they swarmed through the basement menagerie where, in addition to an assortment of birds, reptiles, monkeys and a bear, distorting mirrors, paintings by Hogarth and medieval etchings of Chinese torture could also be viewed.
All this entertainment under the one roof brought the in public in droves, but the building was no longer called Britannia Music Hall, it was now advertised as The Grand Panopticon which is a name derived from the Greek terms Pan meaning “everything” and Opti meaning “to see”. However - it was a name that no-one in Glasgow could remember, spell or pronounce - so locally it became known as The Pots and Pans.
Soon after the reopening of the Britannia in its new guise as the Panopticon, a young man aged sixteen approached the Yorkshire show man and asked him if he might have a chance to perform on the stage. When Pickard asked the boy, “Why?” the lad apparently replied “Because I’m Funny” and that was enough to secure him a slot on that coming Friday’s amateur night. His name was Arthur Stanley Jefferson and his first joke went something like this “Did you hear the one about the two butterflies? One butterfly said to the other butterfly, “I am bothered, I am bothered”.”Why’s that then?” said the other butterfly. “Because I couldn’t go to the dance.”said the first butterfly. “Why ever not?” asked the second “Because it was a moth ball.”
That young lad could not have dreamed where that first joke would lead him, but the world still knows him today as that young lad was Stan Laurel, one half of that famous comedy duo Laurel and Hardy. A. E. Pickard was always proud of the break he gave that young lad and Stan never forgot it either and revisited Pickard some years later in the 1930s.
As the Panopticon, Britannia found a new lease of life and survived the First World War, the twenties and the depression of the 30’s, but by 1938, after entertaining Glasgow for 81 years the Panopticon found that it could no longer compete with a new form of entertainment palace, the Art Deco Cinema. With 130 cinemas in Glasgow competing for the same business, including a few that Pickard owned himself, he decided to close the Panopticon and sold it to a firm of Tailors called Weaver to Wearer. Weaver to Wearer removed the entrance to the music hall and turned the ground floor of the building (which for most of the music hall’s history had been a public house) into a shop and converted the music hall on the first floor level into a workshop, hiding the balcony and upper auditorium behind a lath and plaster suspended ceiling. The balcony was left untouched and uninhabited (save for the chickens that lived there when it was used as a chicken farm during WW2) until 1997 when I first managed to get a glimpse of the auditorium above the modern shop floor. I was stunned to discover that it remained almost untouched, as if the last audience had only just left.
Since my first encounter, much has changed; there is now a charitable trust which has been established to help preserve the Britannia Panopticon, a Friends organisation which costs £20 a year to join and a team of volunteers who work tirelessly to ensure that the old music hall can remain open. The false ceiling which once hid the balcony has gone and music hall songs once again fill the hall – but we have a long way to go before Britannia Panopticon can be regarded as fully preserved and safe for future generations to enjoy as a living museum of music hall and Victorian/ Edwardian popular entertainments.
For more about the history of Britannia Panopticon look out for my book 'Glasgow's Lost Theatre - The Story of the Britannia Music Hall'.
* A single end was accommodation in which the sleeping, living and cooking areas were contained in the one single room.
** A Penny Line was a washing line – sometimes also referred to as the penny lean - which would hold the sleeper up by the oxters until the line was untied the following morning.
*** Irish songs were a particular favourite as much of the audience had come from Ireland during the potato famine of the 1840’s and they loved to hear Irish airs and reminisce about the Emerald Isle.
Scottish Football Museum & Hampden Stadium To
Hampden ParkScottish Jewish Heritage Centre
Hill StreetPainting + Restoration Studio, Wasps Factory,
Hanson StreetScottish Mask and Puppet Centre
Balcarres Avenue