Music Hall Star
Have I ever mentioned the choir that me & the missus are in? I can't remember. Anyway, I won't name names because I don't want to be Googled, but earlier in the year we both joined a non-religious choir that specialises in reinterpreting country and rock songs in a choral stylee. It's good fun and we've played numerous shows, from wee gigs where all 40-odd of us are crammed into a corner of a pub, to big festivals.
Anyway, last night we took part in a fundraising event in aid of the Britannia Panopticon. Opened in 1859 as a music hall on the top floor of a Merchant City warehouse building, it entertained the masses of Glasgow, saw both the young Stan Laurel and Cary Grant tread its boards before they became famous, played host to freak shows and a zoo (!), served as cinema for a short time, and finally closed in 1938. Surprisingly, rather than be repurposed as offices or flats, as most buildings in the city center, it seems that the Panopticon was simply boarded up and forgotten about. The ground floor is currently occupied by a rather tatty amusement arcade, and from the street you would never know it was there. Go up the dusty flight of stairs at the back of the amusements, however, and it's like taking a trip back in time.
The Panopticon was "rediscovered" in the late 90's, and efforts are afoot to restore it to something like its formal glory. Or, at the very least, keep it from falling down. Time has not been kind, naturally. Paint and plaster is flaking from the ceiling, the balconies are very much out of bounds to visitors, and a cold draught blows through it. The dilapitated state of the place does, however, give you a sense of how old it really is, and you can easily imagine how it must have looked in its prime. To think that it lay dormant and unseen for so long.
The Panopticon is not generally open to the public, but if you want to see the inside then various art and fundraising events take place on a regular basis, and there are a couple of videos on the Youtubes. It's well worth visiting in person if possible, but dress warm.
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