The King's Theatre is located in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, Scotland. It was built for

Howard & Wyndham Ltd Howard & Wyndham Ltd was a theatre owning, production and management company named after John B. Howard and Frederick W. P. Wyndham, founded in Glasgow in 1895, and which became the largest of its type in Britain. The company continued well into the ...

under its chairman Baillie Michael Simons as a sister theatre of their Theatre Royal in the city and was designed by

Frank Matcham Francis Matcham (22 November 1854 – 17 May 1920)Mackintosh, Iain"Matcham, Frank" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, accessed 7 July 2019 was an English architect who specialised in the design of theatres and ...

, opening in 1904. The theatre is primarily a

receiving house A receiving house (sometimes called a roadhouse) is a theatre which does not produce its own repertoire but instead receives touring theatre companies, usually for a brief period such as three nights or an entire week. The incoming company may r ...

for touring musicals, dance, comedy and circus-type performances. The theatre also provides a prominent stage for local amateur productions. The King's Theatre also stages an annual pantomime, produced by First Family Entertainment. The theatre is currently operated by ATG Entertainment, under a lease from

Glasgow City Council Glasgow City Council (Scottish Gaelic: ''Comhairle Baile Ghlaschu'') is the Local government in Scotland, local government authority for Glasgow, Glasgow City council area, Scotland. In its modern form it was created in 1996. Glasgow was former ...

who own the building. It is widely regarded as "one of Scotland's most historic and significant theatres" and has become known for its high quality production abilities. Additionally, the theatre has won numerous accolades since its original opening. Described by

Historic Environment Scotland Historic Environment Scotland (HES) () is an executive non-departmental public body responsible for investigating, caring for and promoting Scotland's historic environment. HES was formed in 2015 from the merger of government agency Historic Sc ...

as "an important example of an Edwardian theatre", it was categorised as a Category A

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

in December 1970.

History

Opening and early history

The King's Theatre was commissioned by the theatre company Howard & Wyndham at a cost of over £50,000 and opened on 12 September 1904. In the 1930s like many city theatres, it had been policy to close during the summer while many city residents headed to the coast for their holidays, but this all changed in 1933 when the then managing director of Howard & Wyndham, A. Stewart Cruikshank, decided to experiment with a quality show, a cocktail of music, laughter and song, to outmatch the seaside-style summer shows. The show started at 8.30pm and was changed weekly, attracting huge crowds. The record run of 31 weeks under the top billing of Dave Willis remains unbroken in variety history. The first such show was on 5 June 1933, and was imaginatively titled the ''Half Past Eight Show''. This successful summer tradition continued, with changes becoming fortnightly to allow as many people to see it as possible. Howard and Wyndham Ltd acquired the larger Alhambra Theatre in Waterloo Street in 1954, in anticipation of selling their Theatre Royal in Hope Street to Roy Thomson as studios for the launch of the commercial television station STV, and the summer shows were transferred there. The King's concentrated upon musical plays and drama and in time introduced ballet, Pavlova being greatly popular. Film seasons were introduced before 1914. Pantomime started in the 1960s only after the Alhambra Theatre closed. These lavish shows, originally funded in a joint venture by Glasgow Corporation and Edinburgh Corporation included

Stanley Baxter Stanley Livingstone Baxter (born 24 May 1926) is a retired Scottish actor, comedian, impressionist and author. Baxter began his career as a child actor on BBC Scotland and later became known for his British television comedy shows '' The Stanley ...

and others. The Christmas pantomime continued as an annual feature, with comedians and actors such as Gerard Kelly and Elaine C. Smith. There is always a healthy rivalry with other Scottish theatres to put on the biggest and best Christmas pantomimes, with the main competition to the King's in Glasgow now being the Pavilion Theatre in Renfield Street.

Glasgow Corporation ownership

Over the years many actors and actresses have graced the stage of The King's. These included

Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier ( ; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director. He and his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud made up a trio of male actors who dominated the British stage of the m ...

Sarah Bernhardt Sarah Bernhardt (; born Henriette-Rosine Bernard; 22 October 1844 – 26 March 1923) was a French stage actress who starred in some of the most popular French plays of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including by Alexandre Dumas fils, ...

Ray Walston Herman Ray Walston (November 2, 1914 – January 1, 2001) was an American actor. He started his career on Broadway theatre, Broadway earning the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his performance as Mr. Applegate in ''Damn Yankees'' (1956 ...

Katharine Hepburn Katharine Houghton Hepburn (May 12, 1907 – June 29, 2003) was an American actress whose Katharine Hepburn on screen and stage, career as a Golden Age of Hollywood, Hollywood leading lady spanned six decades. She was known for her headstrong ...

and

Tyrone Power Tyrone Edmund Power III (May 5, 1914 – November 15, 1958) was an American actor. From the 1930s to the 1950s, Power appeared in dozens of films, often in swashbuckler roles or romantic leads. His better-known films include ''Jesse James (193 ...

. The Jackson Five and Dolly Parton appeared at a Royal Variety Performance in the late 1970s. In 1967, Howard and Wyndham sold the King's Theatre to

Glasgow Corporation Glasgow City Council (Scottish Gaelic: ''Comhairle Baile Ghlaschu'') is the local government authority for Glasgow City council area, Scotland. In its modern form it was created in 1996. Glasgow was formerly governed by a corporation, also kno ...

in the face of competition from the civic theatre movement, which was attracting Arts Council money. This secured the theatre for the future, as television and colour films had led to the closure of the majority of them in Britain. Around the same period, the theatre gained an extension to the rear as part of the Charing Cross Complex which was built to the west of the building in the early 1970s. However, the King's has been most famous among locals for its annual pantomime - which has starred variety greats such as

Jimmy Logan James Allan Short, Officer of the Order of the British Empire, OBE, RSAMD, FRSAMD (4 April 1928 – 13 April 2001), known professionally as Jimmy Logan, was a Scotland, Scottish performer, theatrical producer, impresario and Theatre director, ...

and Rikki Fulton. In 1990 when the City of Glasgow became the first European City of Culture in Britain, the theatre was a main venue, and underwent a programme of major refurbishment.

Ambassador Theatre Group

In 2002 the theatre's day-to-day management was transferred to the Ambassador Theatre Group, becoming their first venue in Scotland, although they have since also taken over the management of the Theatre Royal at the opposite end of the city centre as well as the Edinburgh Playhouse. In 2004, the theatre celebrated its centenary, and a one-off documentary on the theatre was broadcast on BBC1 Scotland on 31 January 2003. The programme was presented by Elaine C Smith and featured interviews with Gerard Kelly,

, Paul O'Grady, Tony Roper,

Nicholas Parsons Christopher Nicholas Parsons (10 October 1923 – 28 January 2020) was an English actor, straight man and radio and television presenter. He was the long-running presenter of the comedy radio show ''Just a Minute'' and hosted the game show '' S ...

and Johnny Beattie, among others. In 2005, responsibility for production of the pantomime was transferred to the Ambassador Theatre Group subsidiary First Family Entertainment. Since 2017, the pantomime has been managed by Crossroads Pantomimes. In early 2008, the management of the King's Theatre announced that a full programme of interior refurbishment was planned, to restore the theatre to its full former glory, in time for the Commonwealth Games that the city is to host in 2014. Work for this restoration is expected to commence in the Summer of 2009. The firm chosen as Architects for the work are Simpson & Brown. The theatre had its Stalls & Grand Circle seating replaced during the autumn 2009, with an authentic style appropriate to the theatre. The stalls has improved legroom and no centre aisle, improving sightlines. The theatre is offering patrons the opportunity to sponsor a seat, with the price including a membership to the Friends scheme that the theatre operates. Other restoration work includes new carpet within the auditorium, new orchestra pit railing, and preparations for the installation of air conditioning.

Overview

Location

The theatre occupies the corner of Bath Street and Elmbank Street, in the Charing Cross area of the city. The longer Bath Street elevation houses both the main entrance, the scenery dock and stage door. The equally decorative but shorter Elmbank Street elevation has various fire exits and the entrance to the Gallery.

The building

made effective use of the prominent corner site in designing the two facades of the building. Originally, an iron canopy, made by the Saracen Foundry in Possilpark, Glasgow, wrapped around the front of the building, although this appears to have been removed by the Second World War, possibly for munitions production. The facade on Bath Street is a mix of styles, with influences of

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

and

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...

in red

Dumfriesshire Dumfriesshire or the County of Dumfries or Shire of Dumfries () is a Counties of Scotland, historic county and registration county in southern Scotland. The Dumfries lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area covers a similar area to the hi ...

sandstone. A pair of two storey pavilions stand near either end of the Bath Street elevation, one providing access to the main

foyer A lobby is a room in a building used for entry from the outside. Sometimes referred to as a foyer, entryway, reception area or entrance hall, it is often a large room or complex of rooms (in a theatre, opera house, concert hall, showroom, cine ...

whilst the other houses the scenery dock, and opens straight onto the stage. The pavilions are topped with ball

finial A finial () or hip-knob is an element marking the top or end of some object, often formed to be a decorative feature. In architecture, it is a small decorative device, employed to emphasize the Apex (geometry), apex of a dome, spire, tower, roo ...

s. Originally a female statue stood on top of either pavilion, but these were removed during the war period, to prevent them becoming damaged, however were subsequently misplaced, and have never been rediscovered. The theatre provides seating on four levels - Stalls, Grand Circle, Upper Circle and Gallery. Matcham was famous for his innovative style of cantilever construction of the individual seating tiers, which virtually eliminated the need for supporting pillars, and the King's was no exception, with reasonable sightlines from most seats. Victorian and Edwardian theatres were almost always built to segregate patrons at each level, although subsequent modernisations often eradicate this. This has thus far not been the case in the King's, which still has separate entrances, some of which have traces of former pay boxes, now disused. The standard of seating and decoration is also less luxurious as you get further up the house. The Stalls and Grand Circle are accessed via the small main foyer, which still impresses with its barrel vaulted ceiling, horizontal bands of red and white marble, and decorative plasterwork on the ceilings, including caryatids. The Upper Circle is accessed via a door to a stairwell to the left of the main Bath Street entrance. The Gallery is accessed via a staircase at the back of the building with its own entrance on Elmbank Street. The

auditorium An auditorium is a room built to enable an audience to hear and watch performances. For movie theaters, the number of auditoriums is expressed as the number of screens. Auditoriums can be found in entertainment venues, community halls, and t ...

seats 1,785. The ceiling panelling fans out from a single centre ceiling rose - each panel originally contained painted scenes, although they are currently plain. The proscenium is surrounded by heavy marble and plasterwork borders. Above the

proscenium A proscenium (, ) is the virtual vertical plane of space in a theatre, usually surrounded on the top and sides by a physical proscenium arch (whether or not truly "arched") and on the bottom by the stage floor itself, which serves as the frame ...

an elegant design with cherubs flanking a crown and a K/T emblem provides a focal point to the theatre when the curtain is down. The red curtain has simple gilding, but often remains unseen as it is unused for many of today's productions. The seats and drapes are of a rich red material. The safety curtain features a painted design of drapes, and framed in the centre is a projection screen. At Grand Circle level two boxes on either side of the auditorium continue where the grand circle balcony finishes. A further box (now disused) is located at Upper Circle level above this, with an elaborate domed canopy. Three domed alcoves sit along either side of the upper circle. Comedian and actor Billy Connolly famously described it as "like performing inside a wedding cake". Subsequent alterations to the theatre includes the unfortunate removal of a modern canopy, which ran along most of the Bath Street elevation. This dated from around the 1950s, and was removed in 2004 during a programme of external works, which also included some stone-cleaning and refurbishment. To complement the newly revealed exterior architecture, the facades were floodlit with coloured lights. In 1986, an extension to the western side of the Bath Street elevation provided new dressing room and office accommodation, as well as a new wardrobe room and stage door.

Annual pantomime production

The

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment, generally combining gender-crossing actors and topical humour with a story more or less based on a well-known fairy tale, fable or ...

at the King's Theatre has been running annually since 1971. Before that a few pantomimes were staged from 1964/65 after Glasgow Corporation bought the theatre from

. From the 1970s pantomime productions at the theatre were funded jointly by the City Councils of Glasgow and Edinburgh and staged in both cities.

, one of Britain's top pantomimist, performed at the King's in the 1980s in Cinderella, which he wrote and directed, and returned for his final pantomime appearance in 1991. First Family Entertainment took over production of the annual pantomime in 2005. The current productions comprise a 70 performance run during the festive period, until mid-January. Gerard Kelly was for 20 years a regular performer at the King's Theatre pantomimes, taking the lead comic role every year. Elaine C Smith appeared regularly between 1996 and 2005, and has since been involved as an associate producer. During her time starring in the pantomimes, she often took on the role of dame, making the King's Theatre production somewhat unusual in having a woman playing the dame role, traditionally played by a man. Scottish comedian Karen Dunbar has taken on the leading female comic role in recent years. She started in 2007 as Nanny Begood in

Sleeping Beauty "Sleeping Beauty" (, or ''The Beauty Sleeping in the Wood''; , or ''Little Briar Rose''), also titled in English as ''The Sleeping Beauty in the Woods'', is a fairy tale about a princess curse, cursed by an evil fairy to suspended animation in fi ...

, she then appeared in

Cinderella "Cinderella", or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a Folklore, folk tale with thousands of variants that are told throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsin Press, 1988. The protagonist is a you ...

in 2008,

Aladdin Aladdin ( ; , , ATU 561, 'Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with '' One Thousand and One Nights'' (often known in English as ''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part of the original ...

in 2009, and again as Nanny Begood in 2011. Dunbar created the role of Mrs McConkey in

in 2012 and most recently appeared as The Slave of The Ring in

in 2013. Elaine C Smith returned to the King's Theatre pantomime in 2017, again playing the dame role, alongside Johnny Mac.

Pantomime production details

* 2024/2025 -

Peter Pan Peter Pan is a fictional character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood having adventures on the mythical ...

* 2023/2024 -

Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs "Snow White" is a German fairy tale, first written down in the early 19th century. The Brothers Grimm published it in 1812 in the first edition of their collection ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'', numbered as Tale 53. The original title was ''Sneewittch ...

* 2022.2023 - Beauty & The Beast * 2021/2022 -

* 2020/2021 - CANCELLED Due to COVID-19 * 2019/2020 - Jack & The Beanstalk * 2018/2019 -

* 2017/2018 -

* 2016/2017 -

* 2015/2016 -

* 2014/2015 -

, the 50th anniversary of the King's Pantomime. * 2013/2014 -

* 2012/2013 -

* 2011/2012 -

* 2010/2011 -

* 2009/2010 -

- starring Gerard Kelly - the last show before his death. * 2008/2009 –

* 2007/2008 –

* 2006/2007 –

* 2005/2006 –

* 2004/2005 –

Mother Goose Mother Goose is a character that originated in children's fiction, as the imaginary author of a collection of French fairy tales and later of English nursery rhymes. She also appeared in a song, the first stanza of which often functions now as ...

* 2003/2004 –

* 2002/2003 –

* 2001/2002 –

Babes in the Wood Babes in the Wood is a traditional English children's tale, as well as a popular pantomime subject. It has also been the name of some other unrelated works. The expression has passed into common language, referring to inexperienced innocents ent ...

* 2000/2001 –

* 1999/2000 –

3 December 1999 - 22 January 2000 - Starring Gerard Kelly, Barbara Rafferty, Eileen McCallum, Ford Kiernan, Greg Hemphill, * 1998/1999 –

4 December 1998 - 16 January 1999 - Starring Elaine C. Smith, Jonathan Watson, Barbara Rafferty, Juliet Cadzow, Dave Anderson, Billy Boyd * 1997/1998 –

5 December 1997 - 17 January 1998 - Starring Elaine C. Smith, Gerard Kelly, Grant Stott * 1996/1997 –

6 December 1996 - 18 January 1997 - Starring Elaine C. Smith, Gerard Kelly, Barbara Rafferty, John Leslie, Grant Stott, Eileen McCallum, Jackie Farrell, Jan Wilson * 1995/1996 –

Babes In The Wood Babes in the Wood is a traditional English children's tale, as well as a popular pantomime subject. It has also been the name of some other unrelated works. The expression has passed into common language, referring to inexperienced innocents ent ...

14 December 1995 - 3 February 1996 – starring Cannon and Ball,

, Grant Stott, Vivienne Carlyle * 1994/1995 –

8 December 1994 - 4 February 1995 - Starring

Les Dennis Leslie Dennis Heseltine (born 12 October 1953) is an English television presenter, actor and comedian. He presented '' Family Fortunes'' from 1987 to 2002. Early life Dennis was born as Leslie Dennis Heseltine on 12 October 1953 in the Liv ...

, Gerard Kelly, Barbara Rafferty, Jonathan Watson, Jan Wilson * 1993/1994 –

Dick Whittington Richard Whittington ( March 1423) of the parish of St Michael Paternoster Royal,Will of Richard Whittington: " I leave to my executors named below the entire tenement in which I live in the parish of St. Michael Paternoster Royal, Londo/ ...

2 December 1993 - 29 January 1994 - Starring Allan Stewart, Christopher Biggins, Jimmy Chisholm * 1992/1993 –

26 November 1992 - 30 January 1993 - Starring Gerard Kelly, Una McLean, Jonathan Watson, Emerson and Jayne * 1991/1992 –

– 10 December 1991 - 22 February 1992 starring

– his last ever stage performance * 1990/1991 –

– Starring Gerard Kelly, Iain McColl, Una McLean * 1989/1990 –

28 November 1989 - 10 February 1990 - Starring Walter Carr, Gerard Kelly, Jan Wilson * 1988/1989 –

Jack and the Beanstalk "Jack and the Beanstalk" is an English fairy tale with ancient origins. It appeared as "The Story of Jack Spriggins and the Enchanted Bean" in 1734 4th edition :File:Round about our Coal Fire, or, Christmas Entertainments, 4th edn, 1734.pdf, On C ...

29 November 1988 - 11 February 1989 - Starring

, Una McLean, John Ramage * 1987/1988 –

23 November 1987 - 6 February 1988 - Starring Rikki Fulton, Walter Carr, Jan Wilson, Jackie Farrell * 1986/1987 –

24 November 1986 - 7 February 1987 - Starring

* 1985/1986 –

Sinbad the Sailor Sinbad the Sailor (; or Sindbad) is a fictional mariner and the hero of a Literary cycle, story-cycle. He is described as hailing from Baghdad during the early Abbasid Caliphate (8th and 9th centuries A.D.). In the course of seven voyages thr ...

25 November 1985 - 8 February 1986. starring Johnny Beattie, Christian, Una McLean, Emerson and Jayne * 1984/1985 –

- Starring Rikki Fulton, Walter Carr, Gregor Fisher * 1983/1984 –

- Starring

* 1982/1983 –

29 November 1981 - 12 February 1982. Starring

* 1981/1982 –

30 November 1980 - 13 February 1981. Starring Rikki Fulton, Jack Milroy, Mary Lee, Gregor Fisher, Tony Roper * 1980/1981 –

- Starring

Angus Lennie Angus Wilson Lennie (18 April 1930 – 14 September 2014) was a Scottish film, television and theatre actor with a 50-year career. His numerous credits include the character of Flying Officer Archibald Ives in '' The Great Escape'', and Shugh ...

* 1979/1980 –

3 December 1979 - 16 February 1980. Starring Christian, Johnny Beattie, Una McLean * 1978/1979 –

- Starring

, Peter Kelly * 1977/1978 –

- Starring Rikki Fulton, Walter Carr, Una McLean, Margo Cunningham * 1976/1977 –

- Starring

, Peter Kelly * 1975/1976 –

- Starring

* 1974/1975 –

Robinson Crusoe ''Robinson Crusoe'' ( ) is an English adventure novel by Daniel Defoe, first published on 25 April 1719. Written with a combination of Epistolary novel, epistolary, Confessional writing, confessional, and Didacticism, didactic forms, the ...

- Starring Rikki Fulton, Walter Carr, Una McLean, Tony Roper * 1973/1974 –

- Starring

* 1972/1973 –

- Starring Denny Willis * 1971/1972 –

- Starring

* 1968/1969 – The World of Jamie - ( Howard & Wyndham 'Scottish' Pantomime) - Starring Kenneth McKellar * 1967/1968 –

- Starring Rikki Fulton * 1964/1965 – A Wish for Jamie - ( Howard & Wyndham 'Scottish' Pantomime) - Starring Kenneth McKellar, Johnny Beattie, Fay Lenore

References

External links

* *
Official webpage of Kings Theatre, Glasgow
{{DEFAULTSORT:King's Theatre, Glasgow Theatre in Scotland Theatres completed in 1904 Category A listed buildings in Glasgow Theatres in Glasgow Listed theatres in Scotland 1904 establishments in Scotland

History

Opening and early history

Glasgow Corporation ownership

Ambassador Theatre Group

Overview

Location

The building

Annual pantomime production

Pantomime production details

See also

References

Further reading

External links