Pavilion Theatre (Glasgow)
Encyclopedia
History
One of Glasgow's oldest theatres, the Pavilion Theatre of Varieties opened on 29 February 1904 as a Music hallMusic hall
Music Hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment which was popular between 1850 and 1960. The term can refer to:# A particular form of variety entertainment involving a mixture of popular song, comedy and speciality acts...
. The building has remained relatively unchanged in layout, although the sound and lighting systems have been updated over the years. It is now protected as a category A listed building.
The theatre was designed by Bertie Crewe
Bertie Crewe
Bertie Crewe was one of the leading English theatre architects in the boom of 1885 to 1915-Biography:Born in Essex and partly trained by Frank Matcham, Crewe and his contemporaries W.G.R...
as the Glasgow venue of Thomas Barrasford
Thomas Barrasford
Thomas Barrasford was a 19th century British entertainment impresario and business entrepreneur, who owned and built a number of theatres across the United Kingdom under the Barrasford Halls brand.-Early career:...
's growing chain of British Music Halls, and was regarded as luxurious for its time. The owners described its decor as "pure Louis XV
Louis Quinze
The Louis XV style or Louis Quinze was a French Rococo style in the decorative arts, and, to a lesser degree, architecture.Datable to the personal reign of Louis XV , the style was characterised by supreme craftsmanship and the integration of the arts of cabinetmaking, painting, and...
", featuring Rococo
Rococo
Rococo , also referred to as "Late Baroque", is an 18th-century style which developed as Baroque artists gave up their symmetry and became increasingly ornate, florid, and playful...
plasterwork across the proscenium
Proscenium
A proscenium theatre is a theatre space whose primary feature is a large frame or arch , which is located at or near the front of the stage...
arch and boxes, terrazzo
Terrazzo
Terrazzo is a composite material poured in place or precast, which is used for floor and wall treatments. It consists of marble, quartz, granite, glass or other suitable chips, sprinkled or unsprinkled, and poured with a binder that is cementitious, chemical or a combination of both...
flooring, leadlight
Leadlight
Leadlights or leaded lights are decorative windows made of small sections of glass supported in lead cames. The technique of creating windows using glass and lead came is discussed at lead came and copper foil glasswork...
glazing and rich mahogany
Mahogany
The name mahogany is used when referring to numerous varieties of dark-colored hardwood. It is a native American word originally used for the wood of the species Swietenia mahagoni, known as West Indian or Cuban mahogany....
wood finishing. Ventilation was ensured by an electrically operated sliding roof panel above the auditorium. The facade was designed in the French Renaissance
French Renaissance architecture
French Renaissance architecture is the style of architecture which was imported to France from Italy during the early 16th century and developed in the light of local architectural traditions....
style and finished using glazed buff coloured terracotta. The auditorium's capacity of 1449 is made up of 677 stalls, 341 circle, 413 balcony and 18 box seats.
Many of the leading music hall artistes of the early 20th century appeared at the Pavilion, including Marie Lloyd
Marie Lloyd
Matilda Alice Victoria Wood was an English music hall singer, best known as Marie Lloyd. Her ability to add lewdness to the most innocent of lyrics led to frequent clashes with the guardians of morality...
, Little Tich
Little Tich
Harry Relph, , known on the stage as "Little Tich", was an English music hall comedian. He was noted for the characters of The Spanish Señora, The Gendarme and The Tax Collector, but his most popular routine was his Big Boot dance, which involved a pair of 28-inch boots, commonly called "slapshoes"...
, Harry Lauder
Harry Lauder
Sir Henry Lauder , known professionally as Harry Lauder, was an international Scottish entertainer, described by Sir Winston Churchill as "Scotland's greatest ever ambassador!"-Early life:...
, Sarah Bernhardt
Sarah Bernhardt
Sarah Bernhardt was a French stage and early film actress, and has been referred to as "the most famous actress the world has ever known". Bernhardt made her fame on the stages of France in the 1870s, and was soon in demand in Europe and the Americas...
and a then unknown Charlie Chaplin
Charlie Chaplin
Sir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin, KBE was an English comic actor, film director and composer best known for his work during the silent film era. He became the most famous film star in the world before the end of World War I...
.
In the 1930s, the Pavilion began producing pantomime
Pantomime
Pantomime — not to be confused with a mime artist, a theatrical performer of mime—is a musical-comedy theatrical production traditionally found in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Jamaica, South Africa, India, Ireland, Gibraltar and Malta, and is mostly performed during the...
s and in more recent times it has also functioned as a receiving house
Receiving house
A receiving house 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 a full week...
for plays and alternative comedians
Alternative comedy
Alternative comedy is a term that originated in the 1980s for a style of comedy that makes a conscious break with the mainstream comedic style of an era, and typically avoids relying on a standardised structure of a sequence of jokes with punch lines. Patton Oswalt defines it as "comedy where the...
.
The Pavilion Theatre is now the only privately run theatre in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and one of a few unsubsidised independent theatres left in Britain outside London. The theatre mainly runs populist productions and pantomimes, as well as comedians and touring bands on the 'nostalgia' circuit.
In 2004 Janette Krankie
The Krankies
The Krankies are a Scottish comedy duo that enjoyed success as a cabaret act in the 1970s and on television in the 1980s, featuring in their own television shows and releasing their own music single. They entered semi-retirement in 1992, but they have regularly appeared in pantomime since.The duo...
was seriously injured during a performance of Jack and the Beanstalk
Jack and the Beanstalk
Jack and the Beanstalk is a folktale said by English historian Francis Palgrave to be an oral legend that arrived in England with the Vikings. The tale is closely associated with the tale of Jack the Giant-killer. It is known under a number of versions...
at the theatre, but has since made a full recovery.
The theatre is reputed to be haunted by a girl who 'bounced to death' in the Stalls area of the auditorium. Most frequent sightings of Bouncer are reported during catchy songs.
In 2007, the Pavilion Theatre reinvented itself as the Scottish National Theatre of Variety, with a launch including numerous stars of the stage and the announcement was made by Iain Gordon the General Manager.
The Mighty Boosh
The Mighty Boosh
The Mighty Boosh is a British comedy troupe featuring comedians Julian Barratt and Noel Fielding. Developed from three stage shows and a six episode radio series, it has since spawned a total of twenty television episodes for BBC Three and two live tours of the UK, as well as two live shows in the...
have become something of regulars at the venue after performing early shows Arctic Boosh
Arctic Boosh
Arctic Boosh was a 1999 stage show written and performed by Noel Fielding and Julian Barratt, along with Rich Fulcher. It was the second incarnation of what would eventually become The Mighty Boosh.-Overview:...
and Autoboosh
Autoboosh
Autoboosh was a 2000 stage show written and performed by Noel Fielding and Julian Barratt, along with Rich Fulcher, and, for the first time, Dave Brown, Michael Fielding, and Pete Kyriacou...
at the venue in 2000 during a five night stint, as well as their 2006 stage show
The Mighty Boosh (2006 stage show)
The Mighty Boosh was a stage-show written and performed by Noel Fielding and Julian Barratt, also known as The Mighty Boosh. Michael Fielding, Rich Fulcher, and Dave Brown also appeared in the show. It toured from February 2006 to April 2006.-Overview:...
. An episode of their radio series
The Boosh (radio series)
The Boosh is a 2001 radio series, written and performed by The Mighty Boosh , and originally broadcast on BBC London Live, then BBC Radio 4, and later BBC 7....
was also recorded at the venue. The act are due to perform at the Pavilion once again on 13 and 14 September 2008 with their latest show, Boosh Live
Boosh Live
The Mighty Boosh Live: Future Sailors Tour was a stage-show written and performed by Noel Fielding and Julian Barratt, also known as The Mighty Boosh...
. These dates set a record for the fastest selling act ever at the Pavilion, with tickets selling out in 3 hours for both nights.
Location
The theatre is at the top of Renfield St, towards the northern end of the city centre. It is a short walk from CowcaddensCowcaddens subway station
Cowcaddens subway station serves the Cowcaddens area of Glasgow, Scotland. It is located on the north side of the city centre and is served by the Glasgow Subway.-History:...
and Buchanan Street
Buchanan Street subway station
Buchanan Street subway station is a station on the Glasgow Subway in Scotland. It serves Buchanan Street, which is popular with shoppers. Close to Buchanan Bus Station and providing interchange with Glasgow Queen Street railway station via a travelator, it is the busiest station on the Subway, with...
Subway
Glasgow Subway
The Glasgow Subway is an underground metro line in Glasgow, Scotland. Opened on 14 December 1896, it is the third-oldest underground metro system in the world after the London Underground and the Budapest Metro. Formerly a cable railway, the Subway was later electrified, but its twin circular lines...
stations, and Buchanan bus station
Buchanan bus station
Buchanan Bus Station is the main bus terminus in Glasgow, Scotland.The bus station is the terminus for journeys between the city and other towns in United Kingdom and international journeys. It was originally built in 1977, close to the former site of Buchanan Street railway station which was...
.