Away day for music hall
A group of Ayrshire musicians and performers are taking to the stage to help raise funds for the world’s oldest surviving music hall.
Organised by Gary Anderson, of Fenwick, the ‘ day and night of live music, cabaret, magicians, burlesque and much more’ will raise funds for the Britannia Panopticon in Glasgow.
It will take place on Saturday, November 19 at the city’s Classic Grand, with the 15- band bill headlined by Glasgow ska legends Esperanza; winners of BBC4’ s UK’s Best Part Time Band, Bombskare, and freakbeat combo The Fast Camels.
Joining the line- up will be top Ayrshire- based tribute band The Kinks Experience, whose authentic live performances have received rave reviews, as well as Prestwick singer- songwriter Scott Russell, Kilmarnock ‘ spookcore’ punks Skellys, and All or Nothing DJs Boab Williamson and Tommy Clark.
DJ and drummer of The Kinks Experience, Tommy Clark, of Stevenston, said: “We can’t wait to get on stage to help raise funds for this iconic Glasgow institution. I’m sure the people who attend are in for an ‘ experience’ they won’t forget.”
Fellow DJ Boab Williamson, of Stewarton, added: “To be included in such a fantastic line- up and for such a worthwhile cause is indeed an honour. We are looking forward to the madness.”
Operating as a music hall from 1857 to 1938, the Britannia Panopticon was built by Thomas Gildard and HM McFarlane and has hosted some of the biggest names on the music hall circuit, including a certain Stan Laurel who made his first ever stage appearance there in 1906.
The building has also been home to a rooftop carnival, freak show, waxworks and even a zoo before being converted to a tailors’ workshop in 1938.
The category A listed building is currently being conserved by a charitable trust who regularly perform traditional shows and silent film screenings in the auditorium.
Panopticon curator Judith Bowers said: “It is fantastic that Gary is doing this for us and we are so grateful as we have a lot of fundraising to do over the next few months and years.
“At the moment our focus is on getting the auditorium more functional so we can have more shows and film crew hires, which in turn will raise money for us and also provide us with a cash flow so that we can buy the auditorium off the current owners. We will need to raise about £ 800k to buy the upper floors and separate them from the ground floor and basement.
“One of the things we need to function properly is threephase power. At the moment we run off a domestic supply which isn’t enough power for stage lights and heating. We hope that the money generated by the Classic Grand fundraiser will be enough make sure we can have the three- phase power and hopefully buy us some heaters as well.”
Organiser Gary Anderson said: “I’ve known curator Judith for a long time, from going to the Laurel and Hardy nights in The Panopticon.
“The building has so much history attached to it and the work that Judith and her team have put in over the years is incredible, with very little public recognition.
“I had discussed a fundraiser a while back with Judith and decided to put it into action, rather than just keep talking about it.”
The daytime section of the event will run from noon to 6pm (£ 5) and the evening event from 6pm to 3am (£ 10), with a full show ticket costing £ 13, available from http:// tickets- scotland. com
The Britannia Panopticon in Glasgow’s Trongate is open to the general public from noon to 5pm, Tuesday to Saturday, until December 18, with volunteers on hand to entertain you with tales from the world’s oldest music hall. Visit www. britannia pan opt icon. org to find out more.