King's Theatre Pantomime

The King's Theatre, Glasgow - Annual Pantomime

The annual pantomime at the King's has been staged since the mid 1960s, and has remained a popular event on the theatrical calendar. Prior to the 1967 sale of the theatre, pantomimes were produced by Edinburgh theatre company Howard & Wyndham, who owned the theatre, but these were by no means an annual event. The main Howard & Wyndham pantomime was staged at The Alhambra Theatre. It was only when the King's was sold to the Glasgow Corporation (later Glasgow City Council) the pantomime became a regular production each winter. The King's pantomime has often been considered by many as Scotland's premier pantomime. The 2005/2006 production of Cinderella was seen by over 100,000 people, cost £800,000 to stage and brought in over £1m. Planning for these productions takes well over a year. The planning for the last production of Aladdin (opened 1st Dec 2006) started in October 2005, and details had already been released before the close of the previous 2005 show, Cinderella.

Pantomime in Scotland has always been popular, particularly in Glasgow, and there has been a long tradition of classy performers. The first recorded pantomime was as far back as 1751, but only really took off in the 1930s. In the year of 1960, when Rikki Fulton played the role of dame at The Alhambra, a total of 240,000 people saw the show. However, Stanley Baxter is considered by many as the King of pantomime dames in Scotland.

The sets were always, and still are, stunning pieces of work. From the glittering front cloth that bears the name of the show, right through to the great staircase at the grand finale, each scene is full of colour and countless hours of hard work. The King's follows the traditions of panto right down to the last detail. The goody enters from the Right, the baddie enters from the Left, and the last line of the show is not said until it is presented to an audience. The Glasgow audiences are always very responsive, and this can especially be observed at the second last scene, where Gerard Kelly does his infamous Song Sheet. He has a unique style and the vast majority of the audience will stand up, wiggle their bum and do all the actions as required by Kelly.

Pantomime is very much aimed at children, as it is often their first experience of theatre. However, audiences ages 1 to 100 can enjoy the show as there is something for everyone. Both Children and Adults join in with the "Its behind you's" and "Oh no your not's." The productions remain as lavish as ever, and from 2005 has been managed by First Family Entertainment who have said that they will continue to use the unique Glasweigian pantomime format, and take it to their other pantomime productions across the UK.

Next Production 2008/2009

Cinderella

Fri 28th November 2008 to Sunday 11th January 2009

Starring

* Gerard Kelly
* Andy Gray
* Karen Dunbar

Most Recent Production 2007/2008

Sleeping Beauty

Starring

* Gerard Kelly
* Karen Dunbar
* Dawn Steele
* Gavin Mitchell
* Laura Donnelly
* Michael Howell

* Written by Bob Black
* Associate Producer Elaine C Smith
* Director Tony Cownie
* Musical Director Irvin Duguid

Friday 30th Nov 2007 until Saturday 12th January 2008

Previous Productions

* 2007/2008 - Sleeping Beauty (FFE)
* 2006/2007 - Aladdin (FFE)
* 2005/2006 - Cinderella (First Family Entertainment Production- FFE)
* 2004/2005 - Mother Goose
* 2003/2004 - Sleeping Beauty
* 2002/2003 - Aladdin
* 2001/2002 - Babes in the Wood
* 2000/2001 - Cinderella
* 1999/2000 - Mother Goose
* 1998/1999 - Sleeping Beauty
* 1997/1998 - Aladdin
* 1996/1997 - Cinderella
* 1995/1996 - Babes In The Wood
* 1994/1995 - Sleeping Beauty
* 1993/1994 - Dick Whittington
* 1992/1993 - Aladdin
* 1991/1992 - Cinderella
* 1990/1991 - Babes in the Wood
* 1989/1990 - Mother Goose
* 1988/1989 - Jack and the Beanstalk
* 1987/1988 - Goodnight Cinders (Glasweigian version of Cinderella)
* 1986/1987 - Aladdin
* 1985/1986 - Sinbad the Sailor
* 1984/1985 - Sleeping Beauty
* 1983/1984 - Mother Goose
* 1982/1983 - Jack and the Beanstalk
* 1981/1982 - Babes in the Wood
* 1980/1981 - Cinderella
* 1979/1980 - ?
* 1978/1979 - Aladdin
* 1977/1978 - Sleeping Beauty
* 1976/1977 - Jack and the Beanstalk
* 1975/1976 - Babes in the Wood
* 1974/1975 - Robinson Crusoe
* 1973/1974 - Cinderella
* 1972/1973 - Aladdin
* 1971/1972 - Mother Goose
* 1970/1971 - Babes in the Wood?
* 1969/1970 - ?
* 1968/1969 - ?
* 1967/1968 - Aladdin
* 1966/1967 - The World of Jamie (Howard & Wyndham Production)
* 1965/1966 - A Love for Jamie (Howard & Wyndham Production)
* 1964/1965 - A Wish for Jamie (Howard & Wyndham Production)

Sources

* Book - Scotland's Splendid Theatres - ISBN 0-7486-6261-8
* TV Program - BBC Scotland 'Celebrating 100 year's at the King's
* [http://www.theambassadors.com/kings/sp_p410.html Offical Pantomime Page]

Other areas of Interest

Wikipedia:-

* First Family Entertainment
* Ambassador Theatre Group
* King's Theatre, Glasgow
* The British Pantomime
* Pantomime
* Stanley Baxter
* Rikki Fulton
* Jimmy Logan
* Elaine C Smith
* Gerard Kelly

External:-

* [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4156/is_20051204/ai_n15900876 Article on Panto 2005/2006 - Cinderella] this Article taken from The Sunday Herald, Dec 4th 2005 by Peter Ross provides an insight into The King's pantomime.
* [http://www.thestage.co.uk/panto/reviews/review.php/15174 Aladdin 06/07 Pantomime Review] The Stage
* [http://www.theambassadors.com/kings/index.html Theatre Website]
* [http://www.its-behind-you.com/ Its-Behind You.com] A great resource for anyone interested in Pantomime.
* [http://www.boardzero.com/pantomime/ Forums] Pantomime Interest Forums