Latest news from East Kilbride Rep...
June 2008
Charity donation to Britannia Panopticon Music Hall Trust
At this year's Annual General Meeting, East Kilbride Rep Theatre Club presented a cheque for £1000 to Judith Bowers, Secreatry of Glasgow's Britannia Panopticon Music Hall Trust.The Britannia Panopticon is one of Glasgow's hidden gems. You may have passed by its location on Trongate and never given it a second glance. Located next to the TJ Hughes store and above an amusement arcade, the Britannia Panopticon is Scotland's last surviving music hall and one of the last in Britain.
Opened in 1859, the Britannia Panopticon was "pre-eminently the most popular place of amusement" to the workers in the Second City of the Empire.
Over the years the building housed music hall and cinema entertainment, freak shows, waxworks, a carnival and even a zoo!
Stars such as Stan Laurel and Jack Buchanan made their debuts at the Panopticon. Even a young Archie Leech is said to have performed there before moving to Hollywood and changing his name to Cary Grant.In the 1930s, in the wake of modern cinema buildings and the depression, the Britannia Panopticon closed. Since 1938 the auditorium has lain silent, but intact. The ghost of a stage remains and the benches that once supported the bottoms of many a raucous audience now only holds the dust of more than half a century, whilst the gold paint and ornate plaster crumble through the decades of neglect.
The purpose of the Britannia Panopticon Music Hall Trust is to save and preserve, or assist in the preservation of, Glasgow's oldest theatre building which is also one of the last and oldest surviving Victorian music halls in Britain. An up and coming restoration project entails re-flooring the Panopticon's original stage and the removal of the old toilet block. EK Rep's donation will help fund this work.
To learn more about this fascinating project you can visit the Trust's website by clicking HERE.
You can contact the Trust at the address below.
Judith Bowers
Britannia Panopticon Music Hall
113-117 Trongate
Glasgow
G1 5HD
Telephone: 0141 553 0840
Email: britannia@glasgowmerchantcity.net
May 2008
Festival of One Act Plays 2008 - Winners
EK Rep's Festival of One Act Plays ran from Tuesday 6th - Saturday 10th May with participating amateur theatre clubs from Carluke, Larbert, Largs, Killin, Rutherglen, Stewarton and Greenock. Our home town of East Kilbride was well represented with a total of four local clubs, including EK Rep, taking part.We welcomed back Bruce Adam to act as adjudicator this year. Bruce has been lecturing in Drama and English for many years. He is a member of the committee of the Scottish Association of Speech and Drama Adjudicators (SASDA) and is an Examiner in English and Drama for the Scottish Qualifications Authority. He enjoys an eclectic involvement in theatre - directing and performing in everything from Shakespeare to panto and from musical theatre to street theatre. He has written a number of much performed plays for adults and children and is a prize- winning poet. Not only did Bruce have the challenging job of adjudicating the twelve plays, he had the tough job of awarding the trophies! That he did, though, and the winners were as follows...
The first place trophy went to Larbert's Tryst Theatre for their production of David Mamet's The Duck Variations. Tryst's Alan Clark was awarded best actor in the same production.
Stewarton Drama Group earned the second place prize with One Good Beating by Linda McLean but managed to walk away with half of the available trophies as they also won the prize for best staging and Laura McPherson picked up the trophy for best actress.
Stewarton weren't the only club taking a trophy back to Ayrshire as Largs Players won in third place with their production of Barry McKinlay's Small Box Psychosis.
May 2008
Children's Pantomime Auditions
It may only be spring but plans are already underway for our annual pantomime!This year's Christmas panto will be Puss in Boots. Written and directed by EK Rep's Neil Cox, and on stage from Monday 8th - Saturday 20th December, 2008.
As usual the adult cast will be supported by an ensemble of talented local children, and we need to find those children!
If you are aged 7 - 14, can sing and dance and would like the chance to appear in our production of Puss in Boots then come along to our open auditions at East Kilbride Village Theatre on Sunday 18th May at 11.30am.
You will be asked to sing part of I'd Do Anything from Oliver! and to perform a short dance, which you will be taught. Remember to wear suitable shoes and clothes appropriate for dancing!
Children's rehearsals will commence in August just after the schools return from summer break.
Puss in Boots Children's Open Auditions take place on Sunday 18th May, 2008 at 11.30am in The Village Theatre, Maxwell Drive, East Kilbride, G74 4HG.
May 2008
June production
The final play of our 2007/2008 season is the Woody Allen comedy, Play It Again, Sam.Allan Felix is a writer living in New York and he has a thing about Humphrey Bogart. His wife has left him and his friends have been trying to fix him up with beautiful dates but he is so awkward that they always lead to a mixture of disastrous and hilarious consequences. If only he had some of Bogart's techniques. His daydreams of Bogart and the beautiful people are always so rudely shattered by real life. Through all this Bogie is 'there', urging him on.
This brilliant romantic comedy examining the complexities of dating was written by Woody Allen - the king of modern angst! Produced and directed by EK Rep's David Legge. This is David's directorial debut with the Rep. He has plenty of performance experience under his belt and he also wrote and appeared in our 2007 pantomime Robin Hood & the Babes in the Wood. David describes Play It Again, Sam as one of the funniest plays he has read and he has enjoyed working with the cast.
Woody Allen's comic love story is a heart warmer for everyone!
Play It Again, Sam runs from Wednesday 11th - Saturday 14th June, 2008. East Kilbride Village Theatre.
Curtain up 7.30pm
Tickets £7.00/£5.00 available from the Village Theatre - 01355 248669 and East Kilbride Arts Centre - 01355 261000
April production
Following on from the February comedy EK Rep's next production will be a drama, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. Adapted by Jay Presson Allen from Muriel Spark's wonderful novel of the same name.Set in Edinburgh at the Marcia Blane School, it folows the career of a teacher far-removed from the norm. Her modernistic approach flies in the face of tradition, causing friction with the Head Mistress but endearing her to the "creme de la creme"; her special set of girls. She has a further brush with authority through her relationships with two male members of staff.
The play takes place in the 1930s but also flits in and out of the 1970s. It is a beautifully crafted piece of astute observations of Edinburgh's 1930s society.
Dame Maggie Smith won an Oscar for her performance as Brodie in the 1969 film and EK Rep have their own 'Oscar winning' cast in rehearsal. Producer/Director Aileen Waite said, "This play is the ideal opportunity to use some of the talented youngsters that we have in the club as well as a number of great local children."
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie is often included in the English/Drama school curriculum and EK Rep hope to see some school parties there.
The Prime of MIss Jean Brodie runs from Wednesday 9th - Saturday 12th April, 2008. East Kilbride Village Theatre.
Curtain up 7.30pm
Tickets £7.00/£5.00 available from the Village Theatre - 01355 248669 and East Kilbride Arts Centre - 01355 261000
February 2008
February production
Following on from the sell-out performances of Robin Hood & The Babes in the Wood, EK Rep start the second half of the season this month with the Kenneth Horne comedy, A Lady Mislaid.For the aficionados among you Kenneth Horne was, amongst other interests, a radio comedian/presenter in the 1950s and 60s in such programmes as Round the Horne and Beyond our Ken which featured such artistes as Kenneth Williams. He was also a businessman as well as an author but still found time to numerous funny plays - including A Lady Mislaid.
This play takes place in a lonely country cottage and centres around two unmarried sisters who had bought it from the previous owner, Mr Smith. Out of the blue the police arrive for an investigation... the comedy then leaps in to action!
This is a very adroitly written comedy by Kenneth Horne and will prove a very ingenious and witty, light, bright production ably handled by the Rep's Director, Tom Matthew, with a cast of young and experienced actors - many fresh from the pantomime.
A Lady Mislaid runs from Wednesday 20th - Saturday 23rd February, 2008. East Kilbride Village Theatre. Curtain up 7.30pm
Tickets £7.00/£5.00 available from the Village Theatre - 01355 248669 and East Kilbride Arts Centre - 01355 261000