The Britannia Panopticon Music Hall and Cosmopolitan Entertainment Culture (Palgrave Studies in Theatre and Performance History)

"Paul Maloney both concentrates and expands our understanding of this dominant institution in popular culture in evocative and challenging scholarship. Reconstructing the business, performance, and audience histories of Glasgow's Britannia hall, Maloney traces its wider enmeshment in the city's burgeoning entertainment industry, the development of a new cosmopolitanism, and the negotiation of crucial issues of modern pleasure and identity on the stage and in the streets."--Peter Bailey, Visiting Professor of History, Indiana University USA "This major contribution to the history of music hall in Britain explores the story of the Britannia, Glasgow. The long-surviving hall is treated as a case study in the development of music hall beyond London, and as such it delivers a convincing, innovative analysis as nuanced as it is fascinating."--Jacky Bratton, Emeritus Professor of Theatre and Cultural Studies, Royal Holloway University of London, UK "In this penetrating work of social history, Paul Maloney emerges as one of the major interpreters of modern popular culture. His lively recovery of the Britannia Panopticon music hall in Glasgow becomes an exploration of urban life, ethnicity, national identity, mass entertainment, and modernity."--Rohan McWilliam, Professor of Modern British History, Anglia Ruskin University, UK Focusing on Glasgow's earliest surviving music hall, the Britannia, later the Panopticon, this book explores the role of one of the city's most iconic cultural venues within the cosmopolitan entertainment market that emerged in British cities in the nineteenth century. Shedding light on the increasing diversity of commercial entertainment provided by such venues - offering everything from music hall, early cinema and amateur nights to waxworks, menageries and freak shows - this study also encompasses the model of community-based, working-class music hall which characterised the Panopticon's later years, challenging narratives of the primacy of city centre variety. Providing a comprehensive analysis of this dynamic popular theatre of the industrial age, Maloney examines the role of the hall's managers, marketing and promotional strategies, audiences, and performing genres from the hall's opening in 1859 until final closure in 1938. The book also explores stage representations of Irish and Jewish immigrant communities present in surrounding city centre areas, demonstrating the Britannia's diasporic links to other British cities and centres in North America, thus providing a multifaceted and pioneering account of this still extant Victorian music hall "Paul Maloney both concentrates and expands our understanding of this dominant institution in popular culture in evocative and challenging scholarship. Reconstructing the business, performance, and audience histories of Glasgows Britannia hall, Maloney traces its wider enmeshment in the citys burgeoning entertainment industry, the development of a new cosmopolitanism, and the negotiation of crucial issues of modern pleasure and identity on the stage and in the streets."- Peter Bailey, Visiting Professor of History, Indiana University USA "This major contribution to the history of music hall in Britain explores the story of the Britannia, Glasgow. The long-surviving hall is treated as a case study in the development of music hall beyond London, and as such it delivers a convincing, innovative analysis as nuanced as it is fascinating." - Jacky Bratton, Emeritus Professor of Theatre and Cultural Studies, Royal Holloway University of London, UK "In this penetrating work of social history, Paul Maloney emerges as one of the major interpreters of modern popular culture. His lively recovery of the Britannia Panopticon music hall in Glasgow becomes an exploration of urban life, ethnicity, national identity, mass entertainment, and modernity." - Rohan McWilliam, Professor of Modern British History, Anglia Ruskin University, UK Focusing on Glasgows earliest surviving music hall, the Britannia, later the Panopticon, this book explores the role of one of the citys most iconic cultural venues within the cosmopolitan entertainment market that emerged in British cities in the nineteenth century. Shedding light on the increasing diversity of commercial entertainment provided by such venues - offering everything from music hall, early cinema and amateur nights to waxworks, menageries and freak shows - this study also encompasses the model of community-based, working-class music hall which characterised the Panopticons later years, challenging narrative s of the primacy of city centre variety. Providing a comprehensive analysis of this dynamic popular theatre of the industrial age, Maloney examines the role of the halls managers, marketing and promotional strategies, audiences, and performing genres from the halls opening in 1859 until final closure in 1938. The book also explores stage representations of Irish and Jewish immigrant communities present in surrounding city centre areas, demonstrating the Britannias diasporic links to other British cities and centres in North America, thus providing a multifaceted and pioneering account of this still extant Victorian music hall Dedication 6 Acknowledgements 7 Contents 9 List of Figures 10 List of Tables 12 1: Introduction: Entertainment and the City 13 Notes 26 2: The Britannia Music Hall, 1859–1905: ‘Improvement’ 30 Glasgow Fair and the Saltmarket 38 The Britannia Music Hall 48 Rossborough 57 ‘The Only Working-Class Hall in Glasgow’ 73 Conclusion 80 Notes 83 3: ‘Flying Down the Saltmarket’: The Irish on the Glasgow Music Hall Stage 91 The Irish Community in Glasgow 96 The Irish in Scotland 104 Diaspora 110 Notes 122 4: ‘Ikey Granitestein from Aberdeen’: Jewish Stage Representations in Glasgow Music Hall 127 Hebrew Comedians 129 How Ethnic Stage Representations Worked 140 ‘Ike Freedman, The Scottish Hebrew Gentleman’ 149 Notes 167 5: Pickard’s Panopticon, 1906–1938: Commodification and the Development of Urban Entertainment Culture 172 ‘Living Curiosities’: Freaks and Capital 179 Financial Capital 195 Pickard’s Populism 201 Modernity and Tradition 206 Notes 214 6: ‘Paradise for a couple of hours’?: Towards an Oral History of the Panopticon 220 The Panopticon 224 Amateur Nights 230 The Audience 235 Trongate and Argyle Street 237 Notes 251 Bibliography 255 Primary Sources 255 Primary Documents/Reports 255 B: Newspapers and Contemporary Journals 256 Newspaper Series 257 C: Published Primary Material 257 D: Oral Testimony 258 E: Theses 258 Selected Secondary Sources 259 Index 271 Focusing On Glasgow's Earliest Surviving Music Hall, The Britannia, Later The Panopticon, This Book Explores The Role Of One Of The City's Most Iconic Cultural Venues Within The Cosmopolitan Entertainment Market That Emerged In British Cities In The Nineteenth Century. Shedding Light On The Increasing Diversity Of Commercial Entertainment Provided By Such Venues--offering Everything From Music Hall, Early Cinema And Amateur Nights To Waxworks, Menageries And Freak Shows--this Study Also Encompasses The Model Of Community-based, Working-class Music Hall Which Characterized The Panopticon's Later Years, Challenging Narratives Of The Primacy Of City Center Variety.—publisher's Description. Introduction: Entertainment And The City -- The Britannia Music Hall, 1859-1905: 'improvement' -- 'flying Down The Saltmarket': The Irish On The Glasgow Music Hall Stage -- 'ikey Granitestein From Aberdeen': Jewish Stage Representations In Glasgow Music Hall -- Pickard's Panopticon, 1906-1938: Commodification And The Development Of Urban Entertainment Culture -- 'paradise For A Couple Of Hours'?: Towards An Oral History Of The Panopticon. Paul Maloney. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Front Matter....Pages i-xiii Introduction: Entertainment and the City....Pages 1-17 The Britannia Music Hall, 1859–1905: ‘Improvement’....Pages 19-79 ‘Flying Down the Saltmarket’: The Irish on the Glasgow Music Hall Stage....Pages 81-116 ‘Ikey Granitestein from Aberdeen’: Jewish Stage Representations in Glasgow Music Hall....Pages 117-161 Pickard’s Panopticon, 1906–1938: Commodification and the Development of Urban Entertainment Culture....Pages 163-210 ‘Paradise for a couple of hours’?: Towards an Oral History of the Panopticon....Pages 211-245 Back Matter....Pages 247-273