Overview
- Draws on first hand accounts to bring to life an iconic aspect of Glasgow's cultural history
- Provides a key exploration of the movement from Victorian urban entertainment culture to the modern entertainment market
- Examines the inner workings of the Britannia Panopticon from multiple angles to provide a comprehensive picture of the hall's evolution
Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in Theatre and Performance History (PSTPH)
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Table of contents (6 chapters)
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Front Matter
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Back Matter
Keywords
- Scottish theatre
- nineteenth-century theatre
- twentieth-century theatre
- culture in Glasgow
- Victorian music hall
- variety theatre
- mass entertainment culture
- popular entertainment
- natiional culture
- pre-industrial entertainment
- societal development
- Irish diaspora
- racial stereotypes
- Jewish community
- Glasgow fair
- entertainment community
- urban folklore
- oral history
- cultural heritage
- early cinema
- arts
- Britain
- cinema
- culture
- history
- history of literature
- Judaism
- music
- performing arts
- stage
- theatre
- theatre and performance studies
- theatre history
About this book
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.
Reviews
“ … the book is a pleasure to read – a treasure trove of examples of nineteenth- and twentieth-century popular performance, a testimony to the ways in which managers negotiated with the community around them and a well-written investigation into the relationship between urban shifts and the tensions and representations of contemporary immigrant communities.” (Louise Wingrove, Journal of Victorian Culture, Vol. 23 (2), April, 2018)
“Paul Maloney’s enthusiasm and meticulous re - search make this a fabulous and much welcome book. … The Britannia Panopticon Music Hall and Cosmopolitan Entertainment Culture is a rich study, thoughtfully constructed and expertly carried through. It will be of interest to all scholars of nineteenth- and early twentieth-century performance cultures and social histories, and is a much appreciated addition to the Palgrave studies in theatre and performance history series.” (Maggie B. Gale, New Theatre Quarterly, November, 2017)
Authors and Affiliations
About the author
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: The Britannia Panopticon Music Hall and Cosmopolitan Entertainment Culture
Authors: Paul Maloney
Series Title: Palgrave Studies in Theatre and Performance History
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-47659-3
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan New York
eBook Packages: Literature, Cultural and Media Studies, Literature, Cultural and Media Studies (R0)
Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2016
Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-137-47909-9Published: 13 October 2016
Softcover ISBN: 978-1-349-69356-6Published: 25 December 2019
eBook ISBN: 978-1-137-47659-3Published: 13 October 2016
Series ISSN: 2947-5767
Series E-ISSN: 2947-5775
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XIII, 273
Number of Illustrations: 21 b/w illustrations
Topics: Theatre History, Performing Arts, History of Britain and Ireland, Theatre and Performance Studies, Arts