Travels of a Scenic Artist and Scholar. The King’s Theatre, Glasgow, Sept. 16, 2023.

Copyright © 2023 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett

Mike, Rick, Megumi, and I walked from the Theatre Royal Glasgow to the King’s Theatre on the morning of Sept. 16. There we met Alan Butland, who had journeyed up from Newcastle upon Tyne to spend the day with us.

Our visit to King’s Theatre had been facilitated by Gary Painter, of the UK’s Cinema Theatre Association, who had arranged for us to tag along with a public tour.

Mike Hume, Megumi, Wendy Waszut-Barrett, Rick Boychuk and Alan Butland at the King’s Theatre. Glasgow.

The King’s Theatre, Glasgow, Scotland

Auditorium at the King’s Theatre, Glasgow.

Detail of ornamental decor at King’s Theatre, Glasgow.

Entrance of the King’s Theatre, Glasgow.

Architectural details above the King’s Theatre entrance.

The waiting area before entering the auditorium, known as the Wedgewood Room. We tagged along with a public tour.

Ornamental details that caused this waiting area outside of the main auditorium to be named the Wedgewood Room.

Ornamental details that caused this waiting area outside of the main auditorium to be named the Wedgewood Room.

View from center stage.

Proscenium and opera boxes.

Another view of the boxes.

The ceiling at King’s Theatre.

Designed by well-known English architect Frank Matcham (1854-1920), the King’s Theatre opened on Sept. 12, 1904. The stage house still boasts a paint frame at the back. The shuttered windows (top right in picture below) illuminated the scenic artists’ paint studio.

Paint frame at the back of King’s Theatre, Scotland.

Another view of the paint frame and studio space.

Another view of the paint frame from the fly floor.

Looking up at the paint bridge (paint studio was to the immediate right of the bridge.

Rick Boychuk on the fly floor at King’s Theatre, Glasgow (stage right).

The grid at King’s Theatre.

Looking up at the grid.

Hemp lines on the fly floor.

Here are two links for more information about King’s Theatre Glasgow: http://kingstheatreglasgow.net/

https://www.atgtickets.com/venues/kings-theatre-glasgow/

To be continued…

Author: waszut_barrett@me.com

Wendy Rae Waszut-Barrett, PhD, is an author, artist, and historian, specializing in painted settings for opera houses, vaudeville theaters, social halls, cinemas, and other entertainment venues. For over thirty years, her passion has remained the preservation of theatrical heritage, restoration of historic backdrops, and the training of scenic artists in lost painting techniques. In addition to evaluating, restoring, and replicating historic scenes, Waszut-Barrett also writes about forgotten scenic art techniques and theatre manufacturers. Recent publications include the The Santa Fe Scottish Rite Temple: Freemasonry, Architecture and Theatre (Museum of New Mexico Press, 2018), as well as articles for Theatre Historical Society of America’s Marquee, InitiativeTheatre Museum Berlin’s Die Vierte Wand, and various Masonic publications such as Scottish Rite Journal, Heredom and Plumbline. Dr. Waszut-Barrett is the founder and president of Historic Stage Services, LLC, a company specializing in historic stages and how to make them work for today’s needs. Although her primary focus remains on the past, she continues to work as a contemporary scene designer for theatre and opera.

2 thoughts on “Travels of a Scenic Artist and Scholar. The King’s Theatre, Glasgow, Sept. 16, 2023.”

  1. Michael Powers. Grant MacEwan Community College, Jasper Place Campus, (as it was at its inception back in 1980s; now University, in Edmonton Alberta) originally had a small paint prep room with a white bathroom sink (not even a trap) and and a row of kitchen cupboards for all the creative, but messy? preparation and storage. It contained a cinder-block spray booth, with a 10′ high ceiling-mount evacuation fan that ensured that any over-spray or vapours would find the painter’s face. It was also the only Paint Room I know of that was equipped with wall-to-wall carpeting!!! Absolutely true! [It took a while to get evrything torn out and replaced– the carpet wound up as covering for band risers, so not all lost.

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