Glasgow's Pavilion Theatre could well be staging Jersey Boys, or The Rocky Horror Show, in a move that will open the Renfield Street operation to a much wider audience base.
That’s the plan announced by Helen Enright, CEO of Trafalgar Entertainment (TE) the new owner of the theatre sold off recently by Tim and Nick Martin.
A former Glasgow University graduate, Ms Enright said that when it comes to the Pavilion, a wide range of options is being considered.
Read more: Janey Godley wins inaugural Sir Billy Connolly comedy award
“Jersey Boys, for example, is a very big production and access to the Pavilion theatre isn’t great," she said. "But we would be looking to see how we adapt the show to fit the stage. It’s something we will try to make work. And the Rocky Horror Show is another show we would love to put on at the Pavilion. These are the types of production that Glasgow loves.”
Get unlimited access to The Herald for only £2 for 2 months
👉 Click here to sign up for this offer
The CEO added however that TE, an international live entertainment business, won’t just concentrate on large-scale national productions.
She added: “The 1500-seat Pavilion is a very special place. It offers great atmosphere and a really intimate space. And the theatre has always been a variety house and we plan to continue with that theme. It’s also a fabulous space for comedy.
“We are entirely aware of what the audiences have wanted and love and our aim is to build on that. If we can bring in great productions such as Jersey Boys and add to that some really great local content we’re really hopeful.”
The Pavilion, which opened in 1904, has been, for the most part, a huge success story over the years, discovering talent such as Brendan O’Carroll’s Mrs Brown’s Boys and producing local successes such as Des Dillon’s I’m No a Billly – He’s a Tim. And panto seasons have generated massive income.
However, Trafalgar Entertainment believe the theatre has untouched potential. For example, Ms Enright suggests that she would consider partnerships with the likes of the Tron Theatre, which could see the likes of David Ireland’s massively successful play Cyprus Avenue relocate to Renfield Street.
“That could certainly be the case,” she said. “What we plan to do is engage in conversations with local producers and directors. We want to try out lots of different ideas and see what works with the audiences.
The challenge, the CEO admits, is to retain the traditional Pavilion audience, yet evolve the output.
“We want more content, generally. The theatre has tended to operate Thursday to Saturday, but we want to put on more week-long shows.
“The Pavilion at the moment stages around 140 performances and year and we’d be looking at 200-plus.”
Read more: Scottish memorial: Minute's silence held to remember Covid victims
There is no question of TE not knowing Glasgow and its audiences. The leading figures of the company Sir Howard Panter and Dame Rosemary Squire once ran the Ambassador Theatre Group, (ATG) which controls the city’s King’s Theatre and the Theatre Royal while Ms Enbright worked for ATG for 17 years.
There is an added frisson with the sale of the Pavilion to TE. It looked initially that ATG would take over the Pavilion. However, when that deal collapsed TE were waiting in the wings and eager to take over.
“We were keen for months on buying the theatre,” Ms Enright admits. “And while it will take a little while to evolve it and get it right, we have a really strong programming team who can take on the challenge of programming weekly runs and one-night shows.”
The CEO added: “We have lots of ideas, one of which is running a comedy festival in the Pavilion.”
Trafalgar Entertainment is adding to its theatre portfolio which includes the Trafalgar Theatre in London’s West End, the Theatre Royal Sydney in Australia and 12 UK regional theatres.
The company also features a performing arts unit.
“We also work with the likes of the Lincoln Centre in New York and the National Theatre. What we are about is creating good quality," added Ms Enright.
The London-based chief is confident that Trafalgar Entertainment can build upon the success story that is the Pavilion Theatre.
“When we took the Kings over as ATG (from Glasgow Council) we doubled the audience numbers in a very short space of time, by doing things the local authority couldn’t do.”
When asked about the rivalry with theatre giants ATG, she smiled.
“It’s (the Pavilion takeover) exciting for me personally. It will take me back to Glasgow more regularly. As for ATG, well it’s good to have competition.”
Former manager Iain Gordon, who also produced, wrote and directed Pavilion shows, accepts its time to move on.
“Having been employed by the Pavilion since 1977 I am proud to have been a part of taking the theatre to where it is now,” he said.
The Pavilion also boasts an entertainment legacy stretching back to the era of Harry Lauder and Charlie Chaplin and has played host to the likes of comedy legend Sir Billy Connolly, pop group Wet Wet Wet and panto stars The Krankies.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel