Detail Britannia Panopticon Music Hall
The Britannia Music Hall (also known as The Panopticon or The Britannia Panopticon) in Trongate, Glasgow, Scotland is the oldest surviving music hall in the world.
In 1906 Stan Laurel made his first stage appearance there on amateur night.
Arthur Stanley Jefferson ( Stan Laurel) was born in Ulverston, Lancashire in north west England. His parents were both active in the theatre and always very busy. He moved with his parents to Glasgow, Scotland, where he completed his education at Rutherglen Academy. His father managed Glasgow's Metropole Theatre, where Laurel began work. With a natural affinity for the theatre, Laurel gave his first professional performance on stage at the Panopticon in Glasgow at the age of sixteen, where he polished his skills at pantomime and music hall sketches. It was the music hall from where he drew his standard comic devices, including his bowler hat and nonsensical understatement.
