Britannia Panopticon
Support Us
  • Britannia PanopticonTHE PANOPTICON
  • Britannia PanopticonSURVIVING MUSIC HALL
  • Britannia PanopticonMADE HIS STAGE DEBUT
Britannia Panopticon1 Britannia Panopticon2 Britannia Panopticon3

Panopticon is now closed for general viewing but will be open for our events. Check out our whats on page for upcoming shows.

We will return for general viewing Spring 2026. If you have any queries about booking the venue or for tours please contact [email protected]

Britannia Panopticon
Britannia Panopticon

WORLDS OLDEST SURVIVING
MUSIC HALL

Britannia Panopticon
Britannia Panopticon

Brittania Panopticonelcome to The Britannia Panopticon Music Hall website.

Situated on Glasgow’s historic Trongate, this music hall began life in 1857 at a time when Glasgow's population was booming, and its streets were overcrowded with working folk desperate to be entertained. Music Halls were a popular form of entertainment with the working classes during the Victorian and Edwardian era. At first, they were back rooms behind pubs, though this one is different, being on the floor above! It would have held over 1500 visitors, eager to be amused and let off steam while watching the acts that ranged from singers, dancers and comedians to acrobats, animal, and novelty acts. In 1906, an eccentric showman, A.E Pickard, added a carnival, freak show, wax works and zoo to the entertainments where visitors could catch a glimpse of the Himalayan Bear in the basement or the Tattooed Lady in the attic.

Britannia Panopticon Music Hall is operated by a registered charity, The Friends of the Britannia Panopticon Music Hall Trust (SCIO). The aim of the charity is to promote and continue the legacy of the world’s oldest surviving music hall, advance its conservation, and ensure the building’s future as a viable visitor attraction, museum and working venue. It's a huge part of Glasgow's entertainment history and we rely a lot on our wonderful customers who leave donations. If you wish to contribute in any way, please click on the Support Us button in the bottom left-hand corner. We would love to have you onboard!

Britannia Panopticon is open to the public for shows and events including silent films, comedy club, Drag, Burlesque, variety, sing-a-longs and even a traditional old time music hall shows. Most of our shows and events are fundraisers for the Britannia Panopticon Music Hall. Please check our events page for the latest updates.

Please note that we do not at this time have disabled access and there are two flights of stairs up to the music hall. A part of our fundraising currently is to raise enough money to buy a stair-climber for wheelchairs, until such times as we can have a lift installed.

We also don’t have any heating, so make sure you wrap up warm if you’re visiting us during the colder months.

If you don’t have time to see a show, we do open for general viewing and for private visits. This gives visitors an opportunity to see inside the music hall where there is an exhibition of ephemera, a pianola to play, a bar, a merchandise stall (with postcards, bags, posters, mugs, tee-shirts, stickers etc) and of course our friendly staff and volunteers are always available to regale you with tales of the history of the world’s oldest surviving music hall, from the unique acts that graced our stage, to the boisterous crowds and the secret to how this building never burnt down like so many other music halls! In 2018, Historic Environment Scotland voted Britannia Panopticon Music Hall as the Best Heritage Tourism Experience in the West Coast as part of The Scottish Thistle Awards.

The entrance to the Britannia Panopticon Music Hall is on the New Wynd, a lane that runs from the Trongate to Osborne Street and is nestled between MacDonald’s the Bakers and Mrs Mitchell’s Sweet Shop on the Trongate.

If you are a subscribing supporter or member of the Britannia Panopticon Music Hall general admission is free of charge and you are eligible for discounts to most of our shows and events. If you are not a subscribing supporter or member and would like to become one, please click Support Us on the bottom left corner of your screen.

For any queries you can call us on 0141 553 0840 or email us at [email protected]

Discover more things to do in Glasgow.

LATEST NEWS

Calling All Spooky writers!

Britannia Panopticon

Do you have a short horror story? We have some terrifying submissions already! Don't miss out!

This Halloween season, at the world's oldest music hall, our in-house fairy/goblin, Bodkins Bodikins, will be reading a selection of terrifying tales on our YouTube channel.

If you’d like your short story to be featured, (approximately 2 pages long) please send it to [email protected] by 26th September for a chance to have it read aloud… if you dare!

More Info

ACTING UP or TALES FROM A TROUBLESOME TROUPER

Britannia Panopticon



Acting Up

or

TALES FROM A TROUBLESOME TROUPER

by Mr Frederic Mohr

A rehearsed reading by Miss Maureen Beattie

The stage managed by Miss Susan Barrie

To take place on the stage of The Britannia Panopticon, the World’s Oldest Surviving Music Hall and as a fundraiser for the same.

It is 1755. The scene is set in a wretched hovel in London. The notorious Charlotte Charke, once a celebrated actress, has fallen on hard times and is desperate to interest speculators in buying the copyright to her new novel. She invites them to a private auction and solicits bids whilst revealing secrets from her own life in a captivating and often comedic chronicle.

Charlotte Charke was a real person of infinite interest. Her father, Colley Cibber, was the leading British actor of his age. He was also a playwright and Poet Laureate. Charlotte herself managed some success and fame in the establishment theatre of her father but gave way to spells in the “fringe” theatre of her day, moving swiftly from “tour de force” to “forced to tour” as her career and life of privilege descended into destitution. She took to wearing male clothing and became publicly known as Charles Brown. She unsuccessfully tried various jobs associated with men such as valet, sausage maker, farmer, and tavern owner. Eventually, under her own name Mrs Charlotte Charke, she found success as a novelist and memoirist until her death in 1760.

More Info