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The Lyceum Theatre, Govan, Glasgow

Glasgow Index

Above - The Lyceum Theatre, Glasgow - From a period postcard - Courtesy Graeme Smith

Richard Waldon was one of the busiest theatre men of his time in the city. The Glasgow Herald Yearbook of 1914 lists his theatres, five in total and more than anyone before and since:-

The Royal Princess`s
The Palace
The Lyceum
The Pavilion
The West End Playhouse / Empress

Near Govan Cross he opened his Lyceum Theatre in 1899 designed by the architect David Barclay, with an elegant Italian Renaissance auditorium with two tiers of galleries and accommodating almost 3000, and exterior in red sandstone. In its basement it had a billiard room with 19 tables. He presented musicals, operas usually with Carl Rosa, plays and pantomime.

On the excellent Glasgow Story Website a programme cover of 1909 shows the interior and displays the shipbuilding strength of Govan here.

In the 1920s it provided cine-variety and became a full-time cinema in the 1930s. Burned down in 1937 it was replaced by a streamlined Art Deco styled Lyceum Cinema, which later changed to bingo in the 1970s.

The above text was written and kindly sent in for inclusion on the site by Graeme Smith, whose book 'THE THEATRE ROYAL: Entertaining a Nation', is detailed here.