THE stage has been hidden from public eye for decades, but will be revealed later this year.

And to help with the fundraising for the refurbishment Brittania Panopticon organisers are selling sponsorship of each plank of the stage.

Some of them have been snapped up by well known celebrities already.

Judith Bowers, project founder, historian and co-ordinator, said: "Each plank is being sold at £100, and we've already sold 30 so far without any form of publicity.

"John Barrowman and The Krankies bought two, and there are still 100 planks available.

"You buy the plank and we'll send out a certificate, and your name, or your company name, will be immortalised on the Brittania Panopticon stage forever."

The stage has not been seen in public since 1938, when tailor's firm Weaver To Wearer moved into the premises and converted the music hall on the first floor into a workshop.

They built a suspended ceiling which hid the balcony and upper auditorium, and used the ground floor as a shop.

The first floor was uninhabited, aside from during World War Two when it was used as a chicken farm. - something which remained until 1997.

Universal Stores took over the building in the 1960s and installed a toilet where the stage was in 1969.

Ms Bowers came upon the first floor in 1997 and since then a charitable trust has been established to help preserve the building.

She wrote a book about the space, Glasgow's Lost Theatre - the Story of the Britannia Music Hall, which is sold at their High Street charity shop.

Workers removed the toilet over the weekend and took away the waste pipes.

They expect the work to finish on the physical stage in March, which will then be dressed and readied for a launch show and unveiling on May 30.

The Royal Conservatoire has been approached to help with sound and lighting for opening weekend.

The Krankies have confirmed they will do a show there at the end of May and the weekend will consist of shows from a mix of Scottish celebrities, as well as the music hall's own company and bands who have helped raise money over the years.

During the refurbishment Ms Bowers expects they will uncover different artefacts from the stage, and they have already found poles that would have been used to hook ropes and move them.

She said: "Hopefully we will uncover bits of stage mechanism, trap and equipment, but we have also found a cloche hat from the 1920,s so who knows what is lurking in the dark."

The Brittania Panopticon is considered one of the most valuable theatre spaces in Europe as it was never modified, only covered up and hidden from public view.

Home to dancing girls, acrobats - and a zoo

Brittania Panopticon started as the Brittania Music Hall in the late 1850's.

Around1500 people, workers from the industrial revolution, men, women and children working and living in dangerous and cramped conditions, would cram into the auditorium four times a day.

There were wooden benches for the people who could afford it and the rest would stand at the sides and back of the hall.

Performances at the time were dancing girls, comic and ballad singers.

Husband and wife Mr and Mrs Rossborough took over the space and brought a new bill which included child performers, acrobats, high wire and trapeze artists and acts including animals.

Under their care the Brittania was redecorated and business flourished.

The hall hosted acts such as Marie Lloyd and Harry Lauder.

When electricity became widely available in 1896 the hall was one of the first 300 buildings in Glasgow to have it wired.

However, by1905 people chose to go to new places such as the Pavilion, Coliseum and the Kings Theatre, and the Brittania closed it's doors as it couldn't compete.

It reopened in May 1906 with a carnival in the attic including fortune telling machines and hooplas.

A.E. Pickard was the person behind this, and he also converted the basement into a zoo.

Birttania changed its name to The Grand Panopticon, derived from Greek terms 'Pan' meaning 'everything' and Opti, 'to see.'

However, nobody in Glasgow could remember, spell, or pronounce it properly so it became locally known as The Pots and Pans.

Stan Laurel performed there on Friday's amateur night under the name Arthur Stanley Jefferson in his pre-Laurel and Hardy days.

The Panopticon survived WWI but in 1938 after entertaining Glasgow for 81 years it couldn't compete with the Art Deco Cinema and the premises were sold to the tailor firm, Weaver to Wearer.