THE PAVILION Theatre has long been known as Glasgow’s fun palace.

Now, thanks to a £100k refurbishment and the installation of a light show, the 111 year-old theatre’s has the look to match its reputation.

Manager Iain Gordon explained why he felt the Renfield Street variety theatre had to be upgraded.

“At the beginning of this year a small piece of the brickwork fell onto Renfrew Street and we realised work had to be done.

“We also had a bit of dampness in the dressing room and so we knew we had some roof problems.

“To fix the roof however, you need major scaffolding and because that was going up we decided to give the building a facelift.”

It had been 20 years since work was done on the theatre.

The building was pointed all over and stone cleaned.

“We didn’t use any chemicals,” says the Pavilion boss. We didn’t want to harm the stone. And in any case, the theatre is a listed building.”

When the vegetation was removed, the building cleaned and repaired a surprise discovery was made.

“Right at the top of the building there was a statue, going back to the thirties, but to put it up two stone blocks were removed and they’ve been laying there ever since.

“We never really knew where they came from. Now, they’re back in their natural position.”

The structure sound and watertight, the next stage was to give the Pavilion a new night-time look.

“We installed new lighting and replaced neon signs,” says Mr Gordon. “We’ve put in twenty new LED lights that are linked to a computer programme.”

During the renovation however, a thief climbed the scaffolding and broke into the theatre. But in the process he smashed six windows, two of them original stained glass.

“By the time he came down the scaffolding the police were waiting for him because he’d set off our alarm.

“But the real problem was then having to repair the original windows.”

Coincidentally, Pavilion acting stalwart Douglas Sannachan is also a stained glass window repairer.

“Dougie’s been working on the windows, and he’s doing a fantastic job.”

Iain Gordon believes the investment in the Pavilion, which includes an £80k state of the art sound system, to be sound.

“This is a theatre with a future,” he says. “Our upcoming shows such as Wee Fat Glesga Wedding are selling really well, as is the panto.

“And despite the fact we get no funding, the Pavilion looks as good as any theatre in town.”