Looking back with Ian Scott on the history of Falkirk Children's Theatre

Youngsters in the 1991 production of Aladdin perform Willow Pattern Garden.  (Pic: submitted)Youngsters in the 1991 production of Aladdin perform Willow Pattern Garden.  (Pic: submitted)
Youngsters in the 1991 production of Aladdin perform Willow Pattern Garden. (Pic: submitted)
This column is most often taken up with stories from Falkirk’s distant past but this week I am firmly in the modern era.

Within the lifetime of most Herald readers our community experienced an amazing 30 year sensation on the stage of Falkirk Town Hall when many hundreds of children danced and sang their way into the hearts of folk all over the district and far beyond. I am talking of course about Falkirk Children’s Theatre which was born in 1970 and performed the first of 30 shows – mostly pantomimes – the following year. So successful were the children and the production team that in 1989 Scottish Television began to broadcast the pantos every New Year’s Day. The Falkirk bairns soon became famous all over the country and the show became a must watch holiday entertainment for tens of thousands of viewers. Even for Falkirk, which had a very long and successful history of excellence in the performing arts, this was a quantum leap in recognition.

I was prompted to write about this topic when I was given sight of a new book due for publication in a few weeks time. In it Craig Murray tells the story of those 30 years from the standpoint of a performer (he was Buttons in Cinderella in 1971), a writer of many of the pantos and producer of most of them. It is a very amusing and moving account of the creation of the Theatre and of the way in which the production team was formed, the children recruited, rehearsed, dressed and put on stage in front of huge audiences for year after year.

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Craig was obviously central to most of what happened but much of the credit should go to that legendary figure in the local entertainment world, the one and only David Cunningham, whose idea it was and whose drive and determination overcame multiple difficulties to set the ball rolling and guide its growth in the early days. I had the pleasure of knowing David back in the day and I can say from personal experience that no one has made a bigger contribution to the town and district than David.

The team he put together in the early days read like a who’s who of Falkirk entertainment – Bill Graham, director for 30 years, John Gilmour, Irene Langlands, John Reid, Sheena Graham, Mike Benzie, Ian Christie and another legend, Andrew Hunter, make-up artist supreme from the first to the last annual performance. There were others of course but these particular individuals were very influential in many other areas of local entertainment in the years that followed the end of the Theatre after 2000.

The pleasure generated by the children throughout the 70s and 80s was most welcome across the district for Falkirk, like most of the country, was suffering from industrial decline, high unemployment, empty shops, tumbledown buildings and much more. The pantomimes, like the work of the brilliant town gardeners, lifted spirits and raised morale when it was at a very low point. It is a lesson we would do well to remember in today’s difficult times and hopefully Craig Murray’s book, which is called appropriately enough House Full, will help inspire a similar initiative along with the new arts centre and town hall.

Watch out for further information on the book which will surely bring the memories flooding back for so many local folk who trod the boards all those years ago.

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