The Curtain Theatre, 15 Woodside Terrace, Charing Cross, Glasgow (original) (raw)

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With the help of public subscription, and then membership dues, the Curtain Theatre opened its small auditorium and stage in 1933 in the large drawing room of 15 Woodside Terrace, one of the spacious townhouses in the Park area near Charing Cross. It was started by an amateur dramatic group led by actress and producer Grace Ballantine and others including Paul Vincent Carroll who became the Citizens Theatre's producer from its own opening in the Gorbals from 1943 to 1968.

The Curtain Theatre, assuming the mantle of the Scottish National Players who were especially active in the 1920s and early 30s, encouraged new Scottish playwrights including Robert McLellan, Norman Bruce, Robins Millar and Paul Vincent Carroll and provided a stage for their work. Initially performances took place in the club theatre and from 1935 notably in the Lyric Theatre, Sauchiehall Street including McLellan's premiere in 1937 of his tour de force “Jamie the Saxt.”

The Curtain's many performers included Molly Urquhart, Jean Faulds and Duncan Macrae. The Curtain Theatre ended in 1939 due to the start of war. But an active club member John Stewart decided to open afresh and did so in the next door terrace house, creating the Park Theatre in 1941.

This article on the Curtain Theatre was written for this site by Graeme Smith in 2014.

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