A designer has forged his love of art and theatre by creating intricate models – including bringing an iconic stage back to life in honour of his gran.
Stuart Smith-Gordon started making model kits of theatres during lockdown as a way of reconnecting with venues forced to close due to the pandemic.
His Ice Cream at the Interval venture has been a huge hit and he now sells DIY kits online and at theatres, raising money for charities.
The former Dumbarton man has now recreated 35 theatres in miniature form from across the UK – with his latest inspired by his 94-year-old grandmother Stella McGoldrick, who lives at Argyle Lodge Care Home in Helensburgh.
His recreation of Glasgow’s Alhambra Theatre holds a special place in her heart as it was where she danced and enjoyed watching many shows over the years.
It was famous for its spectacular musicals, premieres and pantomimes and was the last traditional theatre built in Glasgow back in 1910 before being demolished 50 years ago.
Stuart explained: “It was a big part of her life. She danced there when she was younger and she would often go to the theatre on her own after work.
“It was what many people did then.
“It would have been very different to people’s living rooms and they would be transported into a palace-like setting.
“Many are a work of art in themselves with incredible paintings and friezes.
“A lot of artists do illustrations of the outside of theatres but inside is a magical space.
“She suggested I do the Alhambra so I did some digging through archive materials and found photos of how it looked. I thought it would be a nice way for her to be connected back in that world. It’s been 50 years since it was demolished and only exists in black and white photos so I did some research and spoke to her about how she remembered it to recreate it in colour.”
He spent hours studying and illustrating the theatre in great detail, picking up its most iconic features and help transport people into what was a beautiful theatre space.
He told how his gran was delighted with the finished product, saying: “She loved the model. It brought back a lot of memories for her.”
Stuart’s love of theatre stems from being a young boy when he performed at stage school and his parents would take him to see shows.
He continued: “I’ve always had a real affection for them. I love that feeling of the lights plunging you into darkness and you don’t know where you’re going to be taken.
“I had a little toy theatre and I would recreate the stage from memory and that’s where my love of theatre and design came from.”
Stuart studied interior design at Glasgow School of Art and went on to move to Edinburgh where he works as an exhibition designer.
He added: “In a way exhibition spaces are mini-stage sets because they take visitors to another world to tell a story.
“I was furloughed when everything shut down during the lockdown and decided to make models of theatres as a personal project.
“My husband came up with the idea of selling them for charity and it’s grown from there.”
Stuart’s models have now raised an incredible £1,000 for theatre charities and he has plenty of ideas for making even more, especially of theatres that are long gone.
The popularity of television and increasing maintenance costs saw the demise of many theatres, with some demolished and others converted into different uses, such as bingo halls and nightclubs.
Stuart added: “I’d like to do one of the Palace Theatre in the Gorbals which was demolished in the 1970s. It was really ornately decorated and had these incredible elephant figures.
“I would really like to recreate more iconic theatres which are now gone.”
“I enjoy the detective work part of recreating them. Piecing together the puzzle of how it once looked.”
As well as the kits themselves, Stuart also sells prints, greeting cards and posters of his designs at www.etsy.com/uk/shop/IceCreamAtThe
