91Èȱ¬

It ran half an hour longer than usual as the cast - led by Gerard Kelly - ad-libbed, wisecracked and generally behaved as if they hadn't been performing two shows a days for weeks - with only one day off for Christmas.

At the end of the show, there was a special presentation to Kelly - to mark the fact that this was his 20th year on stage at the King's in pantomime.

Sadly, as we learned this morning, that was his last panto performance.

He died in hospital after collapsing in his London home of a suspected brain aneurism.

He was always modest about his role as the uncrowned king of Scottish panto.

He fell into it by accident, appearing first with Walter Carr and then year after year, he'd clear his diary and return to Glasgow for another season at the King's.

Even non panto fans were blown away by his exuberance, his cheeky ad-libbing and his ability to warm up an audience.

I interviewed him last year on a rainy Monday morning, just before a 10.30am performance - the first of three that day.

Did he never get tired, or worn down, or catch a cold and just wish he could give it a miss?

"Listen to that," he said, as scores of teeny sugar-fuelled school children passed the door.

"For some of them, this will be the first time they've been in a theatre. They love it - the songs, the costumes, the jokes - and I get to bring that to them. How can you not be excited by that?"

Kelly, as he was known to friends (the Gerard was for his Equity card, his real name is Paul Kelly) was known as a comedy actor.

But he did serious roles too - thuggish Scots in both Eastenders and Brookside, Felix in the Odd Couple on stage with Craig Ferguson, and then later Andy Gray.

His performance as a priest in the Ken Loach film Ae Fond Kiss is terrifying - in marked contrast to the charm he exuded in his comedy roles.

He's hilarious sending up camp theatrical types as Bunny in three episodes of Extras.

Ricky Gervais on his blog today says 'He was a lovely bloke and an excellent actor.'

Juliet Cadzow, who was protesting school closures outside the Labour Party conference in Oban, said he was natural raconteur but was also engaged with politics and current affairs.

"He liked nothing better than going home, getting a glass of wine and a cigarette and firing off emails to people and programmes about all the things he really cared about. He was a lovely man and will be hugely missed."

Elaine C Smith agrees that his sense of humour was matched by his love of politics.

"One of my fondest memories is of me dressed as a fairy and Gerard as "wishy washy" as we stood discussing the situation in Palestine," she says.

David Hayman, who first worked with him in 7:84 and then cast him in the Slab Boys trilogy, also recalled his ability to reduce people to tears of laughter with his daft stories.

"He just wanted to be loved," he says," and he was."

Jeanette Krankie recalls meeting him in the 91Èȱ¬ canteen in Shepherd's Bush where he was playing a young police man in Juliet Bravo.

"He was a great comedy actor and Pantomime performer, in the true Scottish style of Stanley Baxter, Ricky Fulton, Jimmy Logan, also proving he could turn his talent to straight acting playing some great parts on numerous TV soups and dramas."

The King's Theatre say they'll decide on Monday what will happen with this year's panto, but Kelly's name will remain on the posters as a mark of respect.

But for thousands of fans, Scottish pantomime just won't be the same.

The offer of £3m to set up a new arts venue in the current climate is not to be sniffed at.

So understandably when the Scottish Community Foundation asked for submissions for their one-off Arts Funding Prize, two years ago, they were inundated with ideas.

From established arts organisations to local projects, they were narrowed down to three - and then today, to one.

Edinburgh sculpture workshop's submission for an international research and funding facility, alongside their upgraded existing workshops was the one which wowed the judges.

Tucked away in old railway sidings in the capital's Newhaven area (just behind the much more obvious waterfront development) it's in urgent need of love and attention.

Outhouses are cramped and draughty.

Heavy machinery and the obscured location mean it's hardly ever visited by the public.

But all that should change with a new design by Sutherland Hussey architects which will include viewing areas alongside the cycle path, a cafe, and a tower to remind the local community that it's very much there and open for business.

Work will begin in January but while the prizewinner has been made public, the one thing that won't be revealed is the identity of the mystery donor.

The Scottish community foundation - a charity that supports philanthropic giving - will only say that the donor is UK-based and hasn't worked with them before (ruling out Sir Sean Connery and JK Rowling).

Edinburgh has its fair share of bankers and business men and women - but most would surely want the publicity for their business, if not for themselves?

Only a handful of the charity's senior people know the identity and they're sworn to secrecy.

The Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop know only that the donor is pleased with the choice of winner, and that when their building opens to the public in 2013, he or she may be among the first visitors.

I'm aware I have one of the best jobs in the country.

And it doesn't get much better than being given the run of a cinema, and the chance to watch a classic movie on the big screen.

The reason? A rediscovered print of the 1933 movie King Kong, found in a wall recess, during refurbishing of the Grosvenor Cinema.

The fact it's celluloid and not nitrate, suggests it dates from the 50s, but no-one is quite sure how it got there.

A colleague suggests an over-enthusiastic fan might have been trying to sneak it home.

It is, of course, something of a cult classic.

Another, more cynical colleague wonders if it wasn't the work of an inventive marketing person, a time capsule to be opened just in time for the reopening of the refurbished café and cinema in the west end of Glasgow.

However it got there, the cinema's staff were honest in their response, contacting Universal, who bought out the original film-makers RKO.

They not only waived the late return fees - which could have amounted to £43,000 - but agreed to let the cinema screen the film as a thank you for their honesty.

But while its groundbreaking stop motion animation might have caused hearts to flutter in the 1930s, and even into the 40s and 50s, can King Kong compete with today's realistically gory horror offerings?

Maybe not for teenagers brought up on the Saw franchise, but there's still the odd unsettling scene.

Like when King Kong reaches into a tower block to pluck a sleeping lady out of her bed, and on discovering it's not Fay Wray, drops her screaming into the traffic below.

And the scene where the islanders chant for him to appear, still offers a nicely tense moment in cinema history.

Anyway, don't take my word for it.

The initial screening is already sold out. They've added another two to meet demand.

And the film which caused all the fuss?

It's apparently in good nick after its unconventional "storage" and is currently being cleaned in preparation for the screening.

And on November 8th, post-screening, it'll be sent back to Universal Studios, a mere five decades late.

Those who can't wait till January for Celtic Connections will get a taster next weekend.

Jon Fratelli, Colin MacIntyre, Eddi Reader, Roddy Hart, Tommy Reilly and Washington Irving are among the performers lined up so far, for the gig at Glasgow's Fruitmarket on October 29th.

Money raised will go to the Argyll based charity Mary's meals.

The gig will be the first major solo appearance for Jon Fratelli - with a preview of songs from his new album. Colin Macintyre will also offer a preview of his latest solo album, which is due to be released in spring 2011.

Colin - of Mull Historical Society fame - is behind the venture, along with Celtic Connections artistic director Donald Shaw.

Feeding projects

Both have strong connections with the organisation. Donald Shaw went to school in Oban with Magnus McFarlane-Barrow, who founded Mary's Meals eight years ago.

Colin's sister in law, Abeer Macintyre is the lead fundraiser for the charity and a similar event in January raised over £11,000.The money is used to set up feeding projects in impoverished communities in 15 different countries.

Both Colin and Donald are currently in Malawi to see the work first hand - and they point out that the ticket price of £18 is the average annual cost of feeding two children on the project - as well as potentially a very good night out.

With 1,500 performers in the line-up, the programme is certainly vast.

And with artists from as far afield as Senegal, Cuba and the USA, the connections which will be made during January's music festival continue to be global.

While there's no obvious big name headliner - each strand, whether American indie, Scottish pop, or English folk features a who's who of the genre.

A gospel strand includes Mavis Staples, the Blind Boys of Alabama, Bettye Lavette and the Creole Choir of Cuba.

The Scottish folk scene is well represented by Lau, the Treacherous Orchestra, the Unusual Suspects and Fiddlers' Bid while English folk music has Thea Gilmore, Seth Lakeman and Richard Thompson to fly the flag.

But the trick is the mix of music - whether that's Indian tabla player Zakir Hussain playing alongside traditional musicians from Scotland and Ireland, or composer Craig Armstrong working with the exponents of the electronic music scene.

Over 17 years, the festival has built up a following of music fans, from here and abroad, prepared to take a punt on something different.

Artistic director Donald Shaw - a jobbing musician himself with the band Capercaillie - is confident that his audience is loyal enough, and sophisticated enough, to continue that trend in 2011.

It's a trend which has also become important to Glasgow - bringing in an estimated £11.9m to the Scottish economy at a bleak and quiet time of year for any form of tourism.

But its director believes it does much more than that - and as the entire cultural sector braces itself for cuts - he hopes its contribution will continue to be recognised.

"We're certainly aware of it, whether finding individual sponsors for shows, which is getting harder and harder," says Donald Shaw.

"Glasgow City Council are still very supportive of this festival. They see it as a major event in Glasgow's calendar but yes, it is a concern and we just have to manage it as best we can, and put on great shows in whatever way we can."

Like many who work in the arts sector, he's also concerned about whether politicians understand the true value of arts and culture - citing the example of campaigning for the recent general election, when politicians failed to mention the sector at all.

"I don't think it's valued enough. It's very underplayed and I think there has to be a greater realisation of how communities are brought together through the arts.

"Our education concerts are a great example.

"Musicians go out to schools and teach kids how to play music and that brings together groups of children who might otherwise have remained apart, perhaps the children of asylum seekers and local children, so it's not just a case of measuring its impact in economic or tourist terms, it's about lifestyle and the impact it can have on people's lives."

Meanwhile, there is one big name artist who'll be on the lips of performers at the 2011 festival - even if he's not on the stage.

Bob Dylan marks his 70th birthday in 2011 and Celtic Connections is one of the first gatherings to mark the date (May 24th if you want to send a card).

Justin Townes-Earle, Justin Currie, Thea Gilmore, James Grant, Rab Noakes, Tim O'Brien and Gemma Hayes are among those announced so far.

Dylan has long acknowledged the influence of Scottish folk music on his songwriting - and specificially the debt owed to Hamish Henderson for The 51st (Highland) Division's Farewell to Sicily, which directly influenced his song the Times They Are A Changin' - but this concert will allow performers to explore further connections.

And will the man himself put in an appearance? Donald Shaw is hopeful.

"He does know. At least, his management company know about the concert and we have given him a very heart-felt invitation to Glasgow this winter. It would be wrong of me to put his name on the ticket, but you just never know."

Celtic Connections 2011 kicks off on 13 January.

The UK's leading artists continue their campaign against government cuts to arts funding.

They plan to release a new artwork every week to highlight their protest.

Scotland-based David Shrigley launched the campaign in September with a piece of video art and since then both Mark Wallinger and Yinka Shonibare have added their contributions.

The point, say artists, who are asking supporters to sign a petition which will be sent to UK culture secretary Jeremy Hunt, is that the feared 25% cuts to arts funding will irreversibly damage a vibrant arts culture which has taken decades to build.

In the latest, Cornelia Parker shows the impact of cutting a quarter of resources - by literally lopping a wing off the Angel of the North.

But commendable as the campaign is, there's a growing cultural quarter that doesn't fear the loss of arts council or government funding because it doesn't get any in the first place.

This lunchtime, I squeezed into the packed Oran Mor theatre in Glasgow for a special performance to mark the 200th Play and a Pie and Pint production.

Since artistic director David MacLennan founded it in 2004, the strand has commissioned new writing from a diverse range of writers from Liz Lochhead and Alasdair Gray to Gregory Burke, Douglas Maxwell and DC Jackson.

For published writers like Louise Welsh, Denise Mina and Alan Bissett, it's been a first foray into playwriting. For others, it's been a chance to experiment - with their short plays expanded into full-length works.

It's a challenging format - a 45-minute play designed to be consumed along with the aforementioned pie and pint in a lunch hour.

Two-minute plays

No less for the actors, who have to ramp up the tension in a room full of people intent on consuming their lunch, as much as some bon mots.

But the event has become something of a cult success on the theatre scene - both in terms of audience (it's been expanded into Edinburgh and London) and in terms of developing new writing.

It's also a rare example of an arts project which survives, not on public funding but on the box office and the bar, the goodwill of the owners and a modest amount of private sponsorship.

Its success is made even sweeter by the fact that David MacLennan's long-term involvement with Wildcat Theatre came to an abrupt end in 1997 when the then Scottish Arts Council withdrew its funding.

So he has better reason than most to raise a pint, and a pie, to his 200th production. And no ordinary show at that.

To mark the milestone, he's commissioned 40 new plays by 40 writers, all on the theme of Glasgow Then and Now.

The catch - they have to be no more than two minutes long - to fit as many as possible into the lunch hour.

"Dave MacLennan, asked me to write a two-minute play. I said give me a couple of minutes," is veteran screenwriter Peter MacDougall's opening gambit.

Glasgow gangland

From then on in, there's barely time for a mouthful of food between scenes - signposted music-hall style with a banner proclaiming the location.

From Jane Austen in Glasgow gangland to the slave trade connections between Glasgow and Virginia, a wasp in a wine glass, a Govan shipyard accident.

Some are silly, or funny, others thoughtful and poignant.

There's music in Butterfly Kiss and Andy Gray's crowd pleasing send up of Judi Dench - singing Send in the Pies, rather than Send in the Clowns.

No one dares go to the bathroom, in case you miss a whole play. Or two.

And there's no need to worry if one play doesn't appeal, another will be along in two minutes, which is more than can be said for the Glasgow train which the entire cast are left waiting for in the final scene.

I stopped counting at 20 plays - which makes it great value for a tenner. And even more for the audience on Saturday, who get all 40 plays, not to mention a pie.

But with more than 200 events, and everyone from Karine Polwart to Jackie Kay on the line-up, it's rapidly becoming one of the most sought after gigs to be seen at.

The title suggests something much more prescriptive than it is but in just three years, the festival has grown from a weekend of film aimed at encouraging discussion of mental health issues to three weeks of films, artworks and live performance.

Some like Emma Pollock, of the Delgados, took her own mental health as the starting point.

Music was therapy for her when she suffered post-natal depression.

"Getting back in the studio and doing something creative, sorted me out," she says.

"I think being active and creative is really helpful and to be involved in something like this is great."

And she's keen to share that experience with others through the Fruit Tree Foundation - a collaboration of musicians who this weekend launch their first album together.

"None of us are experts," she says," but through our own experiences and those of people around us, we understood what it felt like and how important is was to share that experience."

The festival hopes by promoting the feelgood factor, they'll shake off the stigma which often accompanies mental health issues.

It's estimated to affect one in four people - and musicians are no better than anyone else at talking about it, even if depression is often perceived as a catalyst for the best songs.

"That's the irony," says Rod Jones of the band Idlewild.

"People are often most productive when they're down. And there are always going to be links between mental health and the arts - because so much of what we do is an expression of self and everyone at some point will experience it directly, or through someone close to them."

"There's a real stigma about talking about it - and depression in particular is very isolating - so if this gets people to talk, then that's important."

Director Lee Knifton says he's anxous to ensure the programming remains light in its touch - indeed, much of the work is programmed because it's feel-good rather than promoting an obvious social message.

They're also deliberately taking it out of conventional venues into pubs and shopping centres, where people are more likely to stop and look, and get involved. And that's just the starting point.

"We do get a lot of people coming to talk to us afterwards," he says.

"Often, they say it's a 'friend' who's concerned and we listen and help direct them on.

"It also means there are a lot of people who wouldn't normally work together, coming together for the festival and continuing links all year round.

"Like the Citizens Theatre and the NHS - who now work together and have those links with each other."

As for the Fruit Tree Foundation, they'll launch their album this weekend at gigs in Edinburgh and Glasgow - an exclusive for fans, as it's only available there.

But two tracks - I Forgot the Fall by Rod Jones and Scott Hutchison and Favourite Son by Emma Pollock, Jill O'Sullivan and James Graham are available as free downloads at www.fruitreefoundation.com.