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SOMEWHERE below the first stone laid when the building of the King's Theatre began, there are - if they haven't disintegrated into dust over the decades - 100-year-old copies of the Evening News. They were placed there, along with a handful of coins, by Fife-born philanthropist Dr Andrew Carnegie, who was given the honour of laying the memorial stone for the theatre just over a century ago on August 18, 1906. Four months later, the theatre opened with its first production, Cinderella - but the signs were already apparent that the city's newest theatre was going to be a hit. The Evening News of the time reported that "on the day that bookings began the police had to lend a hand in regulating the crowd that clamoured for tickets". History will turn full circle this year, when the King's will stage Cinderella for its now famous annual pantomime. The preview of the classic tale on December 8 will mark the official birthday of the King's, when a red carpet event, attended by stars past present, will be held. However, as befits its regal name, the King's won't just have one celebratory day. Festivities actually kick off on Wednesday with a private party to launch the centenary celebrations. And of course there is much to celebrate. This well-loved city landmark has over the years played host to some of the biggest names in showbusiness - from Sarah Bernhardt, the legendary one-legged actress known as the Divine Sarah, who appeared in 1916, to Monarch of the Glen star Dawn Steele, who this October will be appearing in the long-awaited stage version of Tutti Frutti. The early years of the First World War saw an appearance by actress and king's mistress Lillie Langtry, in the 1920s ballerina Anna Pavlova wowed audiences and in the 1930s Noel Coward appeared in his own play, Private Lives, alongside Laurence Olivier. By the 1950s, however, the theatre was beginning to show signs of age. In 1950 it underwent the first of many revamps. The original top tier was removed, while the upper tier was redesigned by Edinburgh architect William Kinnenmonth, which reduced the seating capacity to 1530. The stars kept appearing though - including Michael Crawford in the premiere of No Sex Please, We're British in the early 60s, Danny La Rue, Stanley Baxter and Eric Sykes in the 70s. Bands such as Led Zeppelin also drew the crowds, as did the Scouts and Guides Gang Show, an annual performance by local youngsters which has been staged since 1960. But the 1970s saw much talk about the need to refurbish the King's, as well as the Playhouse and Lyceum. "They are so neglected they are a disgrace to the city," thundered the Evening News in 1976. It would not be until 1985, though, that the city fathers oversaw a £1.2 million refurbishment designed to restore many of the original features, including the colour scheme. Ticket sales soared in the following years and the 1990s saw a series of big names stepping out of the King's wings, including Derek Jacobi, Sir Ian McKellen and Brian Cox. But by the mid-1990s calls were already being made for another update. Plans for a £14m refurbishment to mark the centenary have been put on hold, and it now looks as though it will be 2011 before work will go ahead. It remains to be seen whether the next 100 years will be as glorious as the last.
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