STARSTRUCK and mesmerised by the beautiful dancing girls in their sparkling outfits, and by the larger than life characters of Scottish theatre, the young Annette McCann climbed higher and higher right up into what seemed like the rafters of the King's Theatre for a bird's eye view of the drama below.

With what felt like miles of winding metal stairs behind her, she settled in her father's "eyrie" – a tiny office in the theatre "gods", where Pat McCann's brilliant musical touch had often worked its magic, bringing life to some of the most memorable performances in Edinburgh theatre history.

On stage could be found the king of the panto dames himself, Stanley Baxter, trussed up in feathery finery as a Bluebell dancing girl. "He had the most wonderful legs," laughs Annette.

There were also the comic geniuses of Jack Milroy and Rikki Fulton, the stunning voice of Fay Lenore and the raucous humour of Jimmy Logan.

There was Una McLean, with a gutsy laugh that echoed around the stalls, beyond the balconies and almost out of the theatre doors to bustling Leven Street.

Later, the likes of a young Gregor Fisher, Allan Stewart and Gerard Kelly would play it for laughs before a hysterical audience of pantomime-goers.

Annette also has vivid memories of Murdo Cameron, the King's doorman, a Second World War veteran who would don his wartime medals on special occasions to meet and greet famous faces from television, the dancing girls, the orchestra – and Annette's dad.

They were all characters – some better known to Scottish audiences than others – who form a unique chapter of Scottish theatre history, which could soon be lost forever.

Today, dozens of pristine theatre programmes are scattered over the kitchen table of Annette's Fife home in Limekilns, near Dunfermline. Their colourful cover illustrations declare the evening's productions of Cinderella, Aladdin, Jack and the Beanstalk or Goldilocks and the Three Bears.

Inside each, the cast reads like a Who's Who of Scottish theatre – legends who made the King's Theatre in Edinburgh one of the nation's premier venues – alongside stern warnings to switch off digital wristwatch alarms and avoid talking or crackling sweet papers during the performances.

Adverts for cigarettes and expensive perfumes appear on the pages too.

The old programmes are reminders of glory days for a venue that brought laughter and pleasure to thousands.

They were days that began when Edwardian audiences watched variety shows featuring the likes of Atlas and Vulcana – "Society Athletes" – and the Sisters Cora, billed as duettists and dancers. Then came the Five Past Eight music hall shows of the Fifties and Sixties, the Christmas Pantomimes of the Seventies and beyond.

Yet despite its five star past, today the future of the King's hangs by a slender thread, thrown into doubt by a city-wide funding crisis that threatens to bring down the curtain for the final time amid concerns for the building's safety.

It recently emerged that the theatre is facing a wait of at least six years for major refurbishment work to begin, with council chiefs admitting that they could not afford to pay for the start of a long-awaited upgrade until 2010 at the earliest.

Revamping the 1906 theatre could take even longer than that – it's thought it could be up to three years beyond 2010 before work could begin, replacing poor electrical and lighting systems, inadequate toilets and cramped seating.

The Festival City Theatres Trust (FCTT), which runs the theatre for Edinburgh City Council, has now warned that unless significant work is carried out on the building in the next couple of years, it will have to close.

"That would be so sad," sighs Annette, looking over images of her father Pat dressed in a dinner jacket and bow tie, in his role as musical director at the King's when its pantomimes were the envy of the nation, its music hall shows were sellouts, and the Tollcross venue was regarded as one of Scotland's key theatres.

"I suppose many people thought that when so much money was put into the Festival Theatre, that the King's would suffer," Annette adds, "but all it really needs is a little bit of attention, some good shows and the audiences would be back. It would be awful if a place that once had so many legendary names appear there were to close."

Her father, who passed away in 1998 at the age of 72, arrived at the King's in 1953 from London, to take up the prestigious role of musical director.

He began work on the famous Five Past Eight shows, providing the music, musicians, orchestrations and conducting for all the shows throughout the year.

Annette was only five or six years old in the early 1960s, when she first remembers visiting her father's office.

It was sited high up behind the stage, where the famous names of the day would perform to a packed auditorium. "Dad used to have a little office away up in a little eyrie at the top of the building, reached by way of miles of metal stairs," she says.

"It wasn't by any means salubrious. The floors were covered with Lino and there seemed to be a store of pre-war Bakelite telephone equipment there amongst the piles of orchestration.

"I used to love taking my place where I could see dad conducting, and gaze right into the orchestra pit. It was just as interesting as what was going on on stage for me. The auditorium would be buzzing with expectation; the orchestra would be tuning up, the trumpeter practising his high riffs, and all the other instruments creating that wonderful cacophony which had the effect of a crazy fanfare."

In those days, the King's had a dedicated orchestra led by Annette's father, providing the soundtrack to summer sessions and the winter pantos. "Dad used to do two shows a day on Christmas Day then," Annette recalls.

"For many people at the time, Christmas Day was an ordinary working day. We used to have our Christmas day with dad on the Sunday after Christmas."

CARNEGIE LAID FOUNDATION FOR CAPITAL CULTURAL LANDMARK

CONSTRUCTION work on the King's Theatre began in 1905, with philanthropist Andrew Carnegie laying the foundation stone for builder William Stewart Cruikshank.

The theatre opened in 1906 with a performance of Cinderella.

It was operated by JB Howard and Fred Wyndham – builders of the Royal Lyceum Theatre – who made the King's their headquarters. Howard and Wyndham sold the Royal Lyceum Theatre to Edinburgh Council in 1965 and by 1970 a similar deal had been done with the King's Theatre.

While a trust took over management of the Lyceum, the King's was managed by the local authority until July 1998 when it merged with the Festival Theatre. Today the Festival City Theatres Trust manages both theatres.

The King's gained a reputation as a premier venue for variety theatre. For example, its pantomimes starred the likes of Stanley Baxter, Jimmy Logan and Rikki Fulton and became legendary.

The King's underwent a major refurbishment in the mid-1980s but essential work is now required to modernise the 102-year-old theatre for future use.

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