Liverpool's oldest theatre society has said it is a "sad irony" to return to perform at the Epstein Theatre after it was confirmed it is closing its doors for good.
The team behind the Epstein Theatre, on Hanover Street, earlier today announced that the cultural space will close on Friday June 30, following a decision by Liverpool City Council to end its financial support which helped to sustain the venue, the ECHO reports. In 2018 an agreement was struck between Epstein Entertainments Ltd, Liverpool City Council and a commercial property landlord which owns the lease to the building but sub-leases the theatre back to the entertainment company.
As part of the management agreement, the council was to cover a proportion of the rent, service charge, utilities, and maintenance work. The local authority has financially supported the venue since the 1960s and its most recent expenditure on the Epstein was in excess of £100,000 per year, but this funding has now come to an end, along with the management agreement.
Read More:
- 22 photos capture town's characters and streets through time
- Early days captured at Splash World as popular water park reopens
The Grade II listed 380 seat theatre first opened as Crane’s Music Hall in 1913 selling records and instruments, later becoming known as Crane’s Theatre after amateur groups put on performances in the music hall upstairs. By 1967 Liverpool City Council bought the building and renamed it Neptune after the city’s maritime links.
After closing in 2005, the site reopened in 2011 as ‘The Epstein,’ in memory of celebrated Beatles manager Brian Epstein. The Bentley Operatic Society, founded in 1912, predates the theatre site by a year and has established itself as Liverpool's oldest theatre society.
Next week, the group is making a historic return to the Epstein Theatre in the city centre after a 18-year break with their new production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat. But it is a "sad irony" for the society who have so many historic ties to the much-loved site.
Chairman Jim Craig, 71, told the ECHO: "The group was founded in 1912 and it was founded in a church which doesn't exist anymore in Bentley Road in Liverpool 8. The first performance that they gave was in a building that is also no longer in existence, a hall in Smithdown Road and it was Gilbert Sullivan's HMS Pinafore.
"The church had sponsored the first production and they wanted to do a follow-up production but the then vicar for the church was worried about all of the expenses and apparently they had a falling out - so they had to find somewhere else within a year of being created. They decided to use the name of the road it was situated on instead so it became The Bentley Operatic Society."
To celebrate the society's centenary, members traced programmes of performances back to the site when it was Cranes Hall in 1926, but performances there could have started earlier. Jim, who first joined the group in 1978, said: "Two World Wars and Covid have stopped us performing and that’s all.
"There’s a sad irony in that in 2004 we were one of the last, if not the last performance in the theatre and we've managed to get back and it’s going to close again. It’s very sad.
"It’s still a lovely place to perform, it's a nice little auditorium, you've got nice contact with the audience. It's a little home from home.
"It's theatre but it's fairly intimate and it's a lovely place to play. I've been on that stage dozens of times and it’s a really nice atmosphere, it’s just a shame.
"It’s not just us, I think Liverpool needs The Epstein and the city needs this place. It’s such a city of music and theatre, it needs a venue the size of The Epstein that's priced reasonably for people to use."
Through the decades, Jim and other long-standing members of the society have seen highs of amateur performances taking place multiple times a week at the site, as well as prices rise to put shows on and the impact this has had on the arts scene.
Jim said: "I can remember the days in the 1950s and 60s it could be full all year with amateur societies because places like John Lewis when it was George Henry Lees, they had their own drama group who would perform there. Martin's Bank they used to have their own operatic society who performed.
"Liverpool has so many amateur musical and dramatic societies and The Neptune was the place that put them on. In years gone by, I remember one of the biggest problems was getting scenery in. the spiral staircase.
"We used to have to haul scenery up the centre of that stairwell, all the way round the stairs. Which of course nowadays you wouldn't be able to do because of health and safety rules."
What are your memories of The Epstein? Let us know in the comments section below.
Returning to the old stomping ground of the Epstein Theatre, where the company performed regular shows for nearly 50 years until its closure in 2005. The Bentley Operatic Society is set to perform the exuberant and uplifting Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat from June 14-17.
It's bittersweet for the group who've had such a long association with the theatre. Jim said: "We try to keep it all very welcoming. I always say its like a happy family atmosphere.
Join our Liverpool memories and history Facebook group here.
"We keep it very jolly and we always provide tea, coffee and biscuits at every rehearsal. Little things like that help to keep people happy and everyone is welcome. We audition for principle parts when were doing a show but anybody can be in the chorus.
"For next week's performance, people can expect quite a dynamic show, it’s a huge cast. It’s non stop singing, movement, dancing, it’s going to look and sound quite spectacular."
Consisting of a host of well-known and popular songs, the Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice classic is centred around Joseph, who has the uncanny ability to interpret dreams, and being the favoured of twelve sons. The society’s director, Michael Pearson, said "the production will mark a historic chapter for the company."
He said “This is set to be a major event for The Bentley in its very proud 100-year-plus history in Merseyside as it makes it returns home to the Epstein. The society performed for nearly 50 years at ‘The Neptune’ as it was called and even gave the last performance before its closure in 2005 so it’s a huge deal that we’re returning.
For more nostalgia stories, sign up to our Liverpool Echo newsletter here.
"Last year’s production of Made in Dagenham was a huge success bringing audiences to their feet and we look forward to following it up with a sensational large cast production of this Lloyd Webber classic." Elliot Tutt takes on the titular character, along with three narrators played by local musical talents Kizzy Leigh, Sarah Chidlow and Sally Allcock - all supported by a large cast which includes a brilliant troupe of young dancers.
All productions up until Friday 30 June 2023 at Liverpool's Epstein Theatre will go ahead as planned. All productions after Friday 30 June, Epstein Entertainments Ltd has said it will be aiming to transfer performances to other Liverpool City Region venues, adding that ticket holders for cancelled performances will receive an automatic refund.
To find out more about The Bentley Operatic Society's upcoming performances , click here.
Receive newsletters with the latest news, sport and what's on updates from the Liverpool ECHO by signing up here
Read Next:
