Revival of once-doomed Epstein Theatre in Liverpool gathers momentum with investors now opening a new bar close by that will also act as a box office selling tickets for shows. Tony McDonough reports
Investors behind the reopening of Liverpool’s Epstein Theatre will this week open a new bar in nearby School Lane that will also act as a box office.
Called The Stage Door, the venue will open on Saturday, August 16, and will be open from noon to late seven days a week. It will offer both drinks and pies as well as selling tickets for forthcoming shows at the Epstein in Hanover Street.
And the bar will also host live music from Friday to Monday each week, offering a platform for the best established and emerging musical talent from across Liverpool city region.
In June 2023 the outlook for the Grade II-listed Epstein Theatre, which started life in 1915 as the Crane Concert Hall, looked bleak. Operator Epstein Entertainments said it had been unable to secure financial support from Liverpool City Council.
However, a breakthrough earlier this year saw a transfer of the head lease from the former leaseholders to JSM Company Group, which holds a portfolio of properties in Liverpool and is now responsible for Hanover House, the theatre’s home. Liverpool City Council retains the freehold.
JSM has leased the Epstein Theatre to Theatrical Times, a partnership between investors Joseph Roe and Anthony M Sheedy.
In June LBN reported that, in its first three months, the Epstein had sold more than 5,000 tickets and generated £100,000 in revenues. Targets have been exceeded for every show on sale so far.
Epstein general manager Anthony Proctor said: “When we reopened the Epstein in April, we knew the demand was there from audiences hungry for great live entertainment. But we said right from the start that we also wanted to offer people a much wider, wrap-around experience.
“The Stage Door bar and box office is the latest phase of redevelopment of the Epstein as a fantastic centre of entertainment.
“It’s the perfect place to head, whether you’re in town to meet friends for drinks, stopping for a cuppa while shopping, on a big night out at the theatre – or if you just want to pop in and book tickets for any of our brilliant season of shows.”
Epstein bosses have acquired the lease of the new bar, which previously traded under names including Present Company and most recently, Café Baggio.
A major refurbishment of the ground floor has created the stunning new space whose walls are adorned with portraits of Liverpool entertainment legends including Sir Ken Dodd, Paul O’Grady, Cilla Black and Ricky Tomlinson.
Epstein audiences will be able to round off their evening out with 10% off post-show drinks. The box office will be open seven days a week between noon and 30 minutes after the start of a show.
A second phase of work will see the creation of a special VIP suite upstairs which will link to the backstage of the theatre itself.