Venue: Epstein Theatre
Town: Liverpool, GB

The Epstein Theatre, formerly Neptune Theatre, is a theatre in Liverpool, England. The theatre, a Grade II listed building, closed on 30 June 2023 following a decision by Liverpool City Council to end its financial support to the venue. The venue has since reopened, although its future is not yet clear. The theatre originally opened in 1913 as Crane's Music Hall. The Crane Brothers' music store had been trading for several years when they opened the music hall above their store on Hanover Street in central Liverpool. Over the first few years, many amateur drama groups staged productions there, thus leading to its renaming as the Crane Theatre in 1938. Little changed over the next twenty years, until Summer of 1967 when the Liverpool Corporation took over the ownership of the building spending £7,000 on a refurbishment including a front of house bar (now known as Brian's Bar), the stage was rebuilt and the Hanover House ‘Good's Lift’ was installed (located on school lane, granting access to stalls of the theatre only). Re-opening as "The Neptune" in 1968, the Liverpool Corporation believed that the theatre "should be ran by local people for local people". The name was selected due to Liverpool's links with the maritime through the Docks, an allusion to Neptune, the Roman god of the seas. One of the main reasons for the acquisition of the theatre from the Cranes was due to Brian Epstein opening up North End Music Store (NEMS) in Whitechapel, introducing competition they had previously not had to consider. However, once again in 1993, the corporation, by now named Liverpool Council presented the theatre with the risk of closure. This caused a huge outcry around the city and many performers, including Dame Judi Dench, were part of the campaign to keep the theatre open. In order to attract audiences, a professional pantomime Snow White was staged in the theatre. This proved to be a huge success, with a professional panto then being held every year in the theatre. Upon re