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 reopening in 2011 after the £1.2m refurbishment (as a result in closing in 2005 for health and safety reasons) the theatre was dedicated to the memory of
Beatles manager
Brian Epstein, for his contributions to the city's cultural and musical scene. Epstein was known to have also performed on the stage in the theatre as a child. Local artist Tony Brown offered a portrait of Epstein on permanent loan to the theatre and this now hangs in the bar. Entertaining Liverpool since 1911, the Epstein has been a home to many, either that be performers (amateur or not), customers or avid theatre goers, therefore when it was announced to the public on 8 June 2023 that the theatre was closing once again due to insufficient funding for the lease after the council chose to retract the agreement with the theatre to subsidise the lease with £100,000 per year (the agreement existing since 1967), the news was greeted with the sorrows of all those who have fond memories of the establishment. The Liverpool City Council released a statement for their decision saying that, "it does not provide the best value for the tax payers money." After 112 years of being a staple of Liverpool's Arts and Culture, and being closed down for the fourth time, the Epstein is to lay dormant for the foreseeable future until it is revived once again, truly earning its title as "The Theatre that Refuses to Die." The theatre was chosen for a special
BBC filming of
Steve Coogan's ''Paul & Pauline Calf's Cheese and Ham Sandwich'' programme. It was the home of long-established
Crosby Gilbert And Sullivan Society until 2016. Its striking interior has often been used as a location for film and TV productions. ==Refurbishment==