Zho Visual Theatre have announced that The Quiet Little Englishman - the theatrical production based on the life of George Groves - will open in Liverpool on October 15th with ten performances staged over two weeks. As previously reported in this blog, it's written by Esther Wilson and is her second European Capital of Culture commission. Her first, Ten Tiny Toes at the Liverpool Everyman in June explored the conflicts experienced by returning soldiers and received very favourable reviews. (see Independent, Guardian, Telegraph).

The historic and disused Park Palace music hall / cinema where the production is being staged, has required a considerable amount of refurbishment to make it fit for theatrical purpose once again, but director Paula Simms tells this website that "the venue is coming along nicely and is almost ready".

A dedicated Quiet Little Englishman page will be added to this site over the next few days but for the moment here are the dates and ticket info:

Dates:     Wednesday 15th - Sunday 19th October
                    Wednesday 22nd - Sunday 26th October
Showtime:    7.45pm  
Tickets:    £10 (£7 concessions)
Venue:   The Park Palace (on the corner of Park Street & Mill Street), Liverpool, L8 6QN.
Booking Information:   Unity Theatre Box Office: 0151 709 4988
Websites:  Unity Theatre Website    Zho Visual Theatre Website

There was a three minute report on the Quiet Little Englishman production on the BBC earlier this year which can be viewed from one of these links:
High Quality Windows Media      Very High Quality QuickTime Media
Low Quality Windows Media for slower connections   
(Nb. This material is © BBC MMVIII)

The Quiet Little Englishman is a play by Esther Wilson about the life and achievements of George Groves and it's being produced by Zho Visual Theatre. It's one of the eleven 'Liverpool Commissions' which were made last year by the Liverpool Culture Company as part of the Liverpool '08 European Capital of Culture celebrations.

The director is Paula Simms who reports that the production's premiere will be on October 16th, with a likely preview on the 15th. The venue is going to be an old cinema called the Park Palace which is located in Mill Street in the Dingle area of Liverpool.

It has quite a history, having been designed by architect J H Havelock-Sutton and built on the site of an old coach works at a cost of £5,000. It opened in December 1893 as a music hall called Park Palace of Varieties with a seating capacity of 1100 and in Kelly's 1894 directory was described as:

"...an edifice of brick with an imposing front panelled red bricks and terracotta. A large sunlight hangs from the ceiling. The building is supplied with ample entrances and exits and is ventilated to the latest principles."

In 1904 King Edward VII visited the theatre and the Royal coat of arms was subsequently installed above the proscenium. Like many other music halls it began to screen films as novelties in between acts. These proved to be so popular that by 1911 it had abandoned variety and was converted into a fully-fledged cinema. It had a seating capacity of 950 and in 1930 it was adapted to exhibit sound films.

The Park Palace (pictured left in 2004) finally closed its doors in March 1959 as its attendances were hit hard by the popularity of television.

Zho are turning the old building into a temporary venue for the event and the company are also making a documentary drama film about its history with contributions from the local community as Paula explains:
"Many of the people we have been interviewing remember it well and talk about the early days of cinema with great fondness. It's a great project to work on and a lot of people have told us that although it was a bit of a flea pit it was the preferred cinema because it had the best sound, so it seems right to do it there."

The BBC have also been filming at the old building and have approached this website for photographs of George for a forthcoming broadcast piece. Zho have just appointed a marketing and press coordinator and with a recent article in the St.Helens Star, it looks like George Groves' achievements are about to be given even more exposure. Watch this space for more on this exciting project!