George Groves The Movie Sound Pioneer

On Wednesday 15th October 2008 in front of a sell-out audience, the world premiere of 'The Quiet Little Englishman' took place in the partly-restored Park Palace Theatre in Liverpool, England. The production was inspired by the life of George Groves with the play's title being, of course, the moniker bestowed on George by Al Jolson during the late 1920s. It was a tremendous night with George's nephew and niece, Roland and Doreen Barrow seated in the third row of the packed audience and beaming with appreciation.

"It was excellent" they both exclaimed as the first of ten nightly performances came to an end. Tears flowed as the pair presented bouquets and gifts to writer Esther Wilson and director Paula Simms, as well to music supremo Andy Frizell on behalf of the tremendous musicians that had supported the excellent cast.

'The Quiet Little Englishman' was produced by Zho Visual Theatre. The play was one of the eleven Liverpool Commissions that were made by the Liverpool Culture Company in 2007 as part of the Liverpool '08 European Capital of Culture celebrations. An hour before the performance began, BBC TV News magazine programme North West Tonight had broadcast its second report on the show, which included interviews with both Roland and Doreen (see links at foot of page). Roland had flown over from his home in LA to join his sister in Liverpool for the big night. The pair had taken over the mantle of supporting their Uncle George's memory from their late mother Hilda (see Hilda's Campaign).

"They were a real ensemble", said Doreen as she pointed out how hard it was to single out any of the performers. Paul Duckworth played 'The Quiet Little Englishman' George Groves, quite impeccably but Laura Campbell, Richard Heap, Martyn F. Williams, Marta Ribeiro E. Cunha, Carl Cockram, Jane Hogarth, Terry Kilkelly and Sarah Niles were similarly outstanding as both actors and singers. Using live music, film, theatre and sound installation, it was as Zho's promotional material promised "an illuminating journey through the history of cinema". It was also a somewhat surreal journey and I expect that some of the script's references may have gone over the heads of some in the audience. Perhaps a tad more exposition would have been welcome.

But as you'd expect from anything connected with Liverpool, there were plenty of opportunities for humour and the cast executed the witticisms in Esther Wilson's script perfectly, to the delight of the audience. The theatre was built in the pre-amplification era, so the on-stage talent and audience were never far apart. During the first half of the performance, with short scenes and much action set at the front of the stage, the audience were able to engage with the exuberant cast, who were happy to show that they were enjoying themselves. This has a tendency to be contagious with an audience and it certainly was that first night!

After the interval, set demands led to more of the performance being situated further away from the audience and with lengthier scenes the feeling of closeness and engagement with the vibrant performers diminished a little but didn't distract from the overall excellence of the performance. Considering the budget and logistical limitations endured by Zho in this ancient theatre, it was quite a coup for director Paula Simms, choreographer Sarah Black and costume designer Becs Andrews to have pulled this off at all.

Andy Frizell is the production's musical director and composer whose superb score brought out the best in his fellow musicians and greatly enhanced the production. The juxtaposition of audio tone and music at the beginning and at recurrent points during the show demonstrated unusual creativity. Much thought went into Andy's score, which had been partly inspired by listening to George Groves' oral history tapes. Considerable work had been done to make the Park Palace venue fit for purpose. Director Paula in an email to this website prior to the show had described it as a "bit rough and ready". So it was, as it would take some considerable investment to completely refurbish it. But in these days of strict licensing and health and safety regulations, it was quite an accomplishment by many unsung heroes to restore it as a temporary venue for the show's ten nights.

This disused former music hall and picture palace was especially chosen as the venue for their tribute to sound genius George. The building's history is worthy of description 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 which was then called The Park Palace of Varieties with a seating capacity of one thousand one hundred persons.

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 which proved so popular that by 1911 it had abandoned variety and became a fully-fledged cinema. It had a seating capacity of 950 and in 1930 the venue was adapted to exhibit sound films. It is likely that George Groves visited the cinema after being seconded to England by Warner Brothers in 1931.

The Park Palace finally closed its doors in March 1959 as, like many other cinemas of the time, its attendances were hit hard by the rising popularity of television. Zho Visual Theatre are currently making a documentary about the theatre's history which will certainly be worth looking out for. Apparently it was known as a bit of a 'flea-pit' but was also renowned for having excellent sound acoustics, so was an appropriate choice for this excellent production. Review by Stephen Wainwright

Production Credits:

The Actors – Laura Campbell: Olga, Kay Lavern, Bella; Richard Heap: Jack Warner, Sam Warner, Richard Sangster; Martyn F. Williams: Clown, George Groves Senior; Marta Ribeiro E. Cunha: Mary, Brunel, Tiller Girl; Carl Cockram: Connie Davis, Tiller Girl; Terry Kilkelly: Dick Trainer, Director, Rex Harrison; Sarah Niles: Lucille, Hannah, Tilly, Louis Armstrong; Paul Duckworth: George Groves.

Creative Heads – Sarah Black: Choreographer; Andy Frizell: Musical Director / Composer; Esther Wilson: Writer (from the devising process); Paula Simms: Director; Becs Andrews: Set and Costume Designer; Chahine Yavroyan: Lighting Designer.

Musicians – George Ricci: Saxophone and Clarinet; John Ellis: Keyboards.

Production Team – Creative Producer: Jon Burke; Production Managers: Ben Harding & Ken Coker; Stage Manager: Jake Bartle; Assistant Stage Manager: Rob Martin; Sound Artist: Tim Lambert; Sound Design: Kal Ross; Lighting Design: Chahine Yavroyan; Dancer in Film: Lilly Diettmer.

Costumes & Props – Costume Supervisor: Natalie Bosworth; Design Assistants: Natalie Bosworth & Jo Hicks; Props Buyer: Rob J. Martin.

Zho Visual Theatre supported by Unity Theatre. Supported by the Liverpool Culture Company as part of the European Capital of Culture 08 programme. Read St Helens Star news report on 'The Quiet Little Englishman’.