Royal Court & Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool

Nov 17 2007 by Mike Chapple, Liverpool Daily Post

TIME was when the required pint or three before seeing a performance of any kind in this city meant giving a theatre bar a very wide berth indeed.

TIME was when the required pint or three before seeing a performance of any kind in this city meant giving a theatre bar a very wide berth indeed.

The pub was an infinitely preferable place to stay before curtain call compared to the sheer hell of waiting half a lifetime jostling with a horde of luvvies only to get served warm bottled beer and have your wallet fleeced just as the tannoy announces: “Ladies and gentlemen please take your seats, tonight’s performance will begin in one minute.”

But there’s been a subtle sea change as venues seem to have finally cottoned on that a vast potential additional revenue is there to be had if only they treated the drinking classes with some respect.

Yours Truly and Lady Penelope of Pensby witnessed it first hand this week as we topped up our culture quotient in the run-in to 2008. The first occasion was the Press Night for the Royal Court’s latest production, Two.

Appropriately for this column, the play centres on the myriad of different characters frequenting a northern pub all of whom are played brilliantly by two home-grown thespians, Eithne Brown and Neil Caple.

The Pub Column remembers with grim affection the way things used to be here typified by a gig about 10 years ago and the mad fight to pay £3.50 for a warm can of gnat’s-pee being handed out from behind a trestle table in the dilapidated, downstairs bar.

A labour of love by local lad Kev Fearon and co has changed the theatre into the perfect place for the all-in-one night out where you really can have a cheap quality meal, watch a first class production and literally meet the stars over a reasonably priced pint of ice cold Staropramen in that now beautifully restored bar.

New bars have also been built at the back of the stalls and in the circles upstairs. You’re even allowed to take your drink – if it’s served in a plastic glass – into the performance. “We believe in treating people like adults here,” said the Court’s jovial major-domo, Iain Christie.

The second great night out occurred when we went to see some masterful contemporary jazz served up by the Jan Garbarek Group at the Philharmonic Hall.

In days gone by, I’d usually ask the agreeable security staff if we could sneak across the road to Ye Cracke for a few pre-show snifters rather than endure the bunfight to get a flat pint in the Grand Foyer Bar.

But that’s becoming rarer as the GFB – whose large windows afford lovely views across the city – has now become an amenable drinking hole in its own right.

For a start, on performance nights, it’s open from 5pm onwards and is open to all, not just ticket holders. There’s also more bar staff, cutting waiting time to a minimum, a bigger bottled beer selection including Czech Budvar and Italian Peroni Nastro Azzurro, advance order interval service and, most important of all, cask Cains in abundance.

There are not many theatres who have the guts to keep real ale but the Phil does and mighty fine it is too with gorgeous pints of Cains Bitter, the peerless Raisin and Cains Finest 5% Lager to be had.

It was bar manager of 18 months Peter Hampson’s idea to bring in the Cains and it appears to be paying off big style.

This year the biggest drinks take has been £4,100 in just 90 minutes when old misery-moo Morrissey played.

Proof positive then that a little respect goes a long way.